Firepod and Mac HELP!

A

analogdrone

New member
So I have spent many hours looking for an answer and haven't found any, so here I am.

I have a mac running lion and a used firepod that will not sync with any mac I have tried. I have tried with an FP10 (the one that says that on the device) and 2 different firewire cables (800-400). I have tried on macs running snow leopard, mountain lion, and a different one from mine running lion, and even windonws to no avail. Has anyone had any similar issues or any advice? I called apple care incase it was my firewire port and I don't believe that is the issue since it does not work with any other mac either. I tried plugging it in with a 4 pin to 6 pin to my roommates PC and it synced so I am not sure whats going on here. I have exhausted all options to try and narrow down the problem and it seems to be solely a Mac problem. I bought this item used (in fact the FP10 used which i returned thinking it was busted) so I can't get support from presonus.

Help!

and telling me to get a PC isn't what im looking for!
 
Hey man, just a couple of things. When you say "won't sync" do you mean that the mac won't see the firepod on available inputs in whatever DAW you're using or something else?

The presonus website does say that both the firepod and FP10 aren't supported under OSX 10.8 (mountain lion) so that may be the issue with your machine, but wouldn't explain why it didn't work with Snow Leopard. Without trying to sound patronising, have you downloaded the most up-to-date driver from here rather than used the installers on the disc? In theory, depending on what generation of mac you have, you'd either need a Firewire 400 (the presonus end) to either Firewire 400 or firewire 800 (mac end, depending on what's available)

What version of Windows is your mates PC running? What DAW are you using? what Mac specifically have you got?

Sorry for more questions, but it may just help narrow down the issue :)
 
By "won't sync" I mean the light is red and the computer does not recognize it. When I go under system report there is nothing under the firewire tab. I am using Logic Express and it also does not recognize there is a device for input or output. My mac is a late 2011 running Lion 10.7.5. I have downloaded the firepod control. The control also says that there is no device when it is connected, red light on. I have 2 firewire 400 to 800 cables (For only $3.84 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 9 PIN/ 6PIN BILINGUAL FireWire 800 - FireWire 400 Cable, 6FT, Black). I have also tried both firewire jacks on the firepod.

Thanks for helping me clear that info up.

I feel like there has to be something super simple that I am overlooking so excuse my ignorance if that is the case.
 
Ah, gotcha. Tbh, i'd wait for steenamaroo or someone to step in with advice but i'd've expected something to show up in the firewire tab in the system report even if nothing else could see it (i.e logic or system preferences) so it may not be ignorance at all, simply one of those utterly annoying "it's not compatible" situations :( Did the downloaded driver have "Universal Control" as part of the install or is it just the driver? Also, a quick google shows that you're certainly not alone with your issues, there seems to be a plethora of people with identical problems, but from my quick google i didn't see a solution.

As i said, hopefully steen or someone will jump in but i've got a feeling it's either driver related or something in the newer macs.
 
FIREPOD hardware is just a BeBoB FireWire chip. It should work out-of-the-box with the built-in drivers in OS X, though Presonus's software for adjusting settings apparently don't work in Mountain Lion. It should show up and function, though, even if you can't change some of the settings.

Does the device show up in System Profiler? Audio MIDI Setup?

Have you tried plugging in adapters to adapt from 6 pins down to 4 and back? It could be that Presonus made the same hardware design mistakes in the FP10 that they made in the FireBox, in which case you might be hitting the self-resetting (inrush-limiting) fuses on your Mac.
 
The device does not show up in system profiler or audio midi setup. I have not tried an adapter cable. But how would a cable with an adapter be any different from a cable with 800 on one end and 400 on the other?
 
Update: When the device is on with the red light, i moved the power supply in the back a little and the light became blue and remains blue. When I open system profiler it now says Warning: Unable to list firewire devices. Also audio midi setup does not recognize it. Tried this on a mac running 10.8 and it receives the same warning.
 
analogdrone said:
Update: When the device is on with the red light, i moved the power supply in the back a little and the light became blue and remains blue. When I open system profiler it now says Warning: Unable to list firewire devices. Also audio midi setup does not recognize it. Tried this on a mac running 10.8 and it receives the same warning.
Click to expand...

IIRC, that probably indicates that the port was shut down because of a serious hardware fault (dead short from power to either ground or to one of the signal pins) in the Presonus interface or your FireWire cable. It might also be displayed in the case of the device drawing too much inrush current. Not sure.

