# Firewire question (a vs b)



## niponki

Hi,

First time posting here, so hello everyone.  I have a question about Firewire.  Hopefully it is pretty simple.  Basically, here is the jist of it.  I have a pretty old computer, P3 Compaq, but I just noticed that it has a firewire port on the back of it.  So I bought a Seagate 300GB ATA/100 HD and I am now looking for an enclosure.  I found one online for pretty cheap i think ($30 + s/h), but it is for firewire 1394a.  My computer just says 1394 on the back.  Will this connection work with my computer?  Are the a and b and plain 1394 all the same basically?  Well, I know they are not the same, but can you plug a 1394 b into an a port and vice versa? 

Thanks in advance...

~P


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## niponki

*anyone?*

anyone have any idea of the difference, please ^_^


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## Cromewell

it should be fine to use either, 1394a is 400Mbps, 1394b is 800Mbps.


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## planes891

the connectors for 1394a and 1394b are different (a has 6 pins, b has 9 pins) but you can get adapters for them but for what you are looking at, stick with 1394a


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## Cromewell

> the connectors for 1394a and 1394b are different (a has 6 pins, b has 9 pins)


I thought the pins on the connector varried with its use (4pin - digital camcorders, 6pin - hard drive enclosures, etc) and the PC end supported them all but I'd leave it to apple to do something silly like using different connectors for everything (and people wonder why firewire never really caught on).


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## niponki

awesome.  So i guess it will all work no matter what it is as long as I have the right plug.  cool.  Thanks for your help guys.


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## celsdogg

i thought the differing pins had to do with giving firewire devices power. . .


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## celsdogg

looked it up in a book

"The proposed 1394b  standard is expected to support trnasfer rates og 1,600Mbps; future versions of the standard might reach speeds of up to 3,200Mbps. 1394b will be capable of reaching much higher speeds than the current 1394a standard (most times just called 1394) because it will also suppoer netwrok technologies such as glass and plastic fiber optic cable, and CAT5 UTP cable. . . 1394b will be fully backward compatible with 1394a. . . also known by two other names, i.link and firewire." Upgrading and Maintaining PC's, 14th Edition, S. Mueller


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## diduknowthat

an intel p3 has ieee 1394? woah my p4 doesn't even have it.


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## celsdogg

liuliuboy said:
			
		

> an intel p3 has ieee 1394? woah my p4 doesn't even have it.



just depends on what the mobo manufacturer, or system manufacturer decides to put into the system. . .


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## Praetor

> anyone have any idea of the difference, please ^_^


Someone will get you to eventually ... we dont live here 



> I thought the pins on the connector varried with its use (4pin - digital camcorders, 6pin - hard drive enclosures, etc)


afaik that's correct


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