Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:53 am

I'm gonna get me a Firebox or an Ultralite. I want to know how hot-pluggable either of these units are - can I just plug them in and disconnect them as I please with no ill consequences? Do I have to restart? Is one better then the other in this respect? This is kind of important for me. I often carry my laptop around asleep, then wake it up and start immediately doing work on it. I would love to be able to wake it up, plug in an audio interface and start recording.

I'm currently on an iBook G4, but I'll be on a Macbook soon enough...

dazzer · Post by **dazzer** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 10:33 am

What you describe doing is exactly how I treat my Ultralite and not had any problems so far.

Guy in the shop where I bought it said it was OK to hotplug it, though not sure how reliable his info is.

The MOTU manual lists the order that you are supposed to turn on/connect to the computer but I'm at work and don't have it to hand.

FWIW, I'm on a Powerbook.

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:50 pm

That sounds good dazzer - I'd love to hear from any Firebox users on how the firebox handles hotplugging. If the prognosis isn't good, I'll definitely get an Ultralite, whereas I might look at the cheaper Firebox if it can be used how I want to use it.

dazzer · Post by **dazzer** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:23 pm

Here you go.
From MOTU website:

"Can I hot-plug my MOTU interface?
Hot-plugging refers to the act of plugging in a device when the computer is on, or unplugging and replugging it as part of trouble shooting. MOTU USB and Firewire interfaces support hot-plugging. This means when you plug in a MIDI or Audo interface you have instant access, as long as the driver is installed. Care should be used when doing this... plugging a cable in upside down or at an angle could damage your computer or the device. When possible plug Firewire and USB devices in with the computer off."

Maybe see if Presonus say anything on their website?

jackmazzotti · Post by **jackmazzotti** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 6:20 pm

hot swapping is not a good idea
why would you play around with this

sroom3000 · Post by **sroom3000** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 6:58 pm

i hot plug my firebox all the time. never had a problem. sweet unit.
i'm using a mac G4 1.5ghz powerbook

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 7:43 pm

jackmazzotti wrote:hot swapping is not a good idea
why would you play around with this

"Gee bender"..... wtf are you talking about? Why would I want to play around with this? Because that's how I'd like to use my hardware! I'm an engineer, and I know that there's not some "magic voodoo" that makes things die when you hotplug them. It's just a matter of how well they are designed and how well the drivers are written. Anyway.....

jackmazzotti · Post by **jackmazzotti** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 2:45 am

forgie wrote:
jackmazzotti wrote:hot swapping is not a good idea
why would you play around with this
"Gee bender"..... wtf are you talking about? Why would I want to play around with this? Because that's how I'd like to use my hardware! I'm an engineer, and I know that there's not some "magic voodoo" that makes things die when you hotplug them. It's just a matter of how well they are designed and how well the drivers are written. Anyway.....

well for one I love bender

two.. if you are an ENGINEER why are you asking this question

three..I have heard from various places in different contexts that hot swapping is not a good idea

four..you seem to be an unhappy person, i am trying to offer my help, instead you name call

five..by saying "why would you want to play with this" is my way of saying i think this hotswapping business is risky (maybe its not but i have read in some computer and music mags and that it is) i was not calling you stupid

six..unless you don't play out then hotswap all day for all i care, i do play out and i don't like to mess around with my very expensive set up (i don't hotswap even though motu say i can)

seven.. computers most definately are full of evil magic voodoo (less and less these days thankfully)

inis · Post by **inis** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 5:39 am

Im wondering the engineering question myself. you think a brilliant engineer could have search motu's website for the answer.

or a brilliant engineer would know the the early problems encountered with hot-plugging had nothing to do with the interfaces and everything to do with the computer hardware that apple was putting out.

forgie · Post by **forgie** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:54 am

Yeah, I COULD search MOTUs website, but chances are that they would say you cannot hotplug, since it's easier for them to say that. Especially if it is reliant on particular firewire chipsets in the computer to be hotpluggable.

Sorry if I seemed blunt last night.... I hadn't eaten dinner! Low blood sugar and all that.

I was frustrated because the whole "firewire is not hotpluggable" seems to be one of those things like "you shouldn't leave your mac asleep for longer then a day or two". It USED to be true, and 7-8 years ago no computer user would leave their computer on but asleep for days at a time. It's no longer true, but many people BELIEVE it to be true, just like the firewire thing. People write in magazines that it is a "bad idea", which seems to me like it's one of those "legacy bad-idea" things that is actually ok to do now. By saying I'm an engineer, I was just saying that I'm not going to NOT hot plug something just because people say it's a bad idea. I need a technical reason for it not to work.

And my experience with USB interfaces is that a different driver can mean the difference between hot-pluggable and not hot-puggable operation. Even if the hardware can do it, the driver might not like it, and will cause problems. I have certainly witnessed this with USB, so I thought it could possibly be the case with firewire. Is that not reasonable?

As for a brilliant engineer knowning about early problems with hot-plugging - I don't know everything! There is so much stuff that I have learnt about (and a lot of which I have forgotten lol), but this wasn't one of them, which is why I came asking here. It's often quicker to ask users then search a manufacturers website for a piece of technical information that they might be cagey about. They can often point out information that would've taken me hours to find. After all, isn't that what's great about the internet? Shared knowledge and information?

Anyway, as MOTU DO say that their interfaces are hotpluggable, that's great news. I guess I just have to find out about the FireBox.

edit: from another forum

Yeah, my little Oxygen-8 is flaky sometimes (or its drivers) - sometimes I can hotplug it in and the computer (laptop) will see it, and there it is, after only a moment, in the apps as a MIDI In - but other times, nada. At those times, only a reboot gets the computer to see it. There goes the creative flow...

Its logic (no pun intended) escapes me.

So I don't see how my question was stupid, or how I could be expected to know it. End users are ususally the ones who know.

grainshifter · Post by **grainshifter** » Mon May 10, 2010 3:47 pm

bringing this conversation to the present.
i'm pretty sure my firebox is fried due to
hot-swapping.

mainly because i'm pretty sure the firewire card
on my mackie onyx board is fried as well, not even
recognized anymore!

on the firebox, the i/o is completely f**t.

i'm not certain it is b/c of hot swapping, but
for both my FW interfaces now unoperable, i
take some blame, but i also point the finger at apple.
MBP 2.4ghz.

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Mon May 10, 2010 7:39 pm

i am hot plugging my firebox also all the time.

solid since years it's a workhorse.

mihai · Post by **mihai** » Mon May 10, 2010 8:18 pm

wasn't even aware of this issue. i always hotplug my firebox since i got it in august 2009. using a 2.33ghz mbp.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Mon May 10, 2010 8:32 pm

I hot plugged my Ultralite for years with no problems, always worked fine. Wish my Fireface was that stable!

grainshifter · Post by **grainshifter** » Mon May 10, 2010 8:37 pm

I don't mean to mislead anyone and maybe I should rephrase. I'm not com
pletely sure my firebox is fried b/ c of hot swapping. something happened to it that I'm wondering if anyone else has experience with. just a warning to all you folks too.

Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?

Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?

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Re: Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?

Re: Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?

Re: Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?

Re: Is a Firebox or an Ultralite hotpluggable?