Actiontec electronic 1394 User Manual

Table of Contents
Proprietary Notice and Disclaimer ........................1
Introduction................................................................2
Contacting
Action
Do This First...............................................................3
Package Contents.................................................3
Before you Install the 1394 FireWire Card............3
Installing the PCI Card..............................................5
Connecting Devices to the Actiontec 1394 FireWire
Card ......................................................................6
Configuring Windows 98 ..........................................7
Checking the installation in Windows 98.............10
Configuring Windows 2000 Professional..............11
Checking the installation in Windows 2000 Pr ofes-
sional...................................................................15
Notices......................................................................16

Proprietary Notice and Disclaimer

tec Technical Support................2
Unless otherwise noted, this document and the information herein disclosed are proprietary to Actiontec Electronics, Inc. Any person or entity to whom this document is furnished or who otherwise has possession thereof, by acceptance agrees that it will not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part, nor used in any manner except to meet the purposes for which it was delivered.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Actiontec. Although Actiontec will make every ef fort to inform users of substantive errors, Action tec disclaim s all liability for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this document or any hardware or software described herein, including without limitation contingent, special or incidental liability.
Note: PC is a trademark of IBM Corporation. Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Pro­fessional are trademarks of Microsoft, SInc. All other brand or product names and logos used in this manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respec­tive holders.
Proprietary Notice and Disclaimer 1

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing an Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card. Actiontec’s implementation of the IEEE 1394 standard brings
the latest in serial bus technology to your PC in an inexpensive PCI card. An integral part of any PC-based video editing solu­tion, the 1394 FireWire Card also opens you up to a world of other fast, inexpensive peripherals, such as storage devices. FireWire devices also support “hot-swapping”— the ability to install and remove the devices without turning your computer off to do so.
Easy to install, the 1394 FireWire Card is a ver y convenient way to expand your PC into the world of IEEE 1394 devices.
Contacting
Action
Actiontec Electronics prides itself on making high-quality, durable, high-performance products. If you should need assis­tance, the Actiontec Technical Support Department is available from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Pacific Coast Time, Monday through Friday to provide professional support.
New drivers and firmware are released as need arises to insure maximum compatibility and operation of your new Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card. To find out more about this and other Actiontec products, and to sign up for a free e-mail newsletter, visit the Actiontec web site at: http://www.actiontec.com.
Actiontec Electronics, Inc. Phone: 408-752-7714 Technical Support (Choose Option 7) 760 N. Mary Avenue Fax: 408-732-0097 Sunnyvale, CA 94086 BBS: 408-732-0112
tec Technical Support
E-mail: techsupp@actiontec.com
2 Introduction

Do This First

Minimum System Requirements

333Mhz (or above) PC with 32MB of RAM and CD­ROM drive
One available PCI slot
Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 98SE, or Win dows 2000 installed

Package Contents

Make sure the following items came in this package:
1394 FireWire Card
This user’s manual
(1) 4-pin to 6-pin FireWire Cable
MEI Video-Editing Software

Before you Install the 1394 FireWire Card

Make sure you have your Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) CD-ROM on hand during the installation pro­cess. Windows may need to copy some files from it s own instal­lation CD-ROM during the installation of the 1394 FireWire Card. In this case, insert your Windows installation CD when it is requested and follow the on-screen instructions. When windows has copied the files it needs, you will be returned to the installation process where you left it.
To reduce the chance that there will be problems operating the 1394 FireWire Card, do not install it at the same time as you install any other PCI devices.
Use the extension cable provided to avoid stretching the power cables in your computer to reach the card. The cable from your computer’s power supply should be able to reach farther, when fully extended, than the location of the card. Make sure there is slack in the cable when the connection has been made.
Do This First 3
Do not, under any circumstances, insert or remove the PCI card while the computer is turned on. Doing so with any PCI
card will have unpredictable results which may include per­manent physical damage to the card, your computer’s mainbord, or both.
4 Do This First

Installing the PCI Card

Step 1 Turn off the computer and all peripheral devices con-
nected to it.
Step 2 Unplug the computer power cord from the wall
receptacle.
Step 3 Remove the computer’s cover. Refer to your computer
owner’s manual for instructions.
Step 4 Remove the screw securing the expansion slot cover
behind one of the computer’s available PCI expansion slots. Lift the expansion slot cover out as shown below.
CAUTION: Always discharge static electricity before handling the1394 FireWire Card. You may discharge static electricity by touch­ing a grounde metal structure or by using any commer­cially av ailabl e grounding strap.
Note: Make sure the slot is a PCI slot. PCI slots are smaller than ISA slots and nearly always white in color. ISA slots are generally black in color.
Figure 1: Removing the Backplate
The position of the expansion slots in your computer may differ from the illustrations shown in this user’s manual, depicting the slots in a vertical position. Regardless of the position of the expansion slots, the installation steps remain the same. Please refer to your computer owner’s manual for more information about the expansion slot configuration of your com­puter.
Installing the PCI Card 5
Step 5 Insert the PCI card into the available PCI expansion
slot. Ensure that the card is seated properly before securing it with the screw removed in Step 4, as shown in the following diagram.
Figure 2: Installing The PCI Card
Note: Make sure the power connector from your system is long enough to reach the card so that there is no ten­sion in the wires. If the spare power connector available in your system will not reach the card, use the power con­nector provided with the card as an extension
Step 6 On the card is a white, 4-wire “female” power con-
nector. Connect this device to an unused “male” con-
nector coming from your computer’s power supply. Step 7 Put the chassis cover back on the computer. Step 8 Make sure that all power switches are in the OFF
position, then reconnect the power cables to the com-
puter and its peripherals. Step 9 Turn on the computer and proceed to the following
sections to configure the Actiontec 1394 FireWire
Card for the operating system you are using.

