FireWire PCI Card (for original Power Macintosh G3 computer)
The disc included with the FireWire PCI card installs an application named FireWire Card Tester in the FireWire folder of your hard disk.
When opened, the application displays one of the three alert boxes shown below, detailing the status of the card's FireWire ports. See Figures 1 through 3.
Figure 1 FireWire alert; no response
The message in Figure 1 indicates that the computer cannot detect the card. Try removing the card from its PCI slot, and firmly reinserting it. Make sure the card's internal power connector is connected to one of the hard drive power connectors, which originates from the power supply.
Figure 2 FireWire alert; no camera
If you see the alert box shown in Figure 2, make sure the camera is turned on, and is not in sleep mode. Try opening the application again. If you continue to see this alert box, check cabling, and try a different camera.
Figure 3 FireWire alert; functioning properly
The message shown in Figure 3 indicates that the card is functioning as it should.
Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) with Mac OS 8.5 or 8.5.1
The FireWire Card Tester application is not compatible with the FireWire ports on the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) computer. Use the Apple Video Player application installed in the Applications folder on the hard disk to test the ports instead.
Note: Apple Video Player is not designed to capture digital video (also referred to as DV) and Apple does not support using it for that purpose. However, it can be used to test the ports. Also, note that this method of testing the FireWire ports is not reliable if another video capture device is installed on the computer.
Figure 4 Apple Video Player; camera sensed
Confirm the camera is connected to the FireWire port and turned on prior to opening Apple Video Player. If Apple Video Player senses the camera, the Apple Video Player Controls window will look like the one shown in Figure 4, which indicates that the ports and the computer are functioning properly.
Figure 5 Apple Video Player; camera not sensed
If Apple Video Player does not sense the camera, only one option will appear in the Apple Video Player Controls window. See Figure 5. Double-check the connection from the camera to the computer, and make sure that the camera is on and not in sleep mode.
If this fails, perform a clean installation of the system software, and update to the version of FireWire software available from Apple's Web site at http://www.apple.com/swupdates/ .
Macintosh computer with built-in FireWire ports and Mac OS 8.6 or later
The version of Apple System Profiler that came with Mac OS 8.6, and subsequent versions, have the ability to check the built-in FireWire ports and report the version of the FireWire software installed.
Apple System Profiler steps
1. Choose Apple System Profiler from the Apple menu.
2. Click the Devices and Volumes tab. The information for FireWire appears. See Figure 6.
Figure 6 FireWire information in Apple System Profiler.
The camera must be turned on prior to opening Apple System Profiler or it will not be detected. Figure 7 is similar to what you should see if a camera is detected.
Figure 7 Camera detected by Apple System Profiler