Can i add firewire to this laptop?
December 28, 2009 9:47 PM Subscribe
Is there a way to ad firewire to this laptop computer i just bought?
i just bought an this laptop because it was cheap and at the time would do pretty much everything i could think of. It was a rushed decision because my vaio that had served me for the last 5 years (i think, maybe 4) decided it didn't want to live anymore, and with school starting back in a couple of weeks a computer is a necessity. So the price was right, the specs looked good, and even though double checking the spec sheet now it clearly says there are no pcmcia ports, i guess i assumed these were a standard feature that all laptops had. i never even once checked before hand. I usually do a lot via firewire, my DV camcorder and my firebox sound driver thing (it's a fancy sound card in a box, i use it for djing) are both firewire, and it would appear that i have no way of hooking this up as my previous method was a pcmcia card. This may very well be the case. I guess it would be my fault and i should just be grateful the machine does everything else i need, but i wanted to see if someone else might know something that I didn't, or have something to suggest that i hadn't tried.
i just bought an this laptop because it was cheap and at the time would do pretty much everything i could think of. It was a rushed decision because my vaio that had served me for the last 5 years (i think, maybe 4) decided it didn't want to live anymore, and with school starting back in a couple of weeks a computer is a necessity. So the price was right, the specs looked good, and even though double checking the spec sheet now it clearly says there are no pcmcia ports, i guess i assumed these were a standard feature that all laptops had. i never even once checked before hand. I usually do a lot via firewire, my DV camcorder and my firebox sound driver thing (it's a fancy sound card in a box, i use it for djing) are both firewire, and it would appear that i have no way of hooking this up as my previous method was a pcmcia card. This may very well be the case. I guess it would be my fault and i should just be grateful the machine does everything else i need, but i wanted to see if someone else might know something that I didn't, or have something to suggest that i hadn't tried.
It doesn't have a PCMCIA or an Express Card slot, so it appears that the answer is no.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:04 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by dunkadunc at 10:04 PM on December 28, 2009
By the way, if you bought the laptop from Best Buy, they appear to have a two week window for notebook returns (from date of purchase for in-store, date of receipt for on-line).
posted by zippy at 10:05 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by zippy at 10:05 PM on December 28, 2009
Looks like the answer is no. Most newer laptops have ExpressCard slots, but your laptop doesn't have that either. But even if it did, the Firebox doesn't have Windows 7 drivers yet anyway, and Presonus have said that it will be a while before that happens if they do it at all.
posted by AlsoMike at 10:07 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by AlsoMike at 10:07 PM on December 28, 2009
Not going to happen. The Achilles heel of low-cost laptops (cheap computers in general, really) is I/O. Processors and memory and storage have all gotten cheap, but the manufacturers seem to always use I/O as the consumer vs "pro" differentiator.
There are USB to FireWire adapters, but only for digital video. They would let you import video from your FireWire camcorder onto that laptop, but it won't act like a real FW port for the purposes of your audio interface, and other FW peripherals that you might have. Also, reviews seem to be mixed on them in general, and they require special drivers (always a red flag in my experience).
I'd think hard about whether that's really the laptop for you; a better choice would be something with an ExpressCard slot, if not integrated FireWire on the motherboard.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:14 PM on December 28, 2009
There are USB to FireWire adapters, but only for digital video. They would let you import video from your FireWire camcorder onto that laptop, but it won't act like a real FW port for the purposes of your audio interface, and other FW peripherals that you might have. Also, reviews seem to be mixed on them in general, and they require special drivers (always a red flag in my experience).
I'd think hard about whether that's really the laptop for you; a better choice would be something with an ExpressCard slot, if not integrated FireWire on the motherboard.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:14 PM on December 28, 2009
Sadly, as others have said, the answer is definitely no. Just ask anybody who has ever heard their favorite music through an Apogee Duet but doesn't own a Mac.
posted by 2oh1 at 11:26 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by 2oh1 at 11:26 PM on December 28, 2009
As others have said, without a card slot, you're out of luck.
posted by jjb at 12:07 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by jjb at 12:07 AM on December 29, 2009
Response by poster: Well since right now isn't the best time financially i think i am going to stick with this computer and use an old desktop i have for music and video stuff for the time being.
Thanks for all the answers though. Helpful if nothing else.
posted by djduckie at 6:57 AM on December 29, 2009
Thanks for all the answers though. Helpful if nothing else.
posted by djduckie at 6:57 AM on December 29, 2009
maybe this might work? or something like it?
posted by lester's sock puppet at 8:33 AM on December 29, 2009
posted by lester's sock puppet at 8:33 AM on December 29, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Depending on your vendor, your most direct route to Firewire compatibility might be to return the laptop and eat the possible restocking charge.
posted by zippy at 10:03 PM on December 28, 2009