Firewire PCI and Windows XP

TelePaul

Heya lads,

Seems my Firewire card has just ceased to exist - well, as far as my PC is concerned anyway! It's not listed under the system Hardware tab. I'm wondering is there some diagnostic I can run that might check for it?

I even swapped PCI slots but it did nothing and no software came with it.
Any help would be great, I can't record audio without it.

MrVestek

Have you tried it with another machine or motherboard? Chances are for whatever reason the card itself has blown.

TelePaul

Achilles wrote: »

Have you tried it with another machine or motherboard? Chances are for whatever reason the card itself has blown.

Yeah was thinking the card might have just upped and died. I don't have another desktop to check it with which sucks. How much do these things normally go for?

Capt'n Midnight

could also be drivers

system restore is worth a shot , takes time but doesn't use any brainpower

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Device_Manager

Display of 'non-present' devices The Device Manager has the ability to display the driver entries for a device that is not currently connected to a computer but had been successfully installed to run through a port, such as a USB port. This is useful for removing entries of old devices or performing a clean reinstall of a device.

This mode activated each time device manager is added and must be invoked just prior to opening Device Manager using the Command Prompt or Batch file method. Command line is as follows: set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1

then type
start devmgmt.msc

when you right click to show hidden devices you'll may see the card, try removing it and redetecting

check BIOS settings too if all else fails

probably HW but worth a shot

TelePaul

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

could also be drivers

system restore is worth a shot , takes time but doesn't use any brainpower

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Device_Managerthen type
start devmgmt.msc

when you right click to show hidden devices you'll may see the card, try removing it and redetecting

check BIOS settings too if all else fails

probably HW but worth a shot

Thanks for getting back to me, I'm just wodnering if you could clarify a few points?

Where do I type the command exactly? Do I run cmd.exe and type it in the command screen?

And what's HW?

Capt'n Midnight

start
run
cmd
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
start devmgmt.msc

HW=hardware

TelePaul

Quick update on this lads! Bought a replacement firewire card, put it in...and the things started burning.

MrVestek

TelePaul wrote: »

Quick update on this lads! Bought a replacement firewire card, put it in...and the things started burning.

Whao! What started burning exactly? Sounds like your Power Supply has gone very dodgy there, it probably wasn't providing the firewire card with power in the first place.

Any idea what wattage your PSU is?

TelePaul

Achilles wrote: »

Whao! What started burning exactly? Sounds like your Power Supply has gone very dodgy there, it probably wasn't providing the firewire card with power in the first place.

Any idea what wattage your PSU is?

Well there was a horrible smell of burning rubber, the computer shut down and started making odd bleeping noises. I shut it down at the mains, removed the power cable and then removed the FW card. The chipset was burnt. It booted normally after I removed the FW card.

I took the card back to the shop, they replaced it but said in all likelihood there was a surge from the motherboard. That's strange, the PC is 6 months old (and therefore under warranty, I assume). They advised me to try the card with another slot to see if that made any difference, but if not, Dell will be getting a call from me.

MrVestek

Damn...

Well as I said, any idea what wattage your PSU is? You could very easilly be overloading it.

TelePaul

Achilles wrote: »

Damn...

Well as I said, any idea what wattage your PSU is? You could very easilly be overloading it.

On purpose??? By using the one that came with it? How would I know what my watatge my PSU is? Is it not just a mains plug that powers it?

MrVestek

TelePaul wrote: »

On purpose??? By using the one that came with it? How would I know what my watatge my PSU is? Is it not just a mains plug that powers it?

Erh no your PC's PSU is converting AC to DC current etc. It'll tell you on the side of the PSU itself what wattage it is, also what make is it?

TelePaul

Achilles wrote: »

Erh no your PC's PSU is converting AC to DC current etc. It'll tell you on the side of the PSU itself what wattage it is, also what make is it?

Sorry for the massive delay man - crazy week. The pc is a Dell Vostro desktop, just powered by a plug into a 3-pin cable that connects directly to the tower (he kind you get with your average electric kettle I suppose)?

MrVestek

Cheers for the PM. I was actually asking what the make of your PSU is, so I'm sorry for the confusion. The only way you'll find out what wattage it is is by taking off the PC case and having a look at the unit itself.

TelePaul

Achilles wrote: »

Cheers for the PM. I was actually asking what the make of your PSU is, so I'm sorry for the confusion. The only way you'll find out what wattage it is is by taking off the PC case and having a look at the unit itself.

Thanks for getting back to me. I have the case off so I'll have a look for the PSU. What exactly does it look like? I assume it's close to where the power supply attaches?

Also, just some background info, the reason I'm so curious about this is because a firewire peripheral recently stopped working. I've sent it back to the manufacturer for inspection, I wonder is it related to the power issues.

Will get back to you asap.

Alun

Achilles wrote: »

Cheers for the PM. I was actually asking what the make of your PSU is, so I'm sorry for the confusion. The only way you'll find out what wattage it is is by taking off the PC case and having a look at the unit itself.

Waste of time IMO. One puny little PCI Firewire card isn't exactly going to tip the thing over the edge, and from what I can tell it's a bog standard Dell PC we're talking about with no other added stuff apart from that one card. They don't even bother quoting the power consumption on any Firewire cards I've manage to find, so it's probably not significant.

MrVestek

Alun wrote: »

Waste of time IMO. One puny little PCI Firewire card isn't exactly going to tip the thing over the edge, and from what I can tell it's a bog standard Dell PC we're talking about with no other added stuff apart from that one card. They don't even bother quoting the power consumption on any Firewire cards I've manage to find, so it's probably not significant.

You'd be wrong. Alot of firewire cards nowadays require at least one PSU molex to send power to external devices, the likes of dv cameras and that kind of thing. Granted it's only an extra 5v but that can be enough to tip some PSUs over the edge if they don't have enough wattage to supply a constant stream of power to the device in the first place. It can overexert the PSU and cause a power surge which is what sounds like happened here.

Alun

Achilles wrote: »

You'd be wrong. Alot of firewire cards nowadays require at least one PSU molex to send power to external devices, the likes of dv cameras and that kind of thing. Granted it's only an extra 5v but that can be enough to tip some PSUs over the edge if they don't have enough wattage to supply a constant stream of power to the device in the first place. It can overexert the PSU and cause a power surge which is what sounds like happened here.

OK, didn't know that. What kind of power draw are we talking here, seeing as DV cameras will also have their own power source? Are there maximum values defined in the standard, as there are for USB?

MrVestek

Alun wrote: »

OK, didn't know that. What kind of power draw are we talking here, seeing as DV cameras will also have their own power source? Are there maximum values defined in the standard, as there are for USB?

I don't know off the top of my head mate. I know off the top of my head that most USB controllers will give roughly 5v but that can still vary depending on the power supply or the load on the bus itself.

Google's your best friend.

Capt'n Midnight

Achilles wrote: »

I don't know off the top of my head mate. I know off the top of my head that most USB controllers will give roughly 5v but that can still vary depending on the power supply or the load on the bus itself.

Google's your best friend.

the voltage is 5V
the current from the usb port can be up to either 100mA or 500mA

so power is up to 500mW or 2.5W depending

MrVestek

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

the voltage is 5V
the current from the usb port can be up to either 100mA or 500mA

so power is up to 500mW or 2.5W depending

Cheers for the clarification.