MOTU 896 via Firewire 800?
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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
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darrell
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Sun May 07, 2006 1:49 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Bay Area, California
MOTU 896 via Firewire 800?
Hi all. I just bought an Early 2009 Mac Tower. It has Firewire 800 inputs and no FW400 inputs. My MOTU interface (896) is FW400 out. I bought an adapter cable with FW400 on one end and FW800 on the other, but the Mac (Audio/MIDI Setup & MOTU Audio Setup) doesn't see it. Did I screw myself? (Colloquially speaking, of course)
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HCMarkus
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Re: MOTU 896 via Firewire 800?
Assuming you plugged the cable into your computer and the 896, you did the physical connection correctly. Have you installed the most current MOTU drivers for your interface?darrell wrote:Hi all. I just bought an Early 2009 Mac Tower. It has Firewire 800 inputs and no FW400 inputs. My MOTU interface (896) is FW400 out. I bought an adapter cable with FW400 on one end and FW800 on the other, but the Mac (Audio/MIDI Setup & MOTU Audio Setup) doesn't see it. Did I screw myself? (Colloquially speaking, of course)
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mikehalloran
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Re: MOTU 896 via Firewire 800?
What HCM says.
Your 896 connects at FW400. MOTU changed the connector when Apple went to FW800 but not the bus protocol. It eliminates an adapter on later Macs and requires one for earlier. There is nothing else to this.
Possible FW issues on any Mac is that the ports can collapse. Mine did whenever I used a FW hub on both my iMac and G5—I tested a hub on my G4 and got the same result when I plugged my 828mkII into it. Reset the NV RAM (PRAM on a PPC) to restore crashed ports.
An old NV RAM memory battery can cause the ports not to load on startup. It can also affect PCIe and USB busses. Most Intel Macs take the common CR2032 battery that you can get in any drug store including the MP tower. If you don't remember having ever replaced it, it's time—the towers seem to need it after 5 years or so. The original one will say BR2032—the CR2032 is fine.
Your 896 connects at FW400. MOTU changed the connector when Apple went to FW800 but not the bus protocol. It eliminates an adapter on later Macs and requires one for earlier. There is nothing else to this.
Possible FW issues on any Mac is that the ports can collapse. Mine did whenever I used a FW hub on both my iMac and G5—I tested a hub on my G4 and got the same result when I plugged my 828mkII into it. Reset the NV RAM (PRAM on a PPC) to restore crashed ports.
An old NV RAM memory battery can cause the ports not to load on startup. It can also affect PCIe and USB busses. Most Intel Macs take the common CR2032 battery that you can get in any drug store including the MP tower. If you don't remember having ever replaced it, it's time—the towers seem to need it after 5 years or so. The original one will say BR2032—the CR2032 is fine.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4.1, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
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darrell
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Sun May 07, 2006 1:49 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Bay Area, California
Re: MOTU 896 via Firewire 800?
That might have been what happened, Mike. I just kept troubleshooting and finally things came back. FW ports on the Mac did work. I tested everything with an external drive I had sitting around and all signals passed through except from the 896. If it happens again, I will go with your recommendations.
Thanks, guys!
Thanks, guys!