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[Mejilan]

Hiya folks. I use a Dell laptop computer as my primary system at home. Now, I own an Apple iPod and a makeshift external harddrive. It's actually an internal drive connected to a Bytecc 3.5" External Sub-System, which connects the hdd to to my computer using a Firewire connection.

See, I also have a Belkin Firewire Notebook cardbus adaptor installed on my computer, and thus I also connect my Apple iPod to the same firewire adaptor.

The situation is this: I keep all of my music collection on this external harddrive, and I synch my iPod to that music, while both devices are hooked up to the Firewire card. All good so far?

Here's my problem. The Belkin firewire card doesn't come with an AC Adaptor (though the Firewire adaptor itself does have support for a generic AC Adaptor. For my external HDD it was never an issue, since the Bytecc sub-system came with its own power source and AC adaptor. But obviously, without an external power supply for the Firewire card, I can't charge my iPod through the Firewire connection, only synch it.

So I brought my Belkin to a Radioshack and they sold me an AC Adaptor that will work with it.

Here's the deal, can I have the Belkin hooked up to power using this new AC adaptor (in order to synch and charge the iPod simultaneously) while also keeping the external HDD (with its own power supply) hooked up to this Belkin firewire card? Will my computer know not to supply power to the HDD since it has its own AC adaptor? Or will I fry my Belkin, my iPod, my HDD, or some combination of the 3?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mejilan]

 

[Mejilan]

Alright then. Baby steps.

First I hooked up the HDD to the now powered Belkin FW adaptor. No adverse effects. The PC didn't blow up, and neither did the HDD. Moved some files around, no problems.

Then I powered down the HDD and plugged in the iPod. It started charging instantly, and after a brief delay, iTunes popped up, signifying that it'd synch without problems. So far so good.

Now, am I brave enough to plug in both the iPod and the HDD at once?

I THINK I AM!!

 

[Myllz]

What's happenin' Mej?

You might be safe for now, but in the longrun, I'd avoid a situation like that. It puts unnecessary strain on your power supply, and may end up blowing it out over time.

 

[Mejilan]

How ya doin' Myllz? I checked out the relaunch. Nice.

Unnecessary strain? How so? If anything, I have TOO much power, not not enough, so where's the strain?

 

[Myllz]

How ya doin' Myllz? I checked out the relaunch. Nice.

Haven't been at GT in months, I just saw the relaunch myself the other day.

Unnecessary strain? How so? If anything, I have TOO much power, not not enough, so where's the strain?

It's not that you wouldn't have enough power, it just seems unecessary to have all those devices being powered by your power supply. I've never actually seen a question like this though. I would assume the power supply will recognize the A/C powered unit and not supply the power there, but I don't know for certain. I don't think you'll fry anything, but again, I've never dealt with anything like that.

 

[Mejilan]

I'm trying to make my life comfortable, and to make iPod synchs painless and hands-off.

That said, no adverse effects so far to running both together. Obviously I only bought the AC Adaptor for the Belkin in order to power my iPod as it charged.

What I failed to consider (or to ask about at Radioshack) at the time of purchase, was whether I could use the powered Firewire card to hook up both an iPod (to be powered through Firewire) and an independently powered external HDD. The answer (apparently) is yes. Thank g-d.