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Any Dell Firewire PCs?
Hi,
My old pc has failed to initialise its firewire port (pci) for the umpteenth time - I've had it. Can anyone suggest a firewire-equipped Dell that I can look for please: probably refurbished because I know firewire has lost out to usb3. My problem is that all the things I like to plug into pc's are firewire hardware supported, so you can see the situation.
I think the Dell 380 has a firewire port actually built into it, which would help.
Over several years I plugged firewire PCI cards into two Dells, the GX270 and an Inspiron 531. The 531 never ever recognised the firewire; the 270 accepted the card and then for no apparent reason refused to see what was plugged into it. This has happened on numerous occasions and there is never any reason - Device Manager says all is a-ok yet the firewire link is obviously not working.
So I think I need a pc with firewire already built into it.
Comments appreciated :)
Thanks,
KR
speedstep
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January 26th, 2013 21:00
The Precision 380 and 390 have firewire as an Option. Its a PCI 2.3 card.
The card I recommend is from LaCie. It has Firewire 400 and a 4 pin floppy molex power connector.
its PCI 2.3 and it supports Mac or Windows.
Plug and Play no driver disks Native to windows XP / vista / 7 / OSX
LaCie - LaCie FireWire 400 PCI Card
www.lacie.com/.../product.htm
My 390 firewire has
speedstep
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January 26th, 2013 22:00
its the same connector thats on the floppy drive IF you have one. Its so that the firewire is 6 pin instead of 4 pin without power. If your camera etc doesn't need the power then its not an issue. If you look at the LaCie card price you will see what I mean. However it is possible to get a Precision 380 or Precision 390 with the Dell Firewire card already installed. The strange part numbers and the Link to Impact Computers are the Official Dell part numbers. That assembly works on many different Dell models. Dell has not changed that card in years because there is no need to.
X8711 is the internal front panel cable.
Y9457 is the dell part number of the card. The other part number is for a cable that goes to the front panel.
The La Cie card does not have a front panel connector.
SEEMS that ebay has the real Dell card cheaper.
1394A PCI FOR DELL WORKSTATIONS / DESKTOPS Y9457
Doesn't need any drivers in XP.
Dell 2 Port Adaptec AFW-2100 PCI FireWire Card Y9457
Windows XP
When you power on your system after installing the Adaptec AFW-2100 card, Windows XP automatically installs the required device driver.
To verify that the device driver is installed:
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
appears.Figure 1. Adaptec AFW-2100 Card Installed on Windows XP
Manuals
Adaptec AFW-2100 IEEE-1394a Card User's Guide
The information below is provided by the supplier of the referenced device without independent verification by Delltm and is subject to the restrictions and disclaimers noted below.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Installing the Adaptec AFW-2100 Card <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Installing the Device Drivers
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Recommendations
Troubleshooting
About IEEE-1394 Technology
© 2003 Adaptec, Inc. All rights reserved.
Trademarks used in this text: Adaptec is a registered trademarks of Adaptec, Inc; Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Adaptec, Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
kr236rk
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January 26th, 2013 22:00
Thanks SpeedStep,
Oh gosh, under the hood again ;) Does that card need to be a LaCie or will any FireWire 400 PCI 2.3 Card do?
What does the hub look like - it is external to the pc?
4 pin molex power connectors I should be able to pick up - why do you call them floppy please - as in floppy disc?
Thanks again,
kr236rk
512 Posts
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January 26th, 2013 22:00
That's very helpful SpeedStep :)
Am hoping that the refurb guys might source a firewire card / unit for the 380 since I have asked them about this. Meanwhile, I am looking at every option - since firewire is the only reason I am upgrading. Would this unit be compatible - would it work if I hooked it up with the 380 please?
www.akasa.com.tw/update.php
Thanks.
speedstep
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January 26th, 2013 23:00
That would work with the La Cie card for firewire but not USB. The Dell card does not connect in the same way. The LaCie card has an actual firewire port on the inside.
Either card works in ANY Dell that has PCI 2.3 slots.
So an Optiplex or Inspiron or Precision model that has conventional 120 pin PCI slots works fine.
This 380 on ebay has the firewire card that I listed. Note the firewire port on the front panel next to the USB.
Dell Precision 380 Workstation PD 3.4GHz 2GB 160GB XP PC Radeon X1300
kr236rk
512 Posts
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January 27th, 2013 06:00
Re: "This 380 on ebay has the firewire card that I listed. Note the firewire port on the front panel next to the USB."
Thanks, yes, I saw it. Is this a functioning Firewire socket of must you source a PCI card to slot in behind it please?
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Dell 2 Port Adaptec AFW-2100 PCI FireWire Card Y9457 - you are saying that this card would work in the 380?