Firewire port question

[testcase]

I've just noticed that the firewire port on my TiBook (G4, 500MHz, 640MB RAM, 10.4.11) seems dead. External HD gets power and spins up but never shows up on desktop. I've tried another FW cable and HD. ASP gives no info on the FW tab. TechToolPro4 doesn't show any FW info either. I tried an PCMCIA combo USB2/FW card. The card shows up in the menu bar but, gives an error message immediately (draws too much power). I didn't get an external adapter with the card but, tried another power brick without success.

Is there anything I can try that I haven't thought of yet or, am I just out of luck? TIA! .

[colonel panic]

Apple is killing the firewire port on all machines, even the older models.

[deckeda]

It's true. Did you run a Software Update recently? A little-known fact is that each one since the new MacBooks were announced is that it disables FireWire on all the rest. I hear that next week an Update will appear that actually self-welds the port opening shut.

[Doc]

Did you restart your Mac?

[iaJim]

Shut down. Unplug your power cord. Remove your battery. Wait 15 minutes or so. Put in battery and restart. Worth a try.

[tronnei]

You need a reset of the firewire port:

http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/...c2191.html

[fauch]

Reset the PMU, this has happened several times on my Mini....

[testcase]

Guys, Thanks for the tips. I'm posting this from my iPhone. I just got the last Canon Rebel XT (earlier post). When I get back home, I'll try a reset & report back

[lafinfil]

I had one awhile back that would not work after trying everything

As a last ditch effort (at someone's suggestion from here) I did an archive install and they worked again.

If all else fails it's worth a try.

[Article Accelerator]

What iaJim said but in addition, make sure you also physically disconnect all peripherals. This will de-energize the FireWire ports and allow the internal resettable fuse to reset itself.