Digi 003+R, No Firewire light

R

raximus

New member
I have a digi 003+R, its brand new out the box, i've plugged it into my brand new Intel Imac (definitely Compatible according to digidesign website) via the appropriate firewire card.

I've undergone the installation, but as protools starts up, it says, unable to locate digidesign hardware. Make sure your hardware is connected and turned on. Click ok when hardware is ready.

I've tried turning off Airport, Bluetooth and Firewire networking.

I've updated my OS. I tried resetting the PRAM. Still no firewire.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

James
 
First, make sure that your firewire port and/or cable works with another device such as a hard drive. If you don't have any problems there, then make sure the 003 is plugged into a power outlet and turned on before you connect the firewire cable. If PT still can't find the hardware then you may have a faulty 003. :(

PS, what is the "appropriate firewire card" that you are using? I'm assuming it's not an internal one on the Mac, right?

Oh yeah, after you try the steps above (if that doesn't work) you may also want to trash the prefs (DAE prefs, PT prefs, etc...)
 
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IT can't be a fault 003 as I have tried it on my PC and the firewire link comes on.

I found this on the digidesign website.

Configuring Newer Mac Models with FireWire 800 Ports

MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini FW800 Models
The FireWire 800 ports on these computers are backwards compatible* with FireWire 400 devices, but require one of the following configuration options:
1) FW800 port —> FW800 Drive (912 or 924 chipset) —> Out FW400 port on Drive —> Pro Tools LE FireWire audio interface

2) FW800 port —> FW800 to FW400 converter cable —> FW400 Drive (911 chipset) —> Multiple FW400 Drives (911 chipset) as needed for maximum track count —> Pro Tools LE FireWire audio interface

(http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100&navid=54&itemid=36933)

Does that mean that I have to buy a harddrive?
 
I already have one of those cables. According to what i posted above though, you need a hard drive for it to work because the harddrive makes it backwards compatible.

Can you verify this?
 
"Western Digital" My Book – Home 3.5” 750GB USB2.0 / eSATA 3Gbps / Firewire400 (Black)

Are you running out of hard drive capacity? Do you need to archive some important digital documents, photos, or music? This elegant external hard drive, reminiscent of a book, is the perfect solution. It takes no more space than a paperback book. Collect two or more and they nest neatly together like volumes on a shelf. Gain instant storage. Small, simple, elegant, and very easy to use. Just plug it in, and you've got plenty of room to back up and save your valuable data, music, photos and movies.
Manufacture Link:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=356
Specifications:
Features:

Flexible triple interface - eSATA 3 Gb/s, USB 2.0, FireWire 400 (A high-performance interface that's perfect for Macintosh® computers)
Capacity gauge - See at a glance how much space is available on your drive (Works with the USB and FireWire connection only)
Smart and energy efficient - Turns itself on and off with your computer and Safe Shutdown™ prevents the drive from being powered down until all your data has been written. (Works with the USB and FireWire connection only)
Easy to set up, easy to use - Installation is a snap because you don't really install this drive, you just plug it in and it's ready to use.
USB 2.0 interface - A simple connection that offers convenience and compatibility among multiple computers.
Fits right in - Takes no more space than a paperback book. Collect two or more and they nest neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
Smart and energy efficient - Turns itself on and off with your computer.
PC and Mac compatible - Works with both Windows® 2000/XP/Vista and Mac® OS X 10.4.8 or later

Specifications:

Serial Bus Transfer Rate: (eSATA) 3 Gb/s (Max), (USB 2.0) 480 Mb/s (Max), (FireWire 400) 400 Mb/s (Max)
Capacity: 750GB
Interface: eSATA, USB 2.0, FireWire400
Dimensions: Height 166 mm, Length 137 mm, Width 54 mm
Weight: 1.15 kg
Operating Temperature: 5° C to 35° C
Non-operatingTemperature: -20° C to 65° C
AC Input Voltage: 100-240 VAC
AC Input Frequency: 47-63 Hz

System Requirements:
Available USB, FireWire, or eSATA port
Windows® 2000/XP/Vista®
Mac® OS X 10.4.8 or later

Package Includes:
External hard drive
USB cable
FireWire cable
AC adapter
Quick Install Guide






------- Will this suffice?
 
NO!!! Don't do it!

WD My Books are crap! They are fine for storage and backups, but not for audio recording. I bought one years ago just for backups because they are super cheap. They are considerably slower at transfering files than any other drives I have (firewire or USB 2.) Also, sometimes they don't even mount when plugged in.

Like I said, go with a Lacie or Fantom. Unfortunately they are usually more expensive but they are guaranteed to work. Something like this...

http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11156
 
I live in NZ, those are hard to get hold of. Can you suggest some others?

I want to go and buy one today!
 
What local stores do you have available? If you have an Apple dealer nearby you could certainly find one there.
 
Have you tried reinstalling pro tools and plugging the 003 at the middle stages of installation when it tells you "make sure hardware is connected". I know when I installed the 002r I had to install pro tools first, and when it ask me to make sure 002 is connected than that's when I plugged in the fire wire for the very first time to my comp! I would try that first before you get all crazy with Hard Drives, IMO and correct me if I'm wrong, I don't see your hard drive being a problem why your fire wire light is not coming on!:eek: or being recognize by the comp.
 
I bought a harddrive, now it works like a dream. Only problem is, that if i havent used the computer for about a minute, then i go to hit record, the spinning mac wheel comes up for about 7 seconds while the drive spools up, so you have to wait. Is this normal? Its a Maxtor One Touch 4 Plus. Its setup Imac>Drive>003

I hope the drive is good enough, i dont think ill be able to get my money back.

I was using it all day and it was working fine besides the lag just mentioned apart from tonight a message came up while i was playing saying that the drive was having a problem accessing or that it was too slow or something like that? I clicked ok and it worked fine again.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks
 
You need to go into "System Preferences" then "Energy Saver" and uncheck the box which says "Put Hard Drives to Sleep When Possible".

It's also a good idea to set the two sliders on this page to maximum. They refer to "Put Computer to Sleep" and "Put Displays to Sleep".

HTH
 
I bought a cheap external firewire case and put a hard drive into it, I have never had a problem with recording to it, 12 simultanious tracks at once, no issues.
 
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