Apple decided to remove firewire 400 from all of their current generation laptops and add only firewire 800. There are still a lot of devices on firewire 400 and thus you have 3 choices.
1. Buy this cable.
2. Buy an adapter.
3. Buy all new hardware. :-)
I chose 1 - simply because it is easier for me to have a cable that converts 400-800 rather then using an old 400 cable with a dongle adapter. In my experience dongle adapters usually get worn and due to their size end to stick out of ports and break with an accidental leg/arm movement etc..... I have had it happen to me in my mac pro...and what a project it is to fix. Therefore...cables win.
Hope that helps. Tripp Lite F017-006 IEEE 1394b Firewire 800 Gold Hi-speed Cable, 9pin/6pin - 6ft
I purchased this because the Macbook Pro (2008 Edition) does not have a firewire 400 port but it does have a FW800 port. Since I have a few devices, including my Presonus Firepod audio interface, that require a FW400 connection Tripp Lite's converter cable was perfect. I haven't had any problems with it and it's more flexible than the single-piece converters that I've seen.
It's hard to imagine how a simple cable could suck, but this has it nailed. Both the 800 and the 400 ends of the cable fit very loosely, so the slightest movement causes the connection to be temporarily broken. For most firewire devices, this means that the device will lose synch, interrupt whatever you were trying to do, and spend a painfully long time trying to re synch with the computer. It doesn't help that the cable is as stiff as a coat hanger, so the slightest movement will move the connectors. If anything touches this cable it will break the connection, so you end up tip-toeing around this thing trying to keep it happy. Yes, it does work. If you have to get from 400 to 800, it will do it. But this one is guaranteed to make you angry.
I bought a firewire 800 card as I was told it was the state of the art and backware compatible. I wasn't told that it has a different plug. So I bought this cord. Works great and isn't as bulky as adding adapters.
This was my first Firewire cord, and I suspect the same is true of many of the positive reviewers here. Like them, I was originally very happy with this cord. It worked, and the price was fantastic. However, I noticed that the 9 pin connector was always very loose, and never "clicked" in place, even though I pushed the cord as far as it would go. My initial thought was "Boy, Firewire really has a bad connector design."
Well, after buying another Firewire cord from a more reputable source (LaCie) I discovered that Firewire cables are actually incredibly secure! There is just something very wrong with the design of these cords! As far as I can tell, the connector is a bit too short on the 800 end of these cables, and thus they can't be inserted far enough to engage the mechanism that locks them into place (i.e. the 'click' you feel when plugging in a USB cable, or a better made Firewire cable, it turns out).
As such, I recommend users stay far away from these cables. Sure, they're cheap, but if your cable comes out accidentally without you having properly unmounted your external drive, it's highly likely that your hard drive will be corrupted. It's worth it to buy good cables. Your data is worth a lot more than the few dollars saved by going with a cut-rate cable company.
I was looking for a firewire cable that wasn't too expensive. I first purchased a cable off ebay and got exactly what I paid for. The cable cost $8 and went out on me nearly immediately. I felt that $30+ dollars was to much to pay for a simple firewire cable. Then I came here and lo and behold, I found one that was in my price range. This cable works fantastic. Transfer rates are good and it durable. Great cable for a great price.
When I got my new Mac Mini with Firewire 800 I realized that my Firewire 400 external drives weren't plug compatible. I went to Fry's and Bestbuy but they didn't have the right cable. Amazon had the cable and it was affordable and works just great. I know it's just a cable but they had it and it wasn't priced at the usual ripoff price you get for cables.
It does exactly what it says. Where else will you get a cable for this price? Certainly not Best Buy or any other store. Fast shipping and affordability make this deal sweet. Will always return for my cable needs, and the needs of my studio. - Firewire 800 - Cable - Macbook - Firewire'
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