IEEE 1394: All Cards Created Equal?
 

Are All OHCI Firewire Devices the Same?

Given some problems lately with attaching devices such as scanners and camcorders to firewire connections, I scanned the Internet to see what else I could find. One reference stated that there might be considerable difference in the cards themselves. One bemoaned that too many people were using "cheap" cards that relied on Microsoft drivers instead of more expensive ones that had their own.

At one time my scanner and one camcorder worked using my present firewire device. Now it seems nothing will work with them. I have all the updates to Windows XP, the newest bios to my A7N8X Deluxe and a Que! firewire board installed in addition to the firewire outlets in the A7N8X.

I used System Mechanic to disable all my startup programs, rebooted and the firewire still seems to recognize the device, but fails to install it in the Device Manager.

Conclusion: My scanner and two camcorders can't both be bad. Neither can both firewire devices be defective. It's unlikely that a start-up program is conflicting with them, nor is it likely that both devices are installed in the same system, because I removed the Que! card and the peripherals still won't install.

Question: Is buying another brand of PCI firewire likely to make a difference? Does anyone know of a PCI firewire that comes with its own drivers? Also, can endless updates to Windows cause malfunctions, because at one time my firewire worked. I transferred an entire tape to my PC and converted it to an .avi format.

Thanks for any comments.

John

If anyone knows where I can download Texas Instruments firewire drivers, please let me know.

People say that Texas Instruments chipset firewire cards are the most compatible.

Firewire cards should be using standard drivers. I don't think specific drivers help. In the case of Sony VIAO computers, you should get rid of the Sony driver and use the Windows one.

Quite a few people have problems with their firewire ports being blown when voltages carried on the firewire cable go where they shouldn't. From what I hear, it's actually possible to insert the 6-pin firewire connector the wrong way even though it doesn't look like it's possible. Also, hotswapping devices (plugging/unplugging devices while they're on) can also damage firewire ports.

Your camcorder doesn't need to be installed. You might have problems capturing video from your camcorder if another firewire device is also connected. I would try connecting just the camcorder and trying to capture video to see if that works.

I have no idea about scanners.

Just called JVC and had it out with them. Here's the problem: My JVC camcorder will only work on Pinnacle, Belkin or Orange Micro IEEE 1394 boards. Though it's possible it might work with another board, JVC hasn't found it.

"You mean, these are the only boards they'll work with?" I asked.

"They're the only ones we've been able to find and we've tested them and they work."

With firewire being a mainstay of all new computers, it more than ticks me off that a product will only work with certain boards.

I'll try to pick up a new board, but the tech support guy said he guaranteed it would work if I used one of those cards.

Silly me. I always thought an OCHI compliant card was an OCHI compliant card. Apparently it isn't.


John

I have a JVC camcorder that has worked on the 1394 port on various Intel and AMD motherboards and of course, a Pinnacle firewire card. That Pinnacle card has worked on Win98,2000,WinXP.

As you pointed out, JVC only supports a handful of boards and tests that subset.

Are you sure your Firewire card still works?

assuming that you have a t.i. chipset, you should be using the microsoft firewire drivers, not the t.i. drivers.

if you go to the ads website, there is a troubleshooting faq that tells you how to get rid of the t.i. drivers.

Well....
 

I now have both firewire cards installed. The PCI card has a Texas Instruments chipset...and guess what? So does the Belkin! My Device Manager shows both of my current cards correctly installed and working. My ASUS card is simply an OCHI Compliant IEEE 1394; my other card installed as a Texas Instruments OCHI Compliant IEEE 1394.

I just got off the phone with Belkin and the tech rep said if my second board won't accept the JVC, the chances of their board handling it are slim since the chipsets are the same. BTW, my RCA camcorder does connect and work with the TI board. I'm now wondering if it could be a hardware problem with the JVC. But I find it odd that my TI card correctly identifies the device and just throws it in the Device Manager as a yellow question mark.

Very odd, indeed. Any input?

John

Microsoft Drivers...Yes
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Dan Euritt : assuming that you have a t.i. chipset, you should be using the microsoft firewire drivers, not the t.i. drivers. If you go to the ads website, there is a troubleshooting faq that tells you how to get rid of the t.i. drivers. -->>>
Both cards are using the Microsoft drivers now.

John