Firewire PCI Card Installation FAQ

Install and Troubleshoot FireWire Card    

FireWire cards are supposed to be Plug and Play (PnP). PnP, a Microsoft technology, automatically senses when new hardware is installed in your system and initiates the driver installation. A driver is a piece of code that lets your computer communicate with its hardware. When you install a firewire card in the pc, you do not need any driver loaded from the cd disk at all.

Here are some general guidelines to follow for installing a FireWire card:

  1. Unplug your PC and open the case.
  2. While working inside your case, place one hand on your PC's power supply at all times to properly ground yourself. Doing this will lessen the chance of static electricity seriously damaging any of the hardware inside your case. When the unit is disconnected, the power supply is not dangerous.
  3. Seat the card in an available PCI slot.
  4. Secure the card to the case using the screw that came with the card.
  5. Put the cover back on your case and plug the power cord back into your PC.
  6. Don't attempt to plug anything into the FireWire card at this time.
  7. Turn your computer on.

Now it's time to grab your Windows installation disk (just in case you need it to complete the process). While your computer finishes booting up, here are some additional guidelines to follow for installing the drivers:

Windows 98/98 SE

  1. You should see a dialog box instructing you that Windows discovered a new piece of hardware on your system with an OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host identified.
  2. Click Next when you see the Add New Hardware Wizard.
  3. Choose "Search for the best driver for your device" and click Next.
    • For Windows 98, clear all checkboxes. Click Next, Next, and Finish to complete the process.
    • For Windows 98 SE, clear all checkboxes, click Next, and choose "The Updates Driver (Recommended)" option. Then click Next, Next, and Finish to complete the process.
  4. Restart your PC to complete the driver installation.

Windows Me/2000/XP

Windows Me, 2000, and XP will automatically detect and install the correct driver. You shouldn't have to do anything.

Verify the installation

Now comes the time to see if your new FireWire card was successfully installed. To do this, follow these directions:

Windows 98/98 SE/Me/2000

  1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties.
  2. Click the Device Manager tab.
  3. Double-click the 1394 Bus Controller option. An OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller should be displayed.

Windows XP

  1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties.
  2. Click the Hardware tab.
  3. Click the Device Manager button.
  4. Double-click the 1394 Bus Controller option. An OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller should be displayed.

Troubleshooting tips

Here are some additional troubleshooting tips:

  • If you see an OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller with a question mark next to it, the driver wasn't installed correctly. Try right-clicking the driver and choose either Remove or Delete. Try restarting your computer and run through the installation steps again.
  • For some unknown reason putting the card in a different PCI slot will clear up any problems associated with it not being recognized by Windows. Try this if Plug and Play doesn't find the new hardware after you've installed it.
  • Make sure you visit the manufacturer's website to see if any updated drivers have been released.
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