LaCie 800 - Manual (Page 11)

LaCie FireWire 800 PCI Card •
DESIGN BY SISMO FireWire 800 Questions & Answers
User Manual page 11
Will FireWire 800 Devices Work On FireWire 400
Ports And Vice Versa?
The new standard was designed to be backwards compatible,
meaning that FireWire 800 devices will still operate via the origi-
nal FireWire 400 port. To connect a FireWire 800 device to
a FireWire 400 port, a specific adapter cable must be used,
though. There are two types of FireWire 400 ports: 6-pin and
4-pin. For FireWire 800 devices to work, they must be connected
by placing the 9-pin end of the FireWire cable into the FireWire
800 port of the device, and the opposite 6-pin or 4-pin end into
the FireWire 400 port.
The same holds true for FireWire 400 devices being connected
to a FireWire 800 host port. The 4-pin or 6- pin end of the
FireWire cable must be connected to the FireWire 400 port of
the device, and the 9-pin end must be connected to the FireWire
800 port.
When FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 devices are mixed, all
transfer rates revert to the original FireWire 400 speed.
For more information about the FireWire interface, please visit:
http://www.lacie.com/technologies