I would try shutting the computer down for a few minutes, then do a power management reset, and when you reconnect it, use a different cable, and use the other port on the FP10. Be sure to turn the Presonus on before you plug it in to the computer (or while the computer is completely turned off—not in sleep mode; the FireWire port is still hot in sleep mode on most Macs).

If that doesn't work, my money is on Presonus violating the FireWire spec again (and, specifically, the inrush current portion). Like I said, try adapting down to 4 pins and back up to 6 or 9.
 
I have tried a power management reset and PRAM reset. I have ordered a firewire adapter for 6 pin to 4 pin because it came with that cable. The guy i got it used from confirmed it works just fine on his PC. Would an inrush current problem be solved with a new power adapter/firewire cable or would I need to get this repaired?
I just am really perplexed because I had a FP10 which had the same issue in which I returned for a Firepod because I thought it was broken. I know they are the same thing but the previous one had FP10 on the device and this one has Firepod on the device. Is it possible this is a computer or firewire cable problem? Until I receive the adapter I won't have any way to test, but if someone has something to add in I would greatly appreciate it. I would hate to have to sell it to get another device.
 
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analogdrone said:
Update: When the device is on with the red light, i moved the power supply in the back a little and the light became blue and remains blue. When I open system profiler it now says Warning: Unable to list firewire devices. Also audio midi setup does not recognize it. Tried this on a mac running 10.8 and it receives the same warning.
Click to expand...

There's gota be some kind of physical fault then, right? Whether due to a cable or the unit itself.
Something's maybe grounding or shorting where it shouldn't be.

If it was mine I'd want to know exactly what's wrong before I do anything else, although,

If you can get a consistent blue light don't move anything and do a full shutdown and restart of the mac and the presonus.
If it's recognised on reboot, get all your cables checked/replace and take it from there.

FYI, as far as I know any FW device should show up in system profiler without drivers, but not necessarily by name.
It might say "Vendor 0x1F2 Device 0x106800" or whatever, but usually if the correct drivers are installed it'll acknowledge it by name and show it in audio/midi setup.

If system profiler shows no device at all or fails to report firewire info, I think there's a hardware issue somewhere.
 
Steenamaroo said:
There's gota be some kind of physical fault then, right? Whether due to a cable or the unit itself.
Something's maybe grounding or shorting where it shouldn't be.

If it was mine I'd want to know exactly what's wrong before I do anything else, although,
Click to expand...

The weird part is it is recognized on my roommates PC, and the guy I got it from said he was using it on a PC with no faults right up until I bought it. As far as troubleshooting for exactly what's wrong, how can I try and pinpoint this? I have now tried a 3rd brand new firewire cables and still nothing. I can't toggle the power switch to get a steady blue any more either. I am unfamiliar with electronics to any degree other than extreme basics, so if I were to open it up, what faults would I want to look for in the device?
 
Admittedly it is a strange one, but I wouldn't go opening it up just on the basis that it's known to work on another computer.

These are exactly the kinds of symptoms I'd expect if you didn't have the correct drivers/software installed but it should still show up as an unknown device in system profiler.
That's the only bit that makes this strange.

My firestudio mobile faffed about and gave me red light syndrome until I reinstalled the driver package.
It was needlessly awkward, but sys.prof. did list the device throughout the whole process.
 
UPDATE: just installed drivers on a friends windows computer, did not recognize the device at all. Light stayed red after testing both ports and following all install instructions.


So I suppose I'm looking at hardware failure huh?
 
The light was blue and this is before I knew about the "jiggle the power supply" to get it blue so I am assuming that is what happened. Apparently he didn't actually see it recognized as a firewire device just told me it was syncing due to the blue light.
 
analogdrone said:
The light was blue and this is before I knew about the "jiggle the power supply" to get it blue so I am assuming that is what happened. Apparently he didn't actually see it recognized as a firewire device just told me it was syncing due to the blue light.
Click to expand...

Ok. Is it definitely the correct power supply and is it definitely working?
 
Definately a Presonus ITE power supply. I have not seen it working other than power on. The guy I got it from swears it works.
 
dgatwood said:
If that doesn't work, my money is on Presonus violating the FireWire spec again (and, specifically, the inrush current portion). Like I said, try adapting down to 4 pins and back up to 6 or 9.
Click to expand...

Go with this and see what happens.
It all seems to tie in the power drain/surge idea.
Once the mac shut off your FW ports, all of a sudden you can get a blue light on the Firepod.

I don't know much about dgatwood's advice, but I'd definitely give it a shot. :)
 
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