In article , "Z Man"
wrote:

Here's my story, you draw your own conclusion. I just installed this
motherboard about a week ago. One of its selling points was onboard
Firewire. I have more Firewire peripherals than most PC users, including an
80GB hard drive, DVDRAM/-R, Canon ZR10 mini-DV cam, and Apple 30GB Ipod. All
these peripherals are external, and I use them on a variety of computers in
my home and office. After installing my new motherboard, I could not get
these peripherals working correctly. The DVD-RAM never worked with this mb.
the Canon worked all the time. The external 80GB hard drive worked for
several days, then stopped working. The Ipod worked for a day or two, then
stopped working.

Here's what I did: I took my Ipod to a local Apple store, and they confirmed
that it was dead. They replaced it under the warranty. The external hard
drive is in a Firewire/USB2 case. It now works with USB2. The DVD-RAM case
is Firewire only, so I will have to discard it (since the problem, I have
tried it on two other computers, both of which previously used this
peripheral without issues). I have since disabled onboard Firewire and
installed a Firewire card (with Lucent chipset, I have lots of computers and
spare parts). My new Ipod now appears to work correctly, and my mini DV cam
works, as it did before. I am theorizing that the camcorder never suffered
because it does probably does NOT get its power from the port; instead, it
gets plugged into an a/c outlet. If that assumption is correct, it is the
only peripheral that was never at risk. The DVDRAM and hard drive also use
external power, but their six pin Firewire cables carry power, as well.

So, what do you think? Could it be that the power output from the onboard
Firewire port is too high, and ruined my equipment? Any other theories or
ideas would be welcomed. Post them right here so we can all join in. As the
saying goes, 'a word to the wise is sufficient'.

I got my ADS Pyro1394 (ADI-800) external enclosure yesterday and have
had time for a quick test. I had no problems connecting the enclosure
to my computer, except for one combination. If the computer is still
operating and I kill the power switch on the enclosure, I can hear a
strange sound coming from the power converter on the bridge board inside
the enclosure. Also, the drive activity light on the front of the case
is partially lit.

It seems like the VP/VG power on the Firewire cable is somehow causing
the bridge board to be partially working. Or, at least the switching
converter on the bridge board (probably makes a local +3.3V for the
Oxford 911 chip) is still running. Since the drive activity light is
half lit, that means the circuit is under some kind of stress. This
could be due to some parasitic diode path that is grounding the supply.
What I'm seeing and hearing doesn't suggest a happy circuit.

Now I've got to dig up some 6 to 4 pin cables and adapters, so the VP/VG
from the computer cannot make it to the enclosures. When two of the
enclosures are connected to one another, but not to the computer,
everything is fine. (One powered enclosure will not try to power
the second enclosure.)

HTH,
Paul