My 4-Pin FireWire Cable Does Not Fit Into My HP Pavilion Laptop

FireWire, also known as institution of electrical engineers 1394 or Sony i.Link, is an alternative to universal serial bus. FireWire can use either the FireWire 400 specification, or the FireWire 800 specification, the latter of which is backwards-compatible with the former. Some HP Pavilions include at least one FireWire interface alongside the USB ports.

Basics

The kind of receptacle the HP Pavilion uses to connect FireWire devices to the computer depends on which specification the Pavilion features. If the HP Pavilion uses FireWire 400, the notebook will come with either a 4-pin or a 6-pin receptacle. If the Pavilion uses FireWire 800, the notebook will come with an 8-pin receptacle. 4-pin connectors are used for unpowered devices, like digital cameras; 6-pin connectors are used for powered devices, like external hard drives.

Standard Cables

Some FireWire devices include a pre-packaged cable used to connect the hardware to the PC. These are standard cables, which use a single interface. For example, an external hard drive that uses FireWire 400 will often come with a cable equipped with a single 6-pin connector on each end of the cable. These cables are useful if the computer features the same connector as the device, but otherwise aren't compatible with the PC.

Bilingual Cables

Bilingual cables, or adapter cables, feature one kind of connector on one end of the cable, and another kind of connector on the other end. Bilingual cables often must be purchased separately from the device. If the HP Pavilion uses a 6-pin or 9-pin receptacle, but your FireWire device uses a 4-pin connector, you can use a bilingual cable to connect the device to the PC. One end of the cable should have a 4-pin connector, and the other end, a connector compatible with the HP Pavilion.

Specification

Check the specification sheet included with your HP Pavilion if you aren't sure which FireWire receptacle the computer uses. If you can't find your computer's specifications, you can figure out what kind of FireWire port the computer uses by counting the number of contacts inside the socket. The number of contacts corresponds to the number of pins the receptacle uses.

References

• Seagate Knowledge Base: An Overview of FireWire Cables
• Upgrading and Repairing PCs; Scott Mueller