Firewire interfase connection

[Gnome]

I have a Focusrite Saffire which I connect to a MacBook Pro. However, I've always wondered if it's alright to unplug the interfase with the computer on (I never do it), or how one should proceed regarding connections/disconnections and turning on the machines. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Gnome.

 

[ninnlangel]

Plug and unplug as you wish my friend. Firewire was designed for that. And as a saffire owner, I can tell you I do that 5x a day without a problem.

 

[stranger0]

Personally as a rule, I won't.

On a PC that's just asking for trouble.

On a mac it may be a different story (So I've noticed with my Macbook for the short time I've had it)

As I was saying as a rule, I don't think it's a good idea to just simply unplug your cables while the unit is still running (even if the piece of software that you use is no longer in use), turn off your unit then unplug it (or power off/reboot etc...) I had my mac crap out once when I tried it. Besides, computers, be it mac or PC's are not foolproof.

 

[Gnome]

Anyone want to break the tie? Heh.

 

[DocBop]

Anyone want to break the tie? Heh.

If you can avoid hot unplugging avoid it, especially with drives (the write buffers may not be flushed). Trouble is some OS's don't give you the option to disconnect from non-storage or network devices.

Does that break your tie?

 

[stranger0]

I view it like this

You wouldn't turn off a mixing board and your monitors at the same time...if you did you'd severely shorten the life span of your monitors. You'd turn off your speakers then your mixer.