I bought a MacBook Pro 13" back in April 2010, and it's been a great computer, except for one problem: firewire.
Actually, after I bought it, I didn't use the firewire 800 port much (at all?) until March, 2011. When I tried plugging in a firewire device (audio interface or hard drive) it wasn't seen by the Mac. It didn't show up in Disk Utility. Finally, I checked Apple System Profiler, and when I clicked on "Firewire", I got the message, "no firewire ports found". Neither a PRAM reset or an SMC reset would bring them back to life.
I brought it to the local Genius Bar (with only about three weeks left of the warranty), and after some testing, they replaced the logic board the same day. Oddly enough, it _still_ wouldn't recognize the presence of a firewire port until I replaced the existing system software with a backup I kept around. Finally, it seemed healthy again, reporting that the firewire ports were indeed "there".
Since then, I never really used the firewire until today. And....
Again.... tried plugging in a firewire 800 hard drive, and nothing.
Went to Disk Utility, the drive isn't there.
And finally, checked System Profiler, and.... "no firewire ports found".
The "usual fixes" won't work (PRAM and/or SMC reset).
I recall from years back when firewire was newer, that some folks had luck "reviving" dead firewire ports on a Mac by removing it from power, pulling the PRAM battery, pulling the RAM, and letting it sit "completely dead" for a while. And sometimes, that worked.
I did a little googling and read something about how the firewire ports are protected by some kind of "overload protection circuit" that disconnects them if a problem is detected. There isn't really a "software-controllable reset" for this -- instead, the overload protection _automatically resets_ after all power is removed. This would seem to explain how the firewire was "revived" on older Macs, as noted in the preceding paragraph.
I'm wondering if the same trick would work on a recent MacBook Pro? Anyone ever tried it? As mine wasn't designed with a "user-removable" battery, guess some considerable disassembly would be involved. I can see removing the battery and the RAM as well. Do MacBooks have any kind of a "PRAM battery" inside, as well?
Going back to the Genius Bar again tomorrow to get it looked at, perhaps tested with whatever software they have available that I don't have. I'm just looking for "an easy fix" -- I don't absolutely need the firewire capabilities, so it's not worth paying for a motherboard replacement.
Not sure if they'll be willing to help, but I'll ask the genius/tech if he would mind opening the thing, pulling the RAM and battery, and then closing it back up, to see if that works...
Speculation on my part:
I'm wondering if the act of simply plugging in a firewire 800 cable -- whether there is a problem with the device that's being connected or not -- is enough to "trip" the overload protection circuit? And thus "cutting off" the firewire ports from the motherboard, and thus (since they are disconnected) when System Profiler is launched, and checks around to assemble its hardware report, can't "find them", producing the "no firewire ports found" message?
Actually, after I bought it, I didn't use the firewire 800 port much (at all?) until March, 2011. When I tried plugging in a firewire device (audio interface or hard drive) it wasn't seen by the Mac. It didn't show up in Disk Utility. Finally, I checked Apple System Profiler, and when I clicked on "Firewire", I got the message, "no firewire ports found". Neither a PRAM reset or an SMC reset would bring them back to life.
I brought it to the local Genius Bar (with only about three weeks left of the warranty), and after some testing, they replaced the logic board the same day. Oddly enough, it _still_ wouldn't recognize the presence of a firewire port until I replaced the existing system software with a backup I kept around. Finally, it seemed healthy again, reporting that the firewire ports were indeed "there".
Since then, I never really used the firewire until today. And....
Again.... tried plugging in a firewire 800 hard drive, and nothing.
Went to Disk Utility, the drive isn't there.
And finally, checked System Profiler, and.... "no firewire ports found".
The "usual fixes" won't work (PRAM and/or SMC reset).
I recall from years back when firewire was newer, that some folks had luck "reviving" dead firewire ports on a Mac by removing it from power, pulling the PRAM battery, pulling the RAM, and letting it sit "completely dead" for a while. And sometimes, that worked.
I did a little googling and read something about how the firewire ports are protected by some kind of "overload protection circuit" that disconnects them if a problem is detected. There isn't really a "software-controllable reset" for this -- instead, the overload protection _automatically resets_ after all power is removed. This would seem to explain how the firewire was "revived" on older Macs, as noted in the preceding paragraph.
I'm wondering if the same trick would work on a recent MacBook Pro? Anyone ever tried it? As mine wasn't designed with a "user-removable" battery, guess some considerable disassembly would be involved. I can see removing the battery and the RAM as well. Do MacBooks have any kind of a "PRAM battery" inside, as well?
Going back to the Genius Bar again tomorrow to get it looked at, perhaps tested with whatever software they have available that I don't have. I'm just looking for "an easy fix" -- I don't absolutely need the firewire capabilities, so it's not worth paying for a motherboard replacement.
Not sure if they'll be willing to help, but I'll ask the genius/tech if he would mind opening the thing, pulling the RAM and battery, and then closing it back up, to see if that works...
Speculation on my part:
I'm wondering if the act of simply plugging in a firewire 800 cable -- whether there is a problem with the device that's being connected or not -- is enough to "trip" the overload protection circuit? And thus "cutting off" the firewire ports from the motherboard, and thus (since they are disconnected) when System Profiler is launched, and checks around to assemble its hardware report, can't "find them", producing the "no firewire ports found" message?
