Question on firewire PCI cards compatibility upgrading

[donreynolds]

I just upgraded from a dual 3 ghz Mac Pro running osx 10.6.8 to an 8 core 2009 Nahalem 2.93 Ghz MacPro. I just backed up my previous HD and upgraded to osx 10.8.5 Mountain lion.

I have been using a PCI card with x 2 firewire ports on my previous unit to run x 2 Motu 896HD units.
Now the new MacPro is not showing the 896HD options in the system audio in/output window.

My system profiler description identifies the card as;
pci104c,8235 Type: IEEE 1394 Open HCI and it says that the driver is installed.

Is there some compatibility issue here that I am not aware of for this card? I cannot remember the manufacture of this card, etc.

Or do I need to do something with the Motu drivers to get the computer to recognize the 896HD units? Not sure.

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

[mikehalloran]

I recommend turning your 896 on before booting.

Assuming that you have the latest MOTU drivers installed (right?), open MOTU Audio Setup.app and see if your 896 shows up. It should. If not, shut down, switch to a built in FW port and try again.

It's a bad idea to hot swap these. It can crash your FW ports or even damage your device or motherboard.

If your FW ports are crashed, reset the NV RAM (PRAM). I once had to do it three times before my ports came back to life. I was on the phone with AppleCare at the time – the tech was just as surprised as I was but it worked.

Why not use the built in FW ports?

[donreynolds]

I recommend turning your 896 on before booting.

I did have them on prior to booting up. I also tried to turn them on after booting up.

Assuming that you have the latest MOTU drivers installed (right?), open MOTU Audio Setup.app and see if your 896 shows up. It should. If not, shut down, switch to a built in FW port and try again.

I have the latest drivers installed. My 896HD units have the 400 FW ports. The Mac Pro only has the 800 FW ports. I don't have an adapter handy. I checked in my computer equipment profiler and the computer identifies the PCIe 400FW card.
I opened my Motu audio setup app and it does not show my 896HD units.

It's a bad idea to hot swap these. It can crash your FW ports or even damage your device or motherboard.

I don't ever hot swap. Never seemed to be a good idea and too easy to turn the jack upside down and fry the board.

If your FW ports are crashed, reset the NV RAM (PRAM). I once had to do it three times before my ports came back to life. I was on the phone with AppleCare at the time – the tech was just as surprised as I was but it worked.

I did this and still does not recognize the units.

Why not use the built in FW ports?

I don't have the 400 to 800 adapters.

I just don't understand why it won't recognize the units if it recognizes the firewire 400 card?

How can I check to make sure the drivers are still installed? Where are they located? maybe I need to reinstall the drivers just incase they have been corrupted when I backed up everything and reinstalled?

[donreynolds]

I am installing the motu audio set up just to be sure they are not corrupted.

[donreynolds]

Well, Daaaaang!!
My drivers "were" up to date for my other Mac Pro running 10.6.5 but obviously not for Mountain lion.
It is working now. Thanks for your advice Mike.

Now.... another note.....I am running DP 7.24

Will I have to update to DP 8 for my new computer running Mountain Lion for it to work good?
I updated to 10.8.5 because I read that was the most stable. I did not want to jump right up to maverick or yosemite until I heard that they were stable with DP.

[mikehalloran]

There were some growing pains -- Mavericks and DP 8 were released around the same time. It's good now that we're beyound OS 10.9.1 -- that and 10.9.0 were rough. I had more issues with older plugs in Mavericks with DP 7.24 than with DP 8.

If you upgrade to DP 8 now, you will get 9 when it is released later this year.

A FW400-800 cable or adapter will let you do a direct hookup but I'm glad that the current drivers got you up and running.

[donreynolds]

Hey thanks Mike on the great advice. It is VERY appreciated. I am a slow mover when it comes to updates and new units. I stay with something as long as it works. DP 7.24 and snow leopard was working great on my older unit, but it died forcing me to move on from my place of comfort. I just want to get to the best place at this time. What OS system in your opinion works the best for you ( and any others reading this?)

I am on a 2009 8 core 2.93 Ghz/ 22 RAM Nahalem unit now. I want to be able to take advantage of its full capability with the 64 bit architecture. I just hope I can get all my plugs updated as well.

It looks like all my slate plugs VTM, console, etc, are looking good as well as my Waves and Stillwell plugs. Ive not really had the time to check all my others yet. I will upgrade to DP8 tonight.

Is there an advantage with the 800 FW cable ports vs the 400? I mean is it noticeable?

[mikehalloran]

Is there an advantage with the 800 FW cable ports vs the 400? I mean is it noticeable?

MOTU FW interfaces run at 400, even the ones with the later 800 style ports.

I have noticed no difference in DP performance from OS 10.9.2 through 10.10.2.

Digital Performer is not the only application I run. Other apps I run work much better in Yosemite than ever.