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can i use ALL usb ports and firewire port at same time??

B

bob2131

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 27, 2008
853
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can you plug in two usb devices and a firewire device, all at the same time??
into macbook or macbook pro....

macbook manual says, one high powered usb device can be plugged in.
but i dont know if they mean into each port, or at one time in total.

i just spoke to apple, and they told me to call support. i havent even bought the laptop yet.

i want to plug in a fast track pro audio interface = usb
a mouse = mouse, akai mpd16 drum pad = usb, and a 7200rpm firewire external hard drive..........so all my ports i wanna be using at the same time.

is this possible? or will macbook and the macbook pro differ in performance regarding this issue?

say if i buy a usb hub and plug in 5 usb devices...........possible?
or is their limitations??

thanks in advance.
 
you should be fine as long as the macbook is plugged in. Plus all your devices will be plugged in too I imagine so really its not using that much power at all. I think the only problem you would ever have is if you had a bunch of bus powered devices like portable harddrives plugged in while you are running off battery power.
 
bob2131 said:
say if i buy a usb hub and plug in 5 usb devices...........possible?
or is their limitations??
Click to expand...

Technically USB ports can support up to 127 devices on one bus. So, you could buy a whole mess of hubs and they will still all work. Don't expect any thrills from performance though.

With 5 you should be fine.
 
I have a usb hub that I use for a few devices (4). Not always connected, but when it is, it works just fine.
 
hookem12387 said:
Just remember that if you go hug, get a powered one
Click to expand...

powered meaning the usb hub is connected to the mains for electricity??

so wire going to plug socket from usb hub
and wire going into macbook................right???

anyone recommend a good one?

thanks
 
bob2131 said:
powered meaning the usb hub is connected to the mains for electricity??

so wire going to plug socket from usb hub
and wire going into macbook................right???

anyone recommend a good one?

thanks
Click to expand...

Ya, exactly. I have a belkin one I got at best buy that's mostly white, seems to match ok
 
I've run a Belkin powered USB hub connected to the 1st port, with the following attached: EyeTV EZ, iPod dock (with iPod inserted and charging), digital camera dock (with camera inserted and transferring photos), and a USB external hard drive.

A Turbo.264 stick attached to the 2nd USB port (actively encoding a movie).

Along with 2 firewire external drives (daisy-chained), and had zero problems.

The only thing I have not been able to do is connect 2 TV tuners at the same time. An error appears in EyeTV that there is insufficient USB bandwitdh.
 
just to note, you said mouse = mouse?
there is no mouse port on a macbook/macbook pro, or any recent max device.
there's only USB for those, so I would suggest a bluetooth wireless mouse.
 
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