View Full Version : FireWire Charging
Earthling
07-01-2003, 02:18 PM
Hmz. I've been hearing that when you plug in an iPod into a Windows PC via FireWire, it won't charge while being plugged. Strangely, mine does. Does it have anything to do with the fact that my FireWire port is 6-pin?
Yes, you're ipod will charge provided you have a 6pin firewire card that is powered.
However, on gen2 ipods, the HD may spin continuosly if you use your computer to charge, creating alot of heat, and wear and tear on your HD.
However, on gen3's, if you disconnect the ipod but leave it plugged into your computer, the HD won't spin, so you can safely charge this way...(Thanks Adam;) ).
Yes, a 6-Pin Firewire will charge while a 4-Pin Firwire won't. Also the 6-Pin Firewirde PCI card needs to be powered in order to be able to charge.
A
Earthling
07-02-2003, 03:03 PM
Originally posted by Akim
Yes, a 6-Pin Firewire will charge while a 4-Pin Firwire won't. Also the 6-Pin Firewirde PCI card needs to be powered in order to be able to charge.
A
Uh. Powered? In what sense? Meaning that the PC has to be on or does the FireWire card need an additional cable to be connected to it? For the former, I fully understand that the PC has to be on, but with regards to the latter, I have not connected any power cable to my FireWire card but it still charges.
The slot you put you're firewire card in is powered then. You're fine.
IlIlIlIlIl
07-02-2003, 08:35 PM
Originally posted by Earthling
Uh. Powered? In what sense? Meaning that the PC has to be on or does the FireWire card need an additional cable to be connected to it? For the former, I fully understand that the PC has to be on, but with regards to the latter, I have not connected any power cable to my FireWire card but it still charges.
i think the firewire card will be powered no matter what, but the power that is given to the ports without a separate power cable connected to the card would be less than if a separate power cable is connected
ashawley
07-03-2003, 12:23 AM
Not really IlIlIlIlIl (that doesn't look right when typed).
The card will draw what the device connected needs. But if it tries to draw too much, (if you're running XP) you'll get a blue screen of death.
This happens when folks put their cards in a non bus powered slot. In many PCs only the first two slots are bus powered.
Bottom line for 95%+ of the cards and PCs out there, you'll be fine charging the iPod.
Adam
puntloos
07-05-2003, 11:02 PM
What's this about the HDD spinning with older gen 2 ipods? Not that spinning only would cause that much of a problem (its the actual HDD head to platter contact i.e. reading/writing that causes real wear on a drive) but Im pretty sure my gen2 doesnt spin while charging thru firewire?
Not that I can be sure, the computer fan is louder than the pod HDD by far, but I do know that if I dont access it for a while (while charging) it will take some time (1-2 seconds) to spin up when I access it again. To me that means its not spinning..