Connecting Devices to the Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card

On the rear panel of the Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card are jacks to connect FireWire devices. Make sure, especially when connecting multiple devices to the 1394 FireWire Card that your PC’s internal power has been connected to the card. See Step 6 above for details on how to make this connection.
6 Installing the PCI Card

Configuring Windows 98

Step 1 After you have installed the 1394 FireWire Card in
your computer, turn on the power a nd allow the sys­tem to boot normally.
Step 2 Windows 98 will immediately display the Add New
Hardware Wizard and identify the modem as a “PCI OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller”. Click the Next button.
Step 3 At the next dialog box, make sure that “Search for the
best driver for your device. (Recommended)” is selected, and then click Next.
Configuring Windows 98 7
Note: After inserting the CD-ROM, make sure to wait a few seconds before clickin Next. Other­wise, the Wizard may report that it was unable to find the drivers. If this is the case, click Back and then click Next, repeating this pro­cess until the CD­ROM has been rec­ognized by the drive.
Step 4 Next the wizard will ask which drives or folders it
should search for the drivers. Click to select the CD-
ROM drive. Make sure that all the other options are
deselected, clicking them to deselect, if necessar y.
Insert the 1394 FireWire Card installation CD-ROM
and click Next.
Step 5 The Wizard will find the correct driver on the CD-
ROM and identify the device as an “Actiontec 1394
FireWire Card”. Click Next.
8 Configuring Windows 98
After Windows has finished copying the files to where they belong in your system, it will announce the en of the installation process. Click the Finish button.
Note: If the Add New Hardware Wizard asks you to insert your Windows 98 CD-ROM, leave the
Action
tec 1394 FireWire Card instal­lation CD-ROM inserted and follow the on-screen instructions. The files that Windows is asking for ha ve bee provided on the installation CD­ROM.
Configuring Windows 98 9

Checking the installation in Windows 98

Next, find out if the 1394 FireWire Card has been properly installed and configured for use with your operating system.
Step 1 On the Windows desktop, right-click the icon for My
Computer. In the dialog box that appears, click the Device Manager tab.
Step 2 The Device Manager will be displayed, listing the
kinds of devices that are connected to your system. Click the plus (+) sign next to “1394 Bus Controller” to expand that section of the listing.
The highlighted area shown above should match the same section of the listing displayed by your com­puter. If so, the 1394 FireWire Card has been installed correctly. See “Connecting Devices to the Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card” on page6 to connect FireWire devices to the card.
10 Configuring Windows 98

Configuring Windows 2000 Professional

Step 1 After you have installed the PCI card in your com-
puter, turn on the po wer and allow the system to boot normally.
Step 2 On the Windows desktop, right-click the icon for My
Computer. On the menu that appears, click Proper- ties. The system properties dialog box will appear.
Click the Hardware tab to bring it to the front, then click the Device Ma nager button.
Step 3 In Device Manager, click the plus (+) sign next to
IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controller to expand that sec­tion of the listing. A listing for OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller should appear.
Note: Windows did not display anything when you started up your computer to acknowledge the fact that you had installed new hard­ware. This was because it recog­nized the modem as one corresponding with one of the generic drivers that come as part of Win­dows 2000, in this case the OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller driver. This proce­dure effectively tells Windows to use the
Action
instead, which will allow you to take full advantage of the 1394 FireWire Card’s f eatures and capabilities.
tec driver
Configuring Windows 2000 Professional 11
Step 4 Double-click the listing for OHCI Compliant IEEE
1394 Host Controller. Click the Driver tab to bring
it to the front, then click Update Driver.
Step 5 This will start the Update Device Driver Wizard.
Click Next.
12 Configuring Windows 2000 Professional
Step 6 In the dialog box that appears next (shown below)
make sure “Search for a suitable driver for my device (Recommended) is selected, then click Next.
Step 7 In the dialog box that appears next, make sure that
“CD-ROM drives” is the only option selected. Insert the Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card Installation CD­ROM into your computer’s CD-ROM drive. then click Next.
Configuring Windows 2000 Professional 13
Step 8 In the dialog box that appears next, Windows will
announce that it has found a better driver (the Action- tec driver) on the CD-ROM. Click Next.
Step 9 Windows will copy the necessary files and report that
installation of the “Actiontec 1394 FireWi re Ca rd ” i complete. Click Finish.
14 Configuring Windows 2000 Professional

Checking the installation in Windows 2000 Professional

Next, find out if the 1394 FireWire Card has been properly installed and configured for use with your operating system.
Step 1 On the Windows desktop, right-click the icon for My
Computer. On the menu that appears, click Proper- ties. The system properties dialog box will appear.
Click the Hardware tab to bring it to the front, then click the Device Ma nager button.
Step 2 In Device Manager, click the plus (+) sign next to
IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controller to expand that sec­tion of the listing. A listing for an “Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card” should appear as shown in the illus­tration below:
The highlighted area shown above should match the same section of the listing displayed by your com­puter. If so, the 1394 FireWire Card has been installed correctly. See “Connecting Devices to the Actiontec 1394 FireWire Card” on page6 to connect FireWire devices to the card.
Configuring Windows 2000 Professional 15

Notices

FCC Regulations—Declaration of Conformity
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installa­tion. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio fre­quency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio com­munications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio and te levision recep­tion, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
16 Notices
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
CAUTION: CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS NOT EXPRESSLY APPROVED BY THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE COULD VOID THE USER’S AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT.
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