Firewire question (a vs b)

niponki · 08-24-2005, 08:27 AM

Hi,

First time posting here, so hello everyone. I have a question about Firewire. Hopefully it is pretty simple. Basically, here is the jist of it. I have a pretty old computer, P3 Compaq, but I just noticed that it has a firewire port on the back of it. So I bought a Seagate 300GB ATA/100 HD and I am now looking for an enclosure. I found one online for pretty cheap i think ($30 + s/h), but it is for firewire 1394a. My computer just says 1394 on the back. Will this connection work with my computer? Are the a and b and plain 1394 all the same basically? Well, I know they are not the same, but can you plug a 1394 b into an a port and vice versa?

Thanks in advance...

~P

niponki · 08-24-2005, 10:56 AM

anyone have any idea of the difference, please ^_^

**Cromewell** · 08-24-2005, 03:19 PM

it should be fine to use either, 1394a is 400Mbps, 1394b is 800Mbps.

planes891 · 08-24-2005, 03:48 PM

the connectors for 1394a and 1394b are different (a has 6 pins, b has 9 pins) but you can get adapters for them but for what you are looking at, stick with 1394a

**Cromewell** · 08-24-2005, 03:55 PM

Quote:

the connectors for 1394a and 1394b are different (a has 6 pins, b has 9 pins)

I thought the pins on the connector varried with its use (4pin - digital camcorders, 6pin - hard drive enclosures, etc) and the PC end supported them all but I'd leave it to apple to do something silly like using different connectors for everything (and people wonder why firewire never really caught on).

niponki · 08-25-2005, 02:23 AM

awesome. So i guess it will all work no matter what it is as long as I have the right plug. cool. Thanks for your help guys.

celsdogg · 08-25-2005, 01:05 PM

i thought the differing pins had to do with giving firewire devices power. . .

celsdogg · 08-25-2005, 01:14 PM

looked it up in a book

"The proposed 1394b standard is expected to support trnasfer rates og 1,600Mbps; future versions of the standard might reach speeds of up to 3,200Mbps. 1394b will be capable of reaching much higher speeds than the current 1394a standard (most times just called 1394) because it will also suppoer netwrok technologies such as glass and plastic fiber optic cable, and CAT5 UTP cable. . . 1394b will be fully backward compatible with 1394a. . . also known by two other names, i.link and firewire." Upgrading and Maintaining PC's, 14th Edition, S. Mueller

diduknowthat · 08-26-2005, 11:05 AM

an intel p3 has ieee 1394? woah my p4 doesn't even have it.

celsdogg · 08-26-2005, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by liuliuboy

an intel p3 has ieee 1394? woah my p4 doesn't even have it.

just depends on what the mobo manufacturer, or system manufacturer decides to put into the system. . .

08-24-2005, 08:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
niponki New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 3	Firewire question (a vs b) Hi, First time posting here, so hello everyone. I have a question about Firewire. Hopefully it is pretty simple. Basically, here is the jist of it. I have a pretty old computer, P3 Compaq, but I just noticed that it has a firewire port on the back of it. So I bought a Seagate 300GB ATA/100 HD and I am now looking for an enclosure. I found one online for pretty cheap i think ($30 + s/h), but it is for firewire 1394a. My computer just says 1394 on the back. Will this connection work with my computer? Are the a and b and plain 1394 all the same basically? Well, I know they are not the same, but can you plug a 1394 b into an a port and vice versa? Thanks in advance... ~P

08-24-2005, 10:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
niponki New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 3	anyone? anyone have any idea of the difference, please ^_^

08-24-2005, 03:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cromewell Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 10,425	it should be fine to use either, 1394a is 400Mbps, 1394b is 800Mbps. __________________ You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in command here. www.userfriendly.org

08-24-2005, 03:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
planes891 Silver Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 143	the connectors for 1394a and 1394b are different (a has 6 pins, b has 9 pins) but you can get adapters for them but for what you are looking at, stick with 1394a __________________ Pentium IV 2.53 Ghz 512 Mb DDR SDram 40 GB EIDE Samsung OEM Dvd+/-RW 16X Dual Layer Visiontek Xtasy ATi Radeon 7K PCI 64 Mb Video Ram 2.708 gb gmail drive 17" Envision EN-780e CRT

08-25-2005, 01:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
celsdogg Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Maryland Age: 26 Posts: 306	i thought the differing pins had to do with giving firewire devices power. . . __________________ VALERIE - AMD Athlon XP Palomino 1800+, 1GB DDR SDRAM, nVidia GeForceFX 5700 128MB DDR, two 160GB Seagate HDD, two 250GB Seagate HDD, WinXP Pro SARAH (Toshiba Laptop) - Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 512MB DDR SDRAM, Trident Cyberblade XP2 32MB, 60GB Samsung HDD, Ubuntu Linux 7.10 MARGARET - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2GB Corsair XMS DDR400 Dual Channel, nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR PCIE, 80GB Seagate SATA, 60GB Maxtor PATA, 60GB WD PATA Ubuntu Linux 7.10 + WinXP Pro

08-25-2005, 02:23 AM	#6 (permalink)
niponki New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 3	awesome. So i guess it will all work no matter what it is as long as I have the right plug. cool. Thanks for your help guys.

08-25-2005, 01:14 PM	#8 (permalink)
celsdogg Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Maryland Age: 26 Posts: 306	looked it up in a book "The proposed 1394b standard is expected to support trnasfer rates og 1,600Mbps; future versions of the standard might reach speeds of up to 3,200Mbps. 1394b will be capable of reaching much higher speeds than the current 1394a standard (most times just called 1394) because it will also suppoer netwrok technologies such as glass and plastic fiber optic cable, and CAT5 UTP cable. . . 1394b will be fully backward compatible with 1394a. . . also known by two other names, i.link and firewire." Upgrading and Maintaining PC's, 14th Edition, S. Mueller __________________ VALERIE - AMD Athlon XP Palomino 1800+, 1GB DDR SDRAM, nVidia GeForceFX 5700 128MB DDR, two 160GB Seagate HDD, two 250GB Seagate HDD, WinXP Pro SARAH (Toshiba Laptop) - Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 512MB DDR SDRAM, Trident Cyberblade XP2 32MB, 60GB Samsung HDD, Ubuntu Linux 7.10 MARGARET - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2GB Corsair XMS DDR400 Dual Channel, nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR PCIE, 80GB Seagate SATA, 60GB Maxtor PATA, 60GB WD PATA Ubuntu Linux 7.10 + WinXP Pro

08-26-2005, 11:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
diduknowthat formerly liuliuboy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Massachusetts Age: 18 Posts: 6,652	an intel p3 has ieee 1394? woah my p4 doesn't even have it. __________________ Silent Mini-Rig Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 4GB G.Skill DDR2 800 Memory \| 400GB WD SATA HD eVGA 8800GT 512mb Graphics Card X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound Card Asus Combo ATSC TV Tuner Scythe Ninja \| AC Accelero S1 Passive heatsink Cooler Master Elite 340 mATX Case

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