Hi. I'm thinking of buying an iPod. I have a WinXP laptop, with a USB1.1 port and a 4-pin firewire port. I realise iPods support USB2, and transfer speeds will be too slow if I use my 1.1 port.

I checked the specs on the apple website, and it seems to me that the iPod needs a 6-pin firewire port. Is this the case? If so, I have found several different 6-pin to 4-pin adaptors available. Will I need to buy one of these, or does the iPod come with one in the box?

Thanks for your help.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

No adapter in the box. Remember that those extra 2 pins are for power, so your iPod will not charge when connected to the laptop.

Ah, OK, so I won't be able to use the iPod unless I buy a 6-pin to 4-pin adaptor, right? Thanks.

Use the USB1.1, Trust me - it'll be better for these reasons.
When hooked up in the firewire mode, it won't have any power except that on the battery, so the battery will be eaten up extremely fast. I'd save battery power(especially the way the iPod batteries are) and get a slower speed. USB1.1 is mind numbingly slow though. So you got to pick your choice, eat up batteries or slow speeds. The reason why you won't have power is because of the 2 extra pins on the bigger firewire connector are GND and +5V(I think)

Get USB 2.0

I would, but the only way to do that is via my PCMCIA slot, and that is already taken up by my wireless card!

how about have it plugged into an AC adapter and use firewire?

Nope, the only cables Apple sells are Single Firewire and Dual Firewire + USB 2.0. And the AC Adapter is Firewire. So either way you're stuck.

And how would USB 1.1 not eat up the battery? It isnt powered either! I wouldnt even touch USB 1.1 if i were you. There is a very low number of people using 1.1 that can get it to work without any problems. And if the iPod suddenly stops connecting with the computer.... i would be 98% sure that it was caused by having USB 1.1. Apple doesnt support the slower standard because it is unreliable, slow and all around not great for external devices.

Also... 3rd party 6pin to 4pin adapters dont always work and can cause connection problems.



Yeah that is the worst excuse I have ever heard. How hard can it be to take out a card and put another one in for a few minutes while songs are transferred? Go get a USB 2.0 or FW card and dont be lazy

Its not just the inconvenience of swapping cards out, its the cost aswell. I'm guessing that a FW/USB2 card is more expensive than a 4pin to 6pin adapter.

I tried moving my 4,000 songs on the iPod with USB 1. I'd estimate it to take about a day.

Investing in a quick switch USB 2.0 port would probably be worth it. More and more products will start using it.