[ksuther]

I've been having problems with the system mounting FireWire hard drives or recognizing my CD burner. When I first boot up the System Profiler says "No information found." under FireWire, but if I put the system to sleep and wake it up again it will show the FireWire bus, but not show any devices I plug in. Sometimes I can get lucky and it will actually mount something, but that's rare.

I've tried reinstalling and updating everything again, but that didn't seem to help anything.

Anybody have any suggestions or is this *another* hardware problem?

(I put this in the OS X forum because I'm hoping it is a system problem, not hardware, as it does work sometimes...)

[Macola]

What type of Mac? I had a lot of Firewire problems on my TiBook 400, but that was a while ago...

[ksuther]

Er, TiBook 667 RevB. That'd be nice to know wouldn't it?

[Macola]

If you have the hardware test CD, try running that. Have you tried using the same drives on another Mac?

[ksuther]

Hardware test checks out fine, and it says devices are plugged in there. Both the burner and HD work fine, it's a matter of it being flakey on my TiBook. I think I'm going to try reinstalling and if that doesn't help, I'll call Apple *again*.

[suthercd]

Start with the simplest checks. Try another cable, connections, etc. If you're use is typical (or like mine at least) see if there is a chance the connection/slot for the Firewire cable may be the culprit. Could there be some software/utilities from a third party that are causing this? Uninstall or remove items from startup folders /login preferences. If System Profiler consistently reports the device(s) on the Bus then that raises the likelyhood of a software conflict/problem.

If you re-install, don't forget the invisible file/folders in your home directory as well as any files you have installed into /usr/local.

Good luck.

C-

[graveguy]

I've got the same problem on my G4 733 B&W tower...absolutely no firewire recognition (system profiler says 'No Information Found'). I guess this is a somewhat common error that was introduced with Panther. I found some stuff dealing with it at MacOsXHints.com and even found an Apple Tech article. Most sites recommended turning the machine off, leaving it off for some period of time, resetting the power management unit and/or PRAM, etc...none of these worked for me and my onboard firewire continues to be totally dead (no iPod sync, no iSight in iChat, etc. (all Apple hard/software, by the way)). From what I've read, throwing in a third party FireWire card won't fix the issue either, but I haven't tried...does anyone have any advice on this topic?

I have been a long time fan/supporter/stockholder of Apple and, to be honest, this one problem isn't going to change that, but it bothers me that it is somewhat widespread and acknowledged and they have yet to address it...

[EnVoy]

This works for me when my machine doesn't reconise my firewire vid cam. Shut down the machine, unplug ALL wires on the back of the machine. USB, monitor, firewire, speakers, power cables, everything. Let the machine sit like this for at least 10 minutes. Hook back up all the cables, and start-up the machine.

[Dr. Smoke]

Here's some general advice on troubleshooting problems with FireWire devices failing to mount or be recognized.

1. First, I recommend you review the AppleCare Knowledge Base document What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire device.

2. If this problem occurred after installing a recent Mac OS X 10.3.x Update, and you are also unable to mount CDs, DVDs, or disk images perform the steps in this Mac OS X Hints article.

3. The following additional steps will often help resolve problems with FireWire devices, particularly hard drives:

a. Power-on the FireWire drive before starting up (booting) your Mac.

b. Reset PRAM and NVRAM

c. Reset the PMU: Select the appropriate knowledge base item for your model of Mac from this KB search. Or, Search the knowledge base using the keyword PMU and your Mac Model, such as:

- PMU Power Mac : resetting the PMU in a PowerMac (G3/G4)
- PMU powerbook : search for information on resetting the PMU in an PowerBook.

Follow the instructions on resetting the PMU carefully!

d. James Wiebe, CEO of WiebeTech, has published FireWire Port Failures in Host Computers and Peripheral Devices, a white paper providing backgroud information and technical analysis concerning the causes of failure for FireWire ports. This may provide additional diagnostic information.

Note that some of the information above is from the FireWire Problems chapter of my book, Troubleshooting Mac® OS X, Second Edition.

[ksuther]

Well I've tried all of the suggestions, I still can't get either of my devices to work, and I really need them. I'm going to try archive and installing 10.3 to see if that helps, but past that I guess I'll call up Apple, since my warranty will be running out in two weeks anyways

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

[suthercd]

Yeah, archive and install sounds llike th next step. Let us know how it works out..

C-

[graveguy]

First of all, thank you Dr. Smoke!!! If only every question posted would get such a succinct, well-researched and fully-linked response...very thorough and helpful...So thanks for that...keep it up!

Unfortunately, I have exhausted all of your recommendations as well as those I found at the sites you posted...I've reset the PRAM, NVRAM, PMU...removed the battery, let it sit idle for hours, etc...nothing seems to bring back the FireWire interface (my camera and drive work just fine on my PowerBook with the same cables)...I'm afraid the 'archive and install' option won't even help ksuther because I think the problem is hardware related (or, more specifically, I think it is a hardware issue brought on my a software issue...this is a known problem with Panther and Apple has acknowledged that even installing a third party card probably won't fix the issue)...

So...where does that leave us? Unfortunately, it leaves us without FireWire and with no solution...please, if anyone finds a fix for this, post it...and, ksuther, please post your results with your 'archive and install' (a very Windows answer, unfortunately)...

[ksuther]

Well, I had archived and installed once before, that didn't do a thing. I'm going to try again this weekend though. I did manage to get both my CD burner and HD working long enough to use them for a few minutes, but after a while they just stop responding and the System Profiler hangs along with any part of the system that was using the drive.

This is really frustrating