Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

foolgladly

foolgladly

New member
Hey guys, I've been digging through every forum I can get my hands on and I can't seem to find a solution to this problem.

I've got FCPHD installed on the internal drive of a brand new Dual 2.5ghz G5 with 2.5gb of RAM. I've been messing around while waiting for my external FW800 1TB drive to arrive. It's the LaCie Bigger Disk Extreme. Everything's been perfect while working off the internal drive.

When the LaCie arrived, I fired it up and the drive works great. However, if I try to use it as a scratch disk (the reason I bought it), I get the "Broken VFR/Pulldown Cadence" error. When I switch back to the internal drive, everything's fine. Same logged clips, etc..

I'm at a complete loss. Is it a matter of trying to capture from a firewire device and write to a firewire device simulaneously? Would a PCI card solve the problem? I'm really beating my head against a wall here and any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Chris.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

Try reformatting the drive using disk utility. Turn journaling off.

Guy Cochran
DVcreators.net
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

I'll give it a shot, Guy, and get back to you. Thanks for the quick reply.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

Hate to mention it, but are you using a FW800 cable that's in good shape? ???
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

Well, it's brand new, but it was an ebay bargain, not an $80 Apple Store markup model. Think that could be having this large of an effect?
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

A bad cable can have a huge effect. Maybe yours is a factory second. Can you buy a better one from a store that allows returns, just to test the theory? Belkin is one reputable brand that's pretty reasonable in price.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

You're definitely supposed to have journaling off. I've seen that mentioned in many places.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

This is wonderful.... while doing a complete disk format the disk utility had an error and now my Lacie drive icon isn't even listed on my desktop. This is after waiting 6 hours and seeing the format progress level at only 50%. So if I can't even get the drive to format correctly, how can I expect for it to hold 80 hours of my precious DV footage? I'm assuming there is some bus error with these drives or some kind of conflict with OS X. Unless someone has an enlightening way to fix this problem, I’m gonna send it back to the vendor and get a G-raid. Just in case, has anyone had any bad experiences with G-raids?
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

I had problems with using a firewire drive as a scratch disc also. I have the same G5 as you, and I really feel the best solution is an internal ATA drive. Apple has provided the space for it, the wiring, and even the screws installed inside for the drive. Its a 5 minute installation, its the fastest, and probably cheapest solution. I have a 250GB, along with the 160GB main drive, and I haven't had one dropped frame. I had them all the time with the firewire external. Of course, its not real portable, but its very reliable.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

I guess i'm the minority. I'm running 3 Lacie Bigger Disk 1TB drives on firewire800 as my capture/storage drives and they work flawlessly.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

Kai, this Lacie question has appeared in a number of threads lately. As I pointed out in another one, people who report problems don't represent a random sampling of owners. I, too, have owned Lacies for years without problems, and I own one now that's working fine.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

I know a few people who hate Lacie's. But I think because of their special hardware configurations when dealing with capture cards/Raid and OS version.

I haven't had a bad experience with them.

But I DO hate Maxtors. Nothing but problems with those. And I know many others who have had just as much bad luck with em'.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

Name any product, and I'll find people who have had problems with it or think it's no good.
 
Re: Firewire Scratch Disk Problem

As an alternative...

I decided I needed a 1TB RAID for my new 2.5GHz DP, but I went internal. Instead of spending big for cabinetry, I got a SwiftData RAID rack, a Highpoint 8-channel SATA card and four Hitachi 250GB SATA drives (all from TransInt'l dot com) and installed them in the G5 box. I used the OS X RAID software and it rocks! Speed is in the 100-150 MB/sec range vs. around 27 MB/sec for my FW400 drives and the cost was around $1200 last November. Oh, yeah... I have four leftover ports on the SATA card, so I may build an external RAID box later...
 
Solved, For Me

Solved, For Me

Wanted to jump in again and say thanks for all the help and give a quick update.

I reformatted the drive, turning off journaling, and everything's working like a charm. No dropped frames, as of yet, and no problems whatsoever in any other department.

Try this first, and your problem may be solved.

Thanks again for all the help, guys.

Chris
 
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