PROBLEMS WITH FIREWIRE AND EMACS

[deeets@verizon]

I continue to have sporadic problems with Firewire on my G4 eMac. At times Firewire works fine and my external HD is recognizable and usable. Other times (for no apparent reasons) it is unrecognizable.

When not working properly, the Firewire is not detected in the System Profiler. As if I do not have Firewire.

The computer is just overr a year old and really don't want to scrap it yet. Can anyone help??

Thank you!

David
Wisconsin

 

[perfessor101]

When not working properly, the Firewire is not detected in the System Profiler. As if I do not have Firewire.

If you mean the firewire port is not recognized in System Profiler that is most likely a hardware problem cured by a new logic board. If you have AppleCare on your eMac it would be covered. The problem would be convincing Apple it is intermittent if it decides to work when you take it to the shop.

If you mean the firewire port shows up in System Profiler, but the hard drive is not seen, I would be suspicious of a poorly made and/or overly long firewire cable connecting the drive and the eMac. Replace the cable with a well made firewire cable that is no longer than it absolutely has to be to connect the drive to the eMac, say 18 inches. I like the cables from Granite Digital. They have RF suppression chokes near each end and are not cheap, but IMHO worth every penny.