[Simon Young]

I followed the problems surrounding Panther and loss of data on FireWire drives for some time when it was first discovered. I've now been holding off buying Panther for quite some time, as I am a FireWire user myself. I've tried doing searches for any recent information on the issue, but with inconclusive results. My question is simple: is it safe to buy and install Panther, and is there anything further I should know about?

I have a Rev A 17" PowerBook, and am running an 80GB LaCie FIreWire 400 drive with it for editing work. Also, are there any conflicts between Final Cut Pro 4 and Panther that I should know about?

[Ratm]

Yup, haven't read or heard any issues with 10.3.2 . But you should check the manufactures website to see if there's been an update.

[Big Mac]

Yeah, Ratm is correct, ensure that the hard drive drivers are updated. Third party providers are still warning customers to update their drivers, AFAIK, because it sounds like 10.3.2 alone doesn't totally address the bug. As long as your drivers are current, then you shouldn't have a problem.

[Simon Young]

Cheers for the replies...how about iPod compatability?

[ntsc]

Panther only ever had problems with Firewire800 not Firewire 400 so unless your devices comply with the new standard then there is nothing to worry about.

The differenece is that there if there is a different plug on the device in question to say the one an iPod plugs in to then check since this will be a firewire800 port.

[Simon Young]

Do you mean that it is only a problem if I plug my iPod or LaCie drive into the FireWire 800 port? Fortunately I only use FireWire 400 ports, and I've upgraded my LaCie drive to the latest firmware now.

However, I've heard on numerous occasions that FireWire 400 drives have been affected as well?

[Developer]

Originally posted by Simon Young:
However, I've heard on numerous occasions that FireWire 400 drives have been affected as well?

That was paranoia.

[bbales]

I'm pretty sure that I read that there were FW400 incidents as well (check macfixit.com.)

That said, I was pretty nervous about upgrading to Panther for that very reason. I upgraded (everything unplugged) and then added things when needed.

I've had to restart at least once (after new Safari) and have had no troubles at all.

[hudson1]

No problem here, either, with a portable FW 400 drive (Oxford 911 chip, I think). As already noted, just be sure to unplug the FW drive before you upgrade.

[posthumanus]

see here:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...26#post1804426

i took my LaCie drive back to the shop and they hit it with everything they had: nothing wrong

get it home and the stoopid thing still won't mount properly

and it's not my FW ports 'cause i've had cameras working fine through 'em

the problem might be with the way Finder reads/views/displays mounted images on the desktop in 10.3.2

my �vault� ext.HD shat itself again so i had to pull the plug

next thing i�m double-clicking a �TinkerTool.dmg� and it opens a Finder window/folder named �vault�

next i try opening the LaCieUpdateTool.111.dmg

it too came up as �vault�

i don't have any answers

[Sam Venning]

I'm one who lost *heap* of work on my Firewire 800 drive when I installed Mac OS 10.3. I'm *really* pissed-off with Apple! Make sure the firmware on the Firewire 800 drive is up-to-date. Apple *really* &*(*#$ this one! I'm still really angry!

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Developer:
That was paranoia.

Wrong.

My friend lost access to ALL his FireWire drives from his iBook G4 (System Profiler saw them, but even Disk Utility couldn't touch them).

Fortunately (and confusingly), a re-install of Panther fixed that.

There WAS a definite problem with FireWire 400 as well.

-s*

[Big Mac]

Here's an important update: If you own a less than current machine, copy operations with Firewire drives cause your machine's mouse pointer to behave erratically. Check out the "10.3.3 Seed Pulled" thread for more information.

[posthumanus]

that "10.3.3 seed pulled" search links straight back to here?

meanwhile, i�ve managed to keep my FW400 mounted long enough to wipe it and start anew

then i noticed an �Ejectable: No� listing when doing the �disk utility: info� thing

(tried it 3 times: same result)

so i change tactics and instead of trying to eject via the Finder or menu, i try dragging my ext.HD icon from desktop to trash

guess what? it works every time!

haven�t a �disk device was improperly put away� message since!

it mounts, dismounts, turns up after short naps and does its job without complaint

am considering emailing this whole sorry saga to apple (who�ve hopefully fixed it already in 10.3.3)

it�s gotta be a Finder (10.3.2) thing

posthumanus

ps: have trashed finder prefs on numerous occasions - to no avail