Ultralite mk3 power down disconnects FW drives

[glankrudolph]

Even though my MOTU Ultralite mk3 is the last link in my FW chain, whenever I power it down, it disconnects all my FW800 drives in front of it, prompting a (!) warning that I have incorrectly disconnected the drives. This is very unhealthy for hard drives.

Is there a setting to prevent this?

thanks

My connection:

MacBook Pro > FW800 out to Glyph drive > FW800 to another Glyph drive > FW400 out of Glyph drive to FW400 in of MOTU Ultralite mk3

Mac OS 10.8.5

[glankrudolph]

Correction - the Ultralike mk3 is NOT the last FW item in the chain - it is in the "middle":

laptop > FW800 out to first Glyph drive, which has a FW400 out to the Ultralite mk3 AND FW800 out to the next Glyph drive.

[glankrudolph]

The problem still exists. When I shut off the MOTU Ultralike Mk3, my drives are wrongly disconnected.

Any ideas?

[mikehalloran]

Have you tried changing the order in which the drives are connected?

[HCMarkus]

I simply must ask: why shut down the UL while your computer is on?
I'd recommend turning it on before boot and off after shut down.

[glankrudolph]

HCMarkus: I will try that. Though isn't it best to eject / shut down / power down external drives safely before shutting down the computer? Maybe external audio interfaces are different?

mikehalloran: If I try different orders of FW externals, I will have to place the UL last in the chain because it only has *one* FW input and it is FW400 - and will be connected with a FW800 to FW400 cable. I hope this is ok and won't create latency.

OR, I could use USB on the UL but that would mean plugging it into my powered USB hub. Is this recommended by MOTU? (I have the AC power plugged into the UltraLite)

If you have any thoughts on FW / USB configuration I would greatly appreciate it. What do all of you do with your similar laptop setups???

[mikehalloran]

Though isn't it best to eject / shut down / power down external drives safely before shutting down the computer???

Nope. It does add to the time that it takes to shut down your system though.

Shutting down your computer first allows your Mac to run the routines that best protect your data. All you need to do afterwards is turn off the drives. This has been true since the Mac+.

Likewise, powner on your drives before turning on your Mac.

There is no need to overthink this process. Plug everything into the same power strip. Turn it on, boot your Mac. End go day, shut down your Mac, turn off the strip. Making it more time consuming than that accomplishes nothing.

[rockitcity]

Correction - the Ultralike mk3 is NOT the last FW item in the chain - it is in the "middle":

laptop > FW800 out to first Glyph drive, which has a FW400 out to the Ultralite mk3 AND FW800 out to the next Glyph drive.

That certainly explains your drive disconnect error message; turning off the Ultralite obviously disconnects the 2nd Glyph drive.

Also, your initial connection description with the Ultrralite last would give you FW 800 speed on both drives. As connected, your 2nd drive will only operate at FW400. I believe the FW 800 port on Motu interfaces is for compatibility only and actually operates at FW 400. Check your "About This Mac" settings for Firewire and it will tell you what speed your devices are operating at.