recording on a imac

[itie]

my friend has a mackie onyx 1620 or 1640 soundboard i cant remember which one it is. he is running it straight to his imac with a firewire cable to record in logic studios. right now he is on his 3rd mac. they keep blowing up and apple keeps replacing them. but they cant tell him why its doing it. one guy told him it was static electricity. but i dont believe that. the last time this happen the firewire card needed to be replaced on the mackie. whats going on?

[howlingwolf487]

There are WAY too many variables in this situation for us to really give you an accurate answer.

My advice is to narrow down the problem more, then get back to us.

What we know: the Mac has been replaced and the firewire card in the Mackie has been replaced.

What we don't know:
- Is the computer plugged into a faulty AC outlet?
- Is the mixer plugged into a faulty AC outlet?
- Is the Mac power supply faulty in some way?
- Is there a fault inside the mixer that is causing electricity to fry the Mac?
- Is there a fault inside the Mac that is causing electricity to fry the Firewire card?

There are more individual variables if you focus on any one area (the mixer, for example), but generally speaking, I would investigate those first and narrow your scope from there. Who knows...it could possibly be both or neither - those are just my educated guesses.

[itie]

oh sorry i forgot that the mac was not plugged in to anything and the mackie was plugged into his crown. everything was off. when he plugged in the firewire to the mac a load pop was heard and no marks anywhere. then the mac wouldnt turn on.

[howlingwolf487]

You need to be much more specific; remember, we weren't there and don't know what you are thinking or what you remember.

You said...

the mac was not plugged in to anything and the mackie was plugged into his crown [power amplifier]. everything was off

Some of this might help deduce the problem; walk through it with me:

- The iMac was not plugged in. What wasn't it plugged in to - microphones, AC power, etc. - we need specifics.

- The Mackie was plugged into the Crown power amplifier.

You also said...

when he plugged in the firewire to the mac a load pop was heard

- Where did the pop come from? Main speakers, monitor wedges, computer speakers? This leads me to believe the amplifier was on; there is a proper procedure for powering up gear (peripherals first, then outboard and console, then system processing, then amps).

Then you said...

and no marks anywhere. then the mac wouldnt turn on.

- Well, I wouldn't expect any marks, unless the heat from whatever is happening causes some plastic/metal to singe, burn, or warp.

- Which time was this? You mentioned in your first post that your friend's laptop had to be replaced 3 times and the firewire card needed to be replaced after the last incident; does the computer ALSO need to be replaced again?

Specifics, specifics, specifics. Imagine that you are talking to a tech support person on the phone and they ask for SPECIFIC details about what occurred. Write like that and get back to us.

[Arez]

How is that firewire cable he was using? Does it still work, do you have any way of testing it's functionality and inspecting it?

Also was all of this direct to wall outlets, was it all on one circuit, is it in surge protectors?

Is he running a UPS?

Are his cables grounded?

Also, how long in between the different replacements before they went bad? Was it get one, plug it in, turn it on, dead, rinse repeat over a few weeks, or was this completely random altogether over a year or two?

Like Howlingwolf487 said, we need a lot more information.

[itie]

ok so they had just got back from recording on location. the mac had nothing plugged into it i mean nothing. he set up his mackie and all the equipment he had with it. i think it was an effects, eq, and a crown, ect... but nothing was plugged in yet except the crown in the the wall and the board had nothing in it ether. it was plugged into the crown. he went to plug the firewire into the mac and it was plugged into the mackie already. when he plugged it into the mac a load pop was heard kinda like a popper you throw on the floor but i tad loader. he than check everything and the mac wasnt turning on. no brakers were tripped the outlet that the crown was plugged into had no sign of damage. nothing else in the room was affected.

[itie]

it was about a year apart and firewire was fine at the apple store the checked it.