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eddjedi

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 7, 2011
632
853
I don't have a Firewire external HD any more and USB 1.1 is too slow, so to get some large files on to my G4 Cube I bought this Firewire to USB adaptor hoping to connect the Cube to my Macbook Pro in target disk mode:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272784441497

However it won't mount. Should this work, or are these adaptors only intended for Firewire external hard disks? The chain is:

Cube (target disk mode) > Firewire cable > Firewire to USB adaptor > Macbook Pro
 

eddjedi

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 7, 2011
632
853
My Macbook Pro doesn't have Firewire 800 unfortunately (it's a 2016 model.) I don't think a Firewire to USB cable exists, I can't find one anyway.
 

amagichnich

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2017
516
342
Stuttgart, Germany
Firewire and USB are two completely different kind of protocols, the adaptor you bought is useless.
You have to buy an external harddrive or use another Firewire capable computer
 
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eddjedi

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 7, 2011
632
853
OK thanks. I assumed the adaptor would have some kind of converter built in to it, not sure why it even exists if it doesn't work! I used to have an external HD with both Firewire 400 and USB 2 outputs, should have kept it.
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,957
3,658
OK thanks. I assumed the adaptor would have some kind of converter built in to it, not sure why it even exists if it doesn't work! I used to have an external HD with both Firewire 400 and USB 2 outputs, should have kept it.
That adapter will convert a FW cable into a USB cable if you put an adapter at both ends. You cannot have two different protocols on one simple cable: Either FW or USB, not both.
 

AphoticD

macrumors 68020
Feb 17, 2017
2,283
3,466
If you just want a faster transfer rate for sharing files between the two Macs, I would recommend to simply connect them with an Ethernet cable. I'm not sure about the Cube, but most post-beige Macs will have auto-sensing Ethernet, just plug them together and switch on File Sharing. The Macs should be visible to each other even when the IP address is self-assigned / unconfigured (169.x.x.x).

Ethernet should give you 100mbit speeds, which is a maximum of ~12MB/sec throughput and is substantially faster than USB 1.1 (~1.5MB/sec)

EDIT: According to Mactracker, it looks like the 500Mhz Cube had Gigabit Ethernet, which is theoretically 10x the speed of 100mbit. If that's the case with yours, then you should see Ethernet throughput capping out against the Cube's HDD transfer rates (Possibly ~20 - 40MB/sec)
 
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amagichnich

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2017
516
342
Stuttgart, Germany
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bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky

It's a logical leap to think considering that the Cube and GigE tower were released at the same time.

Yet again, though, it's more evidence of the "form over function" nature of the Cube. I don't remember the exact pricing offhand, but I think the base Cube was priced at about the same price as a mid-range GigE tower(dual 450, as opposed to single 450 in the base Cube). The tower gave you not only better base specs but also a whole lot more expandability.
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
It's worth noting that the Gigabit Ethernet option in the Cube is very uncommon and it either wasn't offered very long or never made it to a public release.
 
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