Data Transfer from firewire external drive to newer usb mac

[DJ Bassett]

It's a fine day, above ground, vertical and ventilating!

How does one transfer data from older LaCie external firewire only hard drives to a usb-only macbook pro (OS X 10.11.5)?

I'd like to run DiskWarrior 5 on the LaCie disks before attempting this transfer.

I've tried to daisy chain the older firewire LaCie drives to a newer LaCie firewire/usb drive, but the older drive wouldn't show up on my desktop.

I even spit out my bubble gum as there is more than one moving part in this operation, and it still didn't work!

Thanks,

Denman

[Stephen Hart]

You'll probably need an adapter. Depending on the exact model MacBook you have, you can choose among many. You might be able to use a cable, rather than a full-fledged dock.

I have a similar situation with a 2014 iMac with no FireWire ports. I chose the OWC Thunderbolt dock, which includes many USB ports (two high-powered), Thunderbolt and FireWire 800. Seems to work perfectly, and allows me to use some older FireWire drives I have around.

[DJ Bassett]

Thanks Stephen,

I failed to mention that I do have a display with one FireWire 800 port. I have one external LaCie drive with an 800 connection, but the others are FireWire 400. Can these two be connected?

Denman

[Stephen Hart]

FireWire 800 and 400 are compatible, if you have the right cables. If one port is 400, of course 400 is the highest speed you'll get.
You might be able to use a port on a display--or a drive if you have one with both ports--but there are some odd issues with FireWire chains. It wouldn't hurt to try it out.

[Jay Cline]

DJ, the drive inside the Firewire case could be SATA or PATA and you might be able to buy a external case that uses USB.
I have a couple of computers here that will work with older Firewire drives. If you have trouble getting it to mount I can transfer files over the network or to new USB drives for you.

[DJ Bassett]

Thanks Jay!

Great offer!

I picked up a FireWire 400 to FireWire 800 cable at Mac Traders yesterday and was able to connect all of my drives.

I ran DiskWarrior 5 on them all, recovered files that had been missing and am now transferring all data to a new backup drive.

I sure do appreciate the good and rapid response from this SMUG board, you and Stephen!

Thanks again!

DJ