New MPB/Belkin Firewire Expresscard

[chinarider]

Just got a Belkin F5U514 firwire expresscard for more 800 ports.

However, MBP recognizes it but wont use it - Menubar options are "Unknown Vendor", "Firewire Controller" and "Power off Card" - The first 2 options are greyed out.

Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks.
T

MBP-P 2.6 17" hd, 4g

 

[Loge]

Does it recognise devices that have their own power supply, or is it not recognising any devices?

This seems to be an issue with a lot of Expresscard Firewire devices. I have a Belkin combo card, and it will only see Firewire devices that have their own power. The USB port works fine, however.

 

[chinarider]

Belkin admitted that it doesn't work with leopard - The others I tested worked fine (SIIG and Sonnet)

None of the 3 have their own power, but all have a port to add it.

 

[alphaod]

Also if it's grayed out, it usually means you need to download the drivers and install them before you insert the card.

 

[chinarider]

Also if it's grayed out, it usually means you need to download the drivers and install them before you insert the card.

Yeah, Thats what I figure too - But each one of these cards needs no drivers to work, and do not ship with them!

In fact, Belkin thought I was crazy when I told them it didn't work - Until they finally found someone in Tech Support who knew what they were talking about.

 

[Loge]

Belkin admitted that it doesn't work with leopard - The others I tested worked fine (SIIG and Sonnet)

None of the 3 have their own power, but all have a port to add it.

Do you mean the SIIG and Sonnet cards will work with FW devices that don't have their own power; since their websites seem to imply that you'd need an external power for this?

I have the same greyed out options BTW. My Belkin combo (2x FW400, + USB) card does work under Leopard, but it requires external power for bus powered FW devices.

 

[chinarider]

Do you mean the SIIG and Sonnet cards will work with FW devices that don't have their own power; since their websites seem to imply that you'd need an external power for this?

I have the same greyed out options BTW. My Belkin combo (2x FW400, + USB) card does work under Leopard, but it requires external power for bus powered FW devices.

No, I dont mean that - On the self-powered D>A converter that I have, they work fine. But when I use my Lacie Rugged drive, I need to add external power. Other than those 2 instances, I can't vouch for any other devices.

So in my limited testing, I would guess that you still need external power for anything that doesn't have it's own power with these cards.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge than I will chime in and correct me if needed!