Firewire and ipod questions
Dec 14, 2003 | 4:34 pm
#1
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Firewire and ipod questions
I have decided it's time to replace my aging mp3 player and buy a nice new ipod. My pc at the moment has an old usb port, i.e not usb 2.0. I think this means that I will have to spring for a firewire card. My question is are these easy to fit? Will it take me all day to put in? Im not a technophobe but im not an expert quite yet either. My other question is do ipods play wma files? May add other questions as they come to me. Thanks a lot everyone in advance! 
Dec 14, 2003 | 9:53 pm
#3
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the ipod can work with either usb2 or firewire, however, usb2 can't supply enough power to run the ipod so there is a combo cable that gets power from the included power adapter. it might work with usb1 but transferring music is going to be really slow...
if you get a firewire/usb2 combo card you'll have both, and it will be easier to use the ipod too.
the ipod does not play wma files.
if you get a firewire/usb2 combo card you'll have both, and it will be easier to use the ipod too.
the ipod does not play wma files.
Dec 15, 2003 | 6:18 am
#4
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Installing a firewire card is a 2 minute job if you are comfortable opening your PC. If you use Windows 98, 2000 or XP then you don't even need to install drivers, just plug, and play.
Dec 15, 2003 | 4:01 pm
#5
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Sounds all good so far! Is a firewire card better than a USB 2 for vice-versa? Also is there a way of converting wma files to mp3 files? Thanks for the answers everyone.
Edited to say that im running XP.
[This message has been edited by Maws22 (edited Dec 15, 2003).]
Edited to say that im running XP.
[This message has been edited by Maws22 (edited Dec 15, 2003).]
Dec 15, 2003 | 4:09 pm
#7
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agreed. go with Firewire.
I believe the USB2 cable is a separate purchase, not to mention clunky, since the power isn't integrated.
You could always burn your WMA songs to CD and then re-rip them as MP3. Not very elegant, but easy. I'm sure there are apps out there that can convert. Try google or Version Tracker.
I believe the USB2 cable is a separate purchase, not to mention clunky, since the power isn't integrated.
You could always burn your WMA songs to CD and then re-rip them as MP3. Not very elegant, but easy. I'm sure there are apps out there that can convert. Try google or Version Tracker.
Dec 15, 2003 | 9:03 pm
#8
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It will be faster, but I don't see that as a reason to get it just based on that. We copied 1,200 songs over to the wife's ipod last Christmas when she got it as a gift, since then we haven't had to add more then a few here and there.
So yes, while it's faster, it's not something you need to do every day. Once you get the bulk of your collection over, then it's a few songs here and there, and the speed difference isn't really that big of a deal.
So yes, while it's faster, it's not something you need to do every day. Once you get the bulk of your collection over, then it's a few songs here and there, and the speed difference isn't really that big of a deal.
Dec 15, 2003 | 11:54 pm
#9
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Is it a laptop or a desktop? Laptops will use a PCMIA card, while desktops use PCI cards that require opening the computer. Still, both are easy. Also, you can get cards that have both Firewire and USB 2.0 ports.
PCMIA firewire cards for laptops do not provide power unless you use and external power supply.
BTW, the old USB 1 ports also work. Although the transfer rate is much slower than the firewire or USB 2.0, it is still close to the maximum disc speed of the IPOD. Thus, the newer ports are not as much faster as the number tend to indicate. The maximum speed that the IPOD drive can write to the disc is ~8M/sec, so the 400M/sec rate of firewire is largely wasted when copying songs to the IPOD. USB 1 ports are about the same speed as the IPOD hard drive.
PCMIA firewire cards for laptops do not provide power unless you use and external power supply.
BTW, the old USB 1 ports also work. Although the transfer rate is much slower than the firewire or USB 2.0, it is still close to the maximum disc speed of the IPOD. Thus, the newer ports are not as much faster as the number tend to indicate. The maximum speed that the IPOD drive can write to the disc is ~8M/sec, so the 400M/sec rate of firewire is largely wasted when copying songs to the IPOD. USB 1 ports are about the same speed as the IPOD hard drive.
Dec 16, 2003 | 7:38 am
#10
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mikel51:
Is it a laptop or a desktop? Laptops will use a PCMIA card, while desktops use PCI cards that require opening the computer. Still, both are easy. Also, you can get cards that have both Firewire and USB 2.0 ports.
PCMIA firewire cards for laptops do not provide power unless you use and external power supply.
BTW, the old USB 1 ports also work. Although the transfer rate is much slower than the firewire or USB 2.0, it is still close to the maximum disc speed of the IPOD. Thus, the newer ports are not as much faster as the number tend to indicate. The maximum speed that the IPOD drive can write to the disc is ~8M/sec, so the 400M/sec rate of firewire is largely wasted when copying songs to the IPOD. USB 1 ports are about the same speed as the IPOD hard drive.</font>
Is it a laptop or a desktop? Laptops will use a PCMIA card, while desktops use PCI cards that require opening the computer. Still, both are easy. Also, you can get cards that have both Firewire and USB 2.0 ports.
PCMIA firewire cards for laptops do not provide power unless you use and external power supply.
BTW, the old USB 1 ports also work. Although the transfer rate is much slower than the firewire or USB 2.0, it is still close to the maximum disc speed of the IPOD. Thus, the newer ports are not as much faster as the number tend to indicate. The maximum speed that the IPOD drive can write to the disc is ~8M/sec, so the 400M/sec rate of firewire is largely wasted when copying songs to the IPOD. USB 1 ports are about the same speed as the IPOD hard drive.</font>
The iPod would be most at home with FireWire, assuming you get a card that can power the FireWire ports. If the FW port has power, the iPod can charge from the FW port as well as sync songs. This only works on a desktop though in your situation. One thing I don't think anyone mentioned is that USB 2 is not standard in the iPod box. You'll need to buy an extra dock cable for that. So in this situation I would think that tilts the balance in favor of FireWire. EDIT: Oops, Swise did mention this up above. Sorry.
[This message has been edited by CrazyOne (edited Dec 16, 2003).]
Dec 16, 2003 | 4:30 pm
#11
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It's going to be used on a desktop system, sorry should have explained that earlier! Ok, I think im going to go with the firewire, any suggestions for a good firewire card?