Inspiron 8000/firewire/card reader - need help

Thank you for your response.  Doesn't look like firewire will be a reality on my laptop.  Very disappointing because it takes so long to upload photos from my CF cards to the laptop.

>Does the reader have a power supply? 

No

>Is your PCMCIA IEEE1394 card 4 pin, or 6 pin?

6 pin

I will check will the Lexar and San Disk about the readers

Judy Woodruff

Judy,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

Does the reader have a power supply?  I doubt it, but I have to ask.  The 4 pin port on your Inspiron 8000 does not supply power to IEEE1394 devices.  The 6 pin port on your Dimension does supply power.  Is your PCMCIA IEEE1394 card 4 pin, or 6 pin?  We need to look for a pattern here.  My guess is that the card reader is powered by the IEEE1394 cable.  When you connect it to a 4 pin port, it is not going to work, because it is getting no power.  I doubt that it will work when connected directly to your Inspiron 8000, because of the lack of power.  I have no information on PCMCIA IEEE1394 cards.  If that has a 6 pin port, then I would check with the manufacturer of the card for more information.

Your PCMCIA card might have the 6pin connection, but the port might still not be supplying enough power... did that PCMCIA come with a power adapter for the wall?

>did that PCMCIA come with a power adapter for the wall?

No, is there a PCMCIA firewire card reader with power?

For the life of me, i coudln't find one that did came in the package... most cards come with a ac adapter connector already on the card, and you just have to purcahase the P/S from the manufactor.

here is an example of one of the holes: http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&product_id=565&sec=Package%20Contents

Judy,

I had a similar need recently.  I needed a 2.0 USB connection on my 8100, which only has 1.1 USB.  I easily found a 2.0 USB PCMCIA card.  These also need a power source.  There is a single pin power connection on the end of the card, a cord was included that connects to that single pin and the other end is a USB connection that plugs into either of the 8100 conventional 1.1 USB ports for the required power source.  The card also came with the CD 2.0 driver software disk, at a total cost of $30.  There should be something out there on the same order, to answer your needs.  I hope this will be of some help to you.  

Regards,

Roger

Message Edited by houseman on 05-17-2004 08:02 AM

Thank you Rollie, Marc and Roger for your suggestions.  You guys are great!  Thanks for helping me and others with answers.

I have four Dells (Dimension XPS-T600, 8200, 8300 and an Inspiron 8000).  I've never been a laptop lover but they certainly are easier to transport.  However, this weekend I used my XPS-T600.  I easily added a firewire card and can now upload my photographs quickly and easily.  Wish the Inspiron was as easy to get working.

Roger, what brand PCMCIA card did you get?  Maybe they offer a firewire card.  I did a quick search on Friday and a powered PCMCIA firewire card is not easy to find.  Of course, maybe I was using the wrong search criteria.

Judy

Hi Judy,

Sorry for the delayed response. I have been very busy and haven't visited the Forum in days!!

The PCMCIA 2.0 USB card simply says "Exactek CardBus Adaptor".  

If the Market Pro Computer Show meets in your area, check them out. That is where I got the USB card. They are a great place to find just about anything at GOOOOOOD prices.  Locate the nearest location by using Google and typing in  Market Pro.com. I hope this helps. 

Roger

Hi Judy,

I am facing exactly the same problem on my Inspiron 8200, and now discovered that the 4-pin to 6-pin connection is virtually useless for all of my intended applications. Therefore I have resolved to downloading images from a USB card reader - slow and frustrating, as my choice of laptop was strongly influenced by the availability of a (useless) firewire port.

I also cannot connect to my external LaCie harddrive using the onboard firewire port, although the HD uses its own powersource and works perfectly when connected to my desktop system which has a 6-pin Firewire PCI card installed. I use Win XP pro before anyone asks.

Did anyone manage to find a PCMCIA-firewire (6-pin) card that would also act as a power source for firewire devices?

Jiri

Marc, are you using the built-in 4-pin firewire port on the side of your Dell Inspiron 8200?

I *think* there is nothing wrong with my LaCie drives, as they both work perfectly when connected via 6-pin cables to the PCI card of my desktop system.

To use a firewire hub with an external power source defeats the purpose - to download images from a CF card reader at firewire speed while being on the road, in a car etc etc.

Therefore I am looking for an adapter that will provide a 6-pin firewire port on my laptop that can act as a power source for a peripheral like a CF card reader.

Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Jiri

Yes, I'm using the built in 4pin connection on the right, below the PCMCIA slots.

The design of the PCMCIA slots will probably not provide enough power to give Firewire PCMCIA enough power for the 6pin connections.... so you might be stuck with getting a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card and using it. (even though i hate USB)

What about getting a PCMCIA Memory adapter? I use a Sony Memory Stick PCMCIA adpater and works great.

I use two firewire housing, one 160gb HDDs and one DVD+/- RW/-RAM, and have no problems connecting them to my i8200. Here is a pic of my cases i put together:

http://www.austinpunkska.com/outside/firewire/DRIVES026.jpg

http://www.austinpunkska.com/outside/firewire/BACK029.jpg

What's going on with your Lacie drive? Maybe it's not firewire/power related.

What about getting a Powered Firewire HUB? that will provide 6pin power to devices connected.

This belkin comes with a power adapter:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051826243086&skuId=5469824&type=product

Judy Woodruff,

I am a professional photojournalist in Atlanta, I had the same problem with my Inspiron 8200 when I tried to connect it to a Lexar firewire reader two years ago when I bought my laptop. I shoot a lot of professional baseball, hockey, basketball etc.........where time/deadlines are critical.

At the time it was crazy only mac people used firewire type stuff. I could not believe the Dell people sold me a laptop with a firewire slot and could not tell me how to use it with a lexar CF card reader. I finally called lexar and told them what I was trying to do.

The guy said it was simple, get a firewire powered port hub! Said the problem I had was the Inspiron 8200 firewire port was smaller (does not power devices) than the Lexar 6 pin which uses power.

So, I went into Micro Center walked over to the Mac ( Mac’s use a lot of firewire stuff) section bought an Iogear (G-FH600) powered firewire port ( it has five ports) went home and hooked it up to my laptop PC Inspiron 8200 and Lexar firewire reader, it’s worked like a charm. It seems like it is 5x faster.

I believe it came with the little cable that adapts the little firewire plug into the larger firewire plug. The hub uses a supplied power supply that powers the cf card reader, that is the secret!

Hope this helps,

Gregory Smith