USB 2.0 iPod on Titanium

[fifteen90]

hey guys, asked this one over at hardware forum, but i thought maybe the people here had some experience with this too.

so i've got an old faithful titanium powerbook (no usb 2.0), and a new-fangled ipod video (usb 2.0 only). so i went out and got a usb 2.0/firewire pc card and downloaded the drivers for it. but now i'm running into a couple problems:

1) only one of the two usb 2.0 ports actually works
2) a lot of times, when i plug my ipod into the functioning usb 2.0 port, the screen will flicker and then the whole computer freezes. no cursor movement, no keyboard response, nothing.

here's the lowdown on what i have running, if it helps:
- powerbook g4 400mhz, 512mb ram
- mac os 10.3.9 (panther)
- "idotconnect" usb 2.0/firewire pcmcia card (2 usb ports, 2 firewire)
- VIA usb 2.0 drivers (vt6202, vt6212)
- 30gb ipod with video

software (os, itunes, ipod, pc card usb driver, etc) is updated. any ideas of what i can do? return the pc card and get a new one? recommendations?

thanks guys.

[Etrit]

Hey Fifteen90, did you ever get your problem with this fixed?

I just bought a new 5th Gen Ipod Vid and have a 500mhz PB Tit with 10.3.9 installed and am running into the same issue.

Appently there are actually alot of people on the 'net looking for info...

If you found a card that worked, could you let me know the Manufactuer, Model Number and where you got it from?

Thanks!

[fifteen90]

hey etrit,
sorry, never did find a good solution to the usb 2 problem. i actually tried a couple of pci usb 2 cards: the "idotconnect" that i mentioned in my original post, and one made by belkin. both had the same problem, and caused my powerbook to lock up.

maybe you know this already, but from what i've read, there aren't any viable firewire-to-usb 2 adapters, cuz apparently the ipod hardware doesn't support the firewire architecture.

sadly, usb 2 seems to be the only real reason i'd really be tempted to upgrade this ol' powerbook. seems like a pretty lame reason, though. the first ipod update is painful, but now that the bulk of my media's on it, updating new data isnt too bad (especially if i'm doing other things w/ the mac while it runs).

[Etrit]

Heya fifteen90, thanks for the fast response.

I know its better after the first sync, but I'm planning on moving alot of files and movies between my computer and my Ipod.

I've posted on a couple other sites and will post on here if someone comes up with an answer.

[macsrule7]

My card came with a USB power adapter. It is a short cable that plugs into the pcmcia card on one end and a USB port on the other. I was having the same issues until I figured out how to connect the adapter. The card came with no instructions! I have a G4 1Ghz TiBook, and an 80GB video iPod.