Firewire to USB 2.0 Adapter??

C

csr

Registered
Hey everyone -

I have one of the first 17" iMac's. It's got a USB 1.1 interface and of course, I can't upgrade it to USB 2.0. :(

This is becoming a problem, as all the digital wallet-style devices I'm looking at (the Archos Gmini 120, to be specific) have USB 2.0 interfaces. Of course, all USB 2.0 devices are backwards compatible to USB 1.1, but I am looking to increase the speed of the transfer.

Are there any Firewire to USB 2.0 adapters out there? I have really combed Google trying to find them and I have found cards for PC's that will manage both, but I haven't found a cable or something that will plug into my Firewire port.

Has anyone found a good solution to this dilemma, that doesn't involve buying a brand new iMac?

Thanks!
 
Cheryl, thanks for replying. The problem with a 2.0 hub is that when I connect it to my 1.1 USB interface, everything still drops back to 1.1.

Very frustrating. :( that's what I get for being an early adopter. :D
 
I use a USB keychain drive. It is USB 2 but works fine on USB 1.1
But then what how fast do you want it to move? Remember that large files will take a while.
 
Hi Cheryl - I am looking for the faster transmission speeds of USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) or Firewire (400 Mbps). I don't expect I'd get 480 Mbps if I were using something that could convert USB 2.0 to work with my Firewire connection.

I really need those fast transmission speeds. The "digital wallet" devices I'm looking at are 20GB hard drives to hold images. I'd need to be able to transfer many GB over the interface in a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately, the 12Mbps speeds from USB 1.1 are terribly insufficient for my needs, which is what I would get if I plugged the USB 2.0 Archos Gmini into my USB 1.1 port.

It would seem that my quest to find a way to get 400Mbps speeds from a USB 2.0 device onto my old LCD iMac is going to come up empty. It's a big disappointment, and really hastens my desire for a new computer. I should have seen it coming, I suppose. My next computer purchase, whether I go back to PCs (which is how I am leaning), or choose to stick with Macs, will be based on much different requirements than just the "cool aesthetics" that this purchase was based on. :D

Thanks - Catherine
 
Mmm.... yeah, iMacs sure are perty, but aren't much in terms of expandability. If you stick with Macs, consider getting a low end PowerMac G5, or an as-recent-as-you-can-find PowerMac G4. At least they have PCI-X or PCI slots (respectively).
 
Perhaps finding yourself an old G3 or G4 with a spare PCI slot, popping a USB 2 card in, and mounting it via Firewire or Ethernet with your iMac would do the trick.
 
only this cable is to plug a firewire device into a usb2 plug, he needs a cable to plug a usb2 device into a firewire plug. i have never seen or heard of such a thing. most likely becasue they are different signals and voltages.
 
Are you sure the device you were using wasn't USB 1.1? USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with 1.1 devices, so it will slow down to the compatible speed. Test it out with a USB 2.0 device.
 
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