Please help me use Firewire

M

maddnotez

New member
I just bought a TC Impact Twin interface. I did not know it was FireWire only, I thought it had both USB and FireWire. My computer is USB only so now I feel like an idiot and cant use my interface.

My computer is a Lenovo 3000H series, obviously im not using high end gear just yet but my question is how can I make this work?

I just ordered a $10 made in china IEEE 1934 PCI card with TI chip set. (the super low price vs. the average $40 card is kinda scary)

But anyway im just curious to know in advance is this going to work?

Can I just plug in the PCI card to ANY computer, (universal)?

Also, will I have to remove one of my cd drives or something to make it fit?

side note: I cant recall any open area on the computers cover so I will probably have to leave the cover off or cut some slots in it?


What do you guys think?
 
Hey.
Don't cut anything.

Pretty much every desktop PC is designed to be opened and upgraded.

More often than not the sides and top of the box are one piece of metal, secured by a number of screws on the rear.
Sometimes they are designed so that one side panel comes away. Again, it's secured by screws at the rear.

Either way, you open the box and you should be able to see an assortment of available slots.
PCIE can be all shapes, sizes and colours. AGP is almost always brown.

Standard PCI (what you want) is almost always cream/white.

The one in the middle here is PCI.
sata-pci-express-pci-card.jpg

If your card doesn't fit like a glove, don't force it; You're in the wrong slot.

Desktop computers usually have metal slots at the rear, towards the bottom.
Each of these slots has a screw for removal. This is usually internal.

Remove the slot that corresponds with your PCI slot, then fit the PCI card.
 
Cool thanks...My brother in law said hes gonna email me some guide.

Can anyone chime in on thoughts of using the $10 PCI card vs. a $40 card?

The one I ordered was made in china, looked like all the same specs as some of the more expensive cards.

Worried it might be junk.
 
I don't think you need to worry. As long as the chip type is compatible with your equipment, you should be good to go.
Some interfaces can be picky.

When I had my desktop PC I just used a cheap chinese FW card too.

Here's a guide. Although it is for PCIE graphics, it's the same procedure.
 
What Steenamaroo said. And . . .

Some PCIe slots have a little latch on the motherboard at the back end of slot (the side farthest from the back panel). Once you place the card, make sure this little latch is in the open position; it will snap into place when you push the card into the slot.

I don't know about your Lenovo, but some cases have snap-out slot covers on the back panel, rather than a screw that must be taken out. Either way, it should be pretty obvious how to open up a slot once you look at the back panel.

Don't forget to use the little screw (usually provided with cards) to secure the card once you've mounted it in the correct slot.

Also, make sure you don't accidentally try to plug a USB cable into the 1394/Firewire jack on the card. I'd also recommend not "hot plugging" a your interface. Many a 1394/Firewire jack has been fried doing just that.

Final word of advice: EITHER ground yourself, either with a wrist strap or by touching the chassis of the computer immediately before picking up the card and installing it OR make sure that you don't do installation on a very dry day or in a room with wall-to-wall carpeting, etc. Static discharge (what you experience when you shuffle across a carpet and then touch a door knob) can destroy the card AND your computer.

I'm sure there are plenty of videos on YouTube that show how to install a card in a desktop. If you're particularly leery about doing this, ask a computer-nerd friend to do it AND watch him/her so that you can do it the next time. Adding a card to a desktop is the simplest self-upgrade/self-maintenance task there is; just follow the procedures outlined in these posts and you'll be fine.
 
maddnotez said:
Cool thanks...My brother in law said hes gonna email me some guide.

Can anyone chime in on thoughts of using the $10 PCI card vs. a $40 card?

The one I ordered was made in china, looked like all the same specs as some of the more expensive cards.

Worried it might be junk.
Click to expand...

Firewire cards are commodity items and either work or don't work. Chinese cards used to have a problem with quality control. This is far less of a problem now. Moreover, many of the $40 cards are made in China (or India or Malaysia) and are identical to the $10 ones, but for the labeling on the box. The primary difference between a cheap card and a true "premium" card is the quality of the capacitors. After 5 or 10 years, cheaper capacitors can begin to leak and lose their ability to "capacitate" (capacitors are stored-charge devices -- when they get too old, they'll no longer store a charge). However, you're probably going to have a new computer long before the capacitors get so old that they're at the point where the card will no longer function.
 
Many thanks guys, you have been extremely helpful.

I did get a how to video from a friend...



I am assuming I can install the card when the power is off to avoid frying anything?

Final question if I may...

The card I bought comes with a few cables too but can you list a specific cable I will need?

I know horribly noobish question, but is a fw cable simply a fw cable? Or should I call TC electronics and ask them what specific cable I will need?
 
Hey again,
Yes, DEFINITELY make sure the computer is off.
For safety, shutdown the computer, unplug the mains cable, then hit the on/off button just to drain any stored power that there might be.

For installing the card itself, no cables are necessary.
It's literally unscrew the little panel, push fit the card, then put the same screw back in the same hole to hold your card in place.
The metal read panel of your card takes the place of the blank in the back of the computer, see?

As far as FW cables, quality doesn't matter.
You get different connector types. FW800/400 etc, but other than that it's just a cable.
It should work fine as long as it fits the hole. ;)
 
ah ok, I was refering to what ptravel was saying about the static charge frying the chip.

I read it wrong, now I see that is in addition to making sure the computer is off lol....

Thanks again for all the info...Cant wait till this card gets here!!!
 
maddnotez said:
ah ok, I was refering to what ptravel was saying about the static charge frying the chip.
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, ok.
Even with a computer off you can build up static and it can be enough to damage sensitive components.

I've never seen it happen, but it is certainly a real concern.
 
Dissenting opinion: almost all audio gear has to have a FW interface that uses a Texas Instruments chip set, unlikely in cheap Chinese gear.

By all means try it--it should either work or not. But if it doesn't work chances are it's the chip set.
 
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