M-Audio Firewire 410

I don't know Pete. I have heard simalar fron non-daw people about firewire. I calles a buddy that runs a company that does pro video (rodeos, boat drags) he says nobody he knows uses firewire, all usb 2.0, but did not know of specific problems with firewire. ...........JDW

Hi Jammy, thanks so much for the reply.
Well, I have never used the supplied power adapter.
Some news. I just went to the M-Audio site and they have just posted (this month) a warning about ports and devices being made permantly inoperable
when using the FW 410.
They say there (M-Audio) "This has come to our attention lately..... ".

The post sounds like if you want to plug a IEEE 1394 device up to your computer like a DV camera etc. they say turn the computer off, plug it in, then turn the computer back on. That sound like a crazy way to utilize another firewire periferal on your system if you plan on using the M-Audio FW 410.
The new Belkin 3 port Firewire PCI card, I just had to buy, says right on the box ""Install devices with plug-in-play ease, without requiring you to restart your computer". Like USB PnP specs. Belkin is right about this spec.
IMHI the M-Audio Firewire 410 has a serious glitch in its design I think.

I need to use the 410 but I doubt if Best Buy would exchange another
burnt out DV Camera. This is my 3rd one. Plus now my MB FW ports are gone.
It may be something here but they now warn about it on thier site
so its not just me and my setup. I wonder what combo of MB, Chip Set etc.
could be causing this or is it mainly the FW 410's sole fault.
Took me weeks to figure out what was happening.
I never dreamed it was the 410 until I had to take back my 2nd camera.
The new one works great after I reinstalled XP etc without the 410 device.
Thanks again.
(By the way the new Sony DV camera is better than my older one
but I need to make some music also and I love the FW 410 otherwise.)
Pete

I found this site that seems to state the hot-swapping is a problem in all sorts of situations.

You may be able to gleen some insight from it. I'm scared now to ever do any hot swapping aggain.

http://www.wiebetech.com/pressreleases/FireWirePortFailures.htm

Its a good read for anyone using firewire devices anyway.

You should ask m-audio.
Does the FireWire 410 have a transient limiting circuitry on the Data lines at power up time, in order to prevent transients from causing damage to the host?

They should be doing this.

Hope this helps.

I just got a email on the 18th from M-Audio about hot plugging



You are receiving this bulletin as a registered owner of an M-Audio FireWire product.

Attn: IEEE 1394 "FireWire" Users

Thank you for purchasing an M-Audio FireWire product. Reports have come to our attention of isolated problems when hot-plugging IEEE 1394 (aka "FireWire") devices. (Hot-plugging refers to making 1394/FireWire connections when one or more of the devices--including the computer--is on.)

When hot-plugging, there are rare occurrences where either the FireWire peripheral or the FireWire port on the host computer is rendered permanently inoperable. While M-Audio products adhere rigidly to the FireWire industry standard and pass stringent internal testing, the possibility remains that hot-plugging your M-Audio FireWire interface with some computers may result in the type of problem described here.

We strongly encourage you to protect your equipment by refraining from hot-plugging any bus-powered FireWire device, including the M-Audio family of FireWire products. Connect your FireWire device while both the computer and FireWire device are powered off. Power on the FireWire device, then turn the computer on last. If you are using bus power (systems
with IEEE1394 6-pin connectors) make sure you make the cable connection first, then turn the FireWire device power switch on, and turn the computer system on last.

M-Audio is being proactive in investigating any issues that may adversely affect our customers. Please consult the Knowledge Base in the Support section at www.m-audio.com for updates on this important issue.


In case your M-Audio FireWire device is not detected by your computer on startup, try one or more of the following troubleshooting steps instead of hotplugging it:

1. Turn your M-Audio FireWire device off, wait 30 seconds then power it on.

2. Put your computer into hibernation mode, wait 30 seconds then reactivate it.

3. Restart the computer (don't turn it off) while the M-Audio FireWire device remains connected and powered on.

Maybe there are other parameters involved.?.

Could be. Do you routinely find whole patches of four-leaf clovers underfoot? Do meter maids suddenly realize it's lunchtime just as they're about to ticket your car? Has Ed McMahon showed up at your door with a big check recently? If yes on that last question, did you know I'm your long-lost cousin? :-)

all I know is that when a company sends a mass email like that, something is going on

That must be a later manual as I don'ty see that warning in mine.
They just have posted this month text refering to this problem
on the M-AUDIO web site.
Thanks
Pete Carr

James,
Yes Sir. That is the way it "should" work.
No worries no problems. Just Plug and Play.
I never dreamed. I will try to pull all of this together
when I talk with the M-AUDIO tech in just a little while.
Jammy's URL on the white paper may help
us find out what is going on here at my setup.
Thanks
Pete

Pete, I noticed that you are running the 410 off the bus power. Is your camera the 4 or 6 pin connection? I'm guessing the smaller style 4-pin version which would seem to indicate it is the data lines that are getting blown on them and absolutely no chance of a reversed polarity situation. Does that sound correct?

ORIGINAL: pete carr

I have always noticed that under certain conditions like when
re-installing a a new driver update for the FW 410 or turing the the computer
on (after it has been been powered down) a loud low-mid frequency
spike would transmit through my powered speakers.
This always seemed inappropriate as I thought it may
blow out a speaker etc. It may have done just that as one speaker
did go bad but I can't for sure say it was the FW 410 device fault.

yeah, when I first power up I get a spike, and alll the meters of the 410 clip.. I've learned just to leave the speakers off for a minute after booting.. thankfully I haven't had any problems as of yet..

I didn't get an email either.. I'm glad that I never hotplugged.. it always seemed safer to me to just power down.. I never unhook it unless I'm reformatting anyway...

scary stuff..