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FireWire Questions & Answers
drives or other digital hardware equipment, FireWire is
well suited to handle all these requirements.
For those working with digital video, the new stan-
dard will enable new bandwidth-intensive applications,
such as multiple-stream, uncompressed, standard-defi-
nition video.
Will FireWire 400 Devices Run Faster When
Connected To A FireWire 800 Port?
Unfortunately, this is not the case. In order to at-
tain FireWire 800 speeds, both the device and port have
to be FireWire 800 enabled. For instance, an external
hard drive with a FireWire 800 9-pin connection will
only reach FireWire 800 transfer rates when it is con-
nected to a FireWire 800 9-pin host bus adapter card
via a properly certified FireWire 800 9-pin to 9-pin beta
cable.
When a FireWire 400 device is connected to a
FireWire 800 port, the FireWire 400 device will only
operate at the original FireWire 400 speeds.
Will FireWire 800 Devices Work On
FireWire 400 Ports And Vice Versa?
The new standard was designed to be backwards
compatible, meaning that FireWire 800 devices will still
operate via the original FireWire 400 port. However,
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to connect a FireWire 800 device to a FireWire 400
port, a specific adapter cable must be used. Two types of
FireWire 400 ports exist: 6-pin and 4-pin. For FireWire
800 devices to work, they must be connected by placing
the 9-pin end of the FireWire cable into the FireWire
800 port of the device, and the opposite 6-pin or 4-pin
end into the FireWire 400 port.
The same holds true for FireWire 400 devices being
connected to a FireWire 800 host port. The 4-pin or 6-
pin end of the FireWire cable must be connected to the
FireWire 400 port of the device, and the 9-pin end must
be connected to the FireWire 800 port.
When FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 devices are
mixed, all transfer rates revert to the original FireWire
400 speed.
What Do I Do If My Computer Does Not
Have A FireWire Port?
Most computers manufactured today incorporate
at least one FireWire port. If your computer does not
have a native port, you can install one by adding a PCI
or PCMCIA host bus adapter card. Please contact your
computer supply specialist for a specific card that will
work with your system.
For more information about PCI cards, please visit:
www.lacie.com/addons
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