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New Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 adapter
- Thread starter pgiguere1
- Start date
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I really outsmarted myself on this whole adapter thing. I thought for sure that my local Apple store would have them in stock by the time home deliveries started being made, so I didn't order one on release day like some others here. But now, 4-5 days later, some people already have them in their hands while Apple stores don't seem to have any.
I'm going on 30 days without having my data on my new rMBP. It's killing me.
I'm going on 30 days without having my data on my new rMBP. It's killing me.
That depends on the drive. The adapter supplies 7W of power for bus-powered devices.
Do you have an external drive? Also, Migration Assistant will work over a Wi-Fi network.
Seriously. Order one. You'll have it by Wednesday. Or migrate over GigE. Or pull the drive, connect it to a $19 USB 3 adapter and migrate from there.
I need to pull data off a hard drive that will only boot into FireWire target mode.
If I knew on July 11 what I know now, I would have just pulled the old hard drive, stuck it in a $6 casing and been done with it. But I kept reading that a non-zero number of hard drives are damaged or ruined when pulled, so I figured waiting for the Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter was the prudent move. I still might be right about that, but I'm closing in on a month of downtime.
I can't believe Apple didn't ship a few of these to each store when they launched. I'm going to wait until Monday to see if the local store gets some in stock. If not, I'll order one online and hopefully be able to wrap up this saga by next weekend.
It's a $29 accessory, and not a $499 iPad or $999 computer. My guess is that Apple doesn't prioritize shipments to stores for these kinds of items. Yes, it's too bad for everyone like you for whom a cheap accessory is the solution to a big issue, but given the revenue and profits involved, it entirely makes financial sense for Apple. Unlike most companies (who make nearly as much profit on a $29 adapter as they do on a $499 computer), Apple margins are pretty high across the board.
I've always been under the impression that the Apple stores carry all of the latest-gen Apple-brand adapters, etc., but perhaps I've been wrong about that. As for this adapter in particular, I've repeatedly been told by the Apple store staff that "a lot of people have been asking about this," so I figured Apple knew there was demand and would try to get them into the stores.
It's not the end of the world. It's just a 10-day annoyance on top of a 20-day annoyance.
It's not the end of the world. It's just a 10-day annoyance on top of a 20-day annoyance.
I doubt you'd want to pay the air freight from China on a $29 accessory you bought "off the shelf" from your local Apple store. Which is why I'm guessing that Apple is sending a large batch to their retail distribution center.
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For what it's worth, I've swapped 2.5" drives in and out of laptops for quite some time now and haven't ever had a problem. I have nearly a dozen "bare" 2.5" drives I use for clones and client archives. I store them in these storage boxes.
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Mine shipped Anchorage (Evening) -> Memphis (Following AM) ->Pittsburgh (Following afternoon) and is now awaiting Monday delivery.
I have received mine. I have plugged it in to my Macbook Air and it just shows up as a regular FireWire bus in system preferences.
I plugged in my Focusrite Pro 24 DSP audio interface (via a FW800 to FW400 cable) and installed the associated software and everything looked like it worked okay. I haven't had a chance to pass any audio through it though.
It works... Glad to have it in my hands and know it's not vapourware!
I plugged in my Focusrite Pro 24 DSP audio interface (via a FW800 to FW400 cable) and installed the associated software and everything looked like it worked okay. I haven't had a chance to pass any audio through it though.
It works... Glad to have it in my hands and know it's not vapourware!
Oh, finally!! Please tell me more about it! What does it mean that you had no chance to pass audio through it? Does it work without the Focusrite's power chord or it gets enough power from the adapter?
I think they meant no time to try it out.
I ordered it Friday morning and its in the truck on the way to my house today. Not bad for free shipping. I'll test my interface but according to the spec sheet it requires 12W. Might have to start using the PSU.
Same here ordered friday and getting it today with free shipping. Going to plug in my apogee duet to the mba.
Got it at the apple store
To everyone in the Los Angeles area
I was able to purchase one at the Beverly center apple store about 5 mins ago.
To everyone in the Los Angeles area
I was able to purchase one at the Beverly center apple store about 5 mins ago.
Works with ProFire 2626
I tested the adapter today with an M-Audio ProFire 2626 and a Presonus FireBox. Works fine with both!
(the Firebox would not power via bus power, but worked fine with the power supply. I've had trouble bus powering that older interface before however).
I tested the adapter today with an M-Audio ProFire 2626 and a Presonus FireBox. Works fine with both!
(the Firebox would not power via bus power, but worked fine with the power supply. I've had trouble bus powering that older interface before however).
My local Apple store (finally) got these adapters in stock yesterday (Monday) morning, and I picked one up a few hours later.
Happily for me, I was able to connect my new rMBP to my old PowerBook G4 via FireWire target mode. A little less happily, my transfer speed is atrocious, but I'm assuming that's because the old PB's HD is damaged.
I don't really care about the transfer speed as long as my data is recovered/transferred. I hope/assume that if the transfer is occurring, the data is uncorrupted, but I guess time will tell.
Happily for me, I was able to connect my new rMBP to my old PowerBook G4 via FireWire target mode. A little less happily, my transfer speed is atrocious, but I'm assuming that's because the old PB's HD is damaged.
I don't really care about the transfer speed as long as my data is recovered/transferred. I hope/assume that if the transfer is occurring, the data is uncorrupted, but I guess time will tell.
Thanks to people reporting back on how well the adapter is working for them! Interested to hear more from as many peeps as possible... Need to make sure I can use all my FW kit before I plump for an rMBP 
Got mine today also. Have three units hooked up to through it now: two WD MyBook Studio hard drives and in the end of the chain a MOTU Traveler mk3 audio interface. Passing iTunes music to it right now and it's running fine, while Time Machine is backing up to one of the WD's. Will try mores serious things as time permits.
Got to say it sure is nice to get things hooked up again. These few weeks have sure been cumbersome, with all kinds of workarounds...
Got to say it sure is nice to get things hooked up again. These few weeks have sure been cumbersome, with all kinds of workarounds...
Does anyone know of any other (possibly European) online store selling the adapter? My country (Slovenia) does not have an apple online store (yet), so I can't order it directly. Thanks!
Also, did anyone try to power an Apogee Duet Firewire via this adapter?
Also, did anyone try to power an Apogee Duet Firewire via this adapter?