[mattmarshall]

hey guys....

i got my new Maxtor firewire 80 gig external drive this weekend. I also upgraded my Pismo 400 powerbook to 9.04, and then did the latest firmware update--2.7.

BUT, i have one small problem.
if i turn the drive on first, and then start my computer, everything works fine--the partitions on the drive automatically load up, and all is good.

however, if my computer is on, andthen i start up the drive, it does not mount. and, when i use maxtor's software to try and mount them, i get this message:

"no supported device found! please put the firewire driver in your system folder and restart"

so, the only way i can get the drive to mount is to restart.

this is my first external drive, but i should be able to mount it even if my machine is on first, right? otherwise, it just seems silly. but maybe i'm wrong--should i expect to have to do a restart in this situation? is it unreasonable to expect the drive to mount, even if it is started second?

if any of you know a way to fix this, i'm open to suggestions......thanks!

-matt

p.s. oh yeah--i got the drive at J&R computer world in manhattan......that place has like this awesome little mac universe. they have really comfortable chairs for you to sit at the computers and use them--it's really great.....

[Bugs Bunny]

What version FireWire drivers are you using. Is it 2.5?

[mattmarshall]

actually, tehre was a 2.7 update especially for powerbooks.

so, i am running 2.7. should i try downgrading to 2.5? is that possible?

[Bugs Bunny]

The Firmware update is ver. 2.7. The Firewire update is ver. 2.5. Go to your extension manager, and see what ver Firewire drivers you are using. I have a VST external Firewire hard drive, and it mounts when ever you plug it in. I am also using a Pismo.

[mattmarshall]

good call, Bugs....

i was only ate 2.3.3 firewire or something. i had always thought "firmware" was the software for firwire. guess not.

so, i am now updated to 2.5. BUT, no dice.....

it does mount automatically if i unplug/plug in thr firewire cable. but, if i have the drive off, but the computer on, and then turn on the drive, it still will not mount. i get the same message as before.

my question is, in an ideal firewire world, shouldn't it mount? it's a small inconvenience to have to restart or unplug/re-plug. it was just my understanding that this shouldn't be necessary.

i leave my computer on all day, but figured every once in a while i wuld give the drive a rest. i guess i could just leave it on, too.....

[Bugs Bunny]

Does your Firewire drive get its power from the Pismo? Or are you using an extenal power supply? The VST Firewire drive I am using gets its power directly from the Pismo. So when I plug the drive into the Powerbook it mounts immediately. You might want to reset the Pismo's Power manager and see if that helps. I was also having problems trying to get the Pismo to recognize the VST, and a combination of the Firmware update, and resetting the Power Manager seems to have solved my problem. Also, does the Maxtor sotware installl any firewire drivers? You might want to contact them and see if there is any problems with their software and the Firewire drivers installed by Apple.

Now that you've got that straightened out, how about posting a bit of feedback on your feelings about the Maxtor -- would you consider it to be a good drive? Is it noisy? How's the copy speed?

I ask because I currently have two Firewire externals off of my Cube -- both APS, one a 12x CD-RW and the other a 30 gig APS HD. I'm fine with the CD-RW but cannot get the APS HD to work properly (could be a software issue; trying to arrange a repair or return now).

I'm thinking of ditching both in favor of a Que! Firewire 12x CD-RW and the Maxtor 80 Gig external HD (in fact, I think I have a tidy sum of credit at J&R online). WOuld

[mattmarshall]

first, in response to Bugs....
I don't get the problem when I do what you do--plug it in when it's running. that works for me. the problem is when i have my computer already on, and the drive already plugged in, and THEN turn on the drive. that's with the latest firewire software, too....it has its own power source, too. maybe you shouldn't be able to do this? i really have no idea. i guess i'll just have to deal with it....

in response to ralphintosh--i'm sorry, but I really am not in position to assess the quality of the drive. my gut reaction is to say "this thing is awesome!"--and that's what I think, but you should know that my opinion on the matter is rather worthless.

I have never owned any firewire peripherals before, or even ANY external drive, so I don't evern have a frame of reference. this is my first computer, first mac, and now first external drive. asking me if this drive is good is like asking somone who just got laid for the first time if the girl was good in bed. who knows?

i can, however, give you fairly objective information about the drive. first of all, it was very easy to setup--i had it formatted and split up into the partitions I wanted, and was copying files to it within about 10 minutes of unpacking it.

there is software from maxtor to install, and it's all really easy and intuitive.

as for speed, I am incredibly impressed. right now, if i run the "benchmark" that is in the maxtor software, i get anywhere from 16 to 18 megs a second, which to me is amazing. before i updated my firewire software, it was anywhere from 8-12, so needless to say, grab version 2.5 of the firewire software from apple.com.....

to me, 18 megs a second is really sweet. again, that's on maxtor's benchmark program.

ok--i just stopped typing this, and did a very unofficial test. i used soundjam as my stopwatch, and copied a 380.4 megabyte file--a compressed disk image--from firewire drive to my internal harddrive, and from my internal hard drive to the external, and then from an external partition to an external partition.

here's the results:
external to internal: 64 seconds, which is 5.94 megabytes a second.

internal to firewire drive:
76 seconds, or 5.005 megs a second.

external partition to external partition:
74 seconds, or 5.14 megs a second.

so ,i guess those would be "real world" results.....

kind of puts a damper on the fact that the bench mark claims 18 megs a second, but whatever.

oh, and so you know, i am running a pismo 400, with 192 megs of ram. VM off.

i wish i could give you some information about using the drive with a digital video camera, but the camera purchase has to wait until christmas

well, i guess that's my mini report on the drive. if you guys know of any better, more official tests to run, i will gladly be your lab rat......

[mattmarshall]

oh yeah--since i'm using it with a mac, maybe i should say something about the appearance?

this thing just looks sooooo sweet. it's kind of see-through, so you can see the maxtor drive inside. it's dope looking.
oh, and is 5 megs a second adequate for capturing video? i had heard video was 3.9 megs a second, is that right?

what speeds do other drives get on such tests?

Based on discussions here, I bought the Maxtor. Got it in from J&R Friday, and it works <b>great!</b>. Worlds better than the APS drive I had just gotten a few weeks ago.