Actiontec electronic 1394 User Manual

Table of Contents

Proprietary Notice and Disclaimer ........................1

Introduction................................................................2

Contacting

Action

Do This First...............................................................3

Minimum System Requirements...........................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: [phone]
Technical Support (Choose Option 7)
760 N. Mary Avenue Fax: [phone]
Sunnyvale, CA 94086 BBS: 408-732-0112

tec Technical Support

E-mail:
[e-mail]

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