Firewire HDD enclosures

Goi

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
6,771
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Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a 2.5" enclosure with IEEE1394b support. Some of these, like this Onnto one, advertises IEEE1394a backwards compatibility. However AFAIK FW400 connectors/cables are either 4 or 6pin, depending on whether it's bus or self powered, while FW800 connectors/cables are 9pin. If that's the case, how is this backwards compatibility being maintained?

AFAIK PC laptops come with the smaller 4pin connectors while desktops come with the larger 6pin connectors. The Onnto enclosure seems to use the 9pin connector based on the pictures. Do they use some adapter/convertor cable to connect the device 9pin connector to the host 4-6pin connector? Is this the usual practice?

Thanks.