FireNet™

1. I have installed FireNet™ and the computers seem to be connected because can ping each other and see shares. However, when I try to actually copy files, I get a time out or a connection error.
   Your Firewire adapter is using an older Firewire chip that utilizes a buffer block size of 1 Kbyte instead of 2 Kbytes. 2 Kbyte is the standard according to the 400 Mbit specification. For example, 1394 adapters based on the NEC chipset use 1-Kbyte packet sizes.

   Solution: Change the FireNet™ maximum payload size to either "Ethernet Packet size" or 1024 bytes, as described in the manual, section "Using FireNet™ with protocols other than TCP/IP").

   Note: This applies only to the Windows version of FireNet™

2. During the FireNet™ installation in Windows 98/WinME, a dialog box appears asking for the location of the ubfwnet.sys
   This is an installation glitch, which has to do with the implementation of the networking components installation in Windows 98/WinME. Simply complete the path of the \windows\system ( or \windows\system32\drivers ) directory and the installation will continue and finish normally. Alternatively, you can point to the \Program Files\Unibrain\Firenet\drivers folder, where all FireNet™ driver files reside.
3. Can I connect a computer with FireNet™ installed to a Windows Me (or Windows XP) PC with Microsoft’s 1394 NDIS?
   For the moment "no". FireNet™ is not compatible with MSNDIS1394 because the latter is based on "IP over 1394". FireNet™ is based on Unibrain’s proprietary technology, "Ethernet Emulation" which is much more efficient for network connections. FireNet™ 3.0 (TBA), will support IP over 1394 and will have full compatibility with MS 1394 NDIS of Windows Me/XP.
4. When I copy large files in Windows ME, performance drops dramatically.
   This is a problem with Microsoft's NDIS driver. It has nothing to do with FireNet™ (the same problem exists with Ethernet). After the file transfer is complete, reboot the computer to regain the network speed.
5. I have noticed that FireNet™ does not assign a permanent Mac address to the 1394 adapter. How can this be solved?
   Because you have not yet authorized FireNet™ for unrestricted use. Once you've obtained a Product Key number and have entered it in the system, the 1394 adapter will be assigned a permanent MAC address.
6. I have installed FireNet™ in Windows 2000 and the network does not work and/or the computer crashes
   You are probably using another protocol other than TCP/IP. Either remove all other protocols and use TCP/IP, or go to the driver advanced settings and adjust the maximum payload to "Ethernet Packet Size". (See the section "Using FireNet™ with protocols other than TCP/IP").
7. My notebook cannot recover from standby/sleep mode when I have FireNet™ installed.
   When establishing connections between more than three computers via IEEE-1394 be sure to set all the computers so that they do not go into suspend, hibernation, or standby mode. If more than three computers are connected and one of the computers enters suspend, hibernate, or standby mode, file transfer between the other connected computers may be disrupted. If this occurs: i) first, remember to disconnect all 1394 connecting cables between the networked computers. ii) Restore the computer that has entered suspend, hibernation or standby mode, and reconnect the 1394 cable. Important: Also note that standby mode should always be disabled in Win98/WinMe but it is not necessary to disable it in Windows 2000. FireNet™ 1.4 or later can handle power management issues in a more efficient way.
8. Can I install FireNet™ in my desktop PC and connect it to my VAIO notebook?
   No. FireNet™ is incompatible with Sony’s "Smart Connect" software, which can be found in VAIO notebooks. You must install FireNet™ in both computers. (For more information, refer to Appendix D on the FireNet™ manual)
9. How can I connect my Mac computers to a network with Windows PCs via FireNet™?
   You'll need to install a Windows 2000 Server with Services for Macintosh. In this case, Mac computers will be able to use a file-share directory in the Windows 2000 Server computer. For more information and directions on how to install Services for Mac, refer to Appendix E: FireNet and Mac OS. Alternatively, if you don't have a Windows 2000 Server, there are third-party utilities which can connect your Mac computers with any Windows 98/WinMe or Windows 2000 Professional PC. The most widely known are Dave and Pc MacLan (http://www.miramar.com/).
10. Although I have PC MacLan or Dave, my Mac cannot communicate with my Windows system(s).
    You probably have Firewire support Version 2.7 or later installed in your MacOS 9.x. With this version Apple changed the address of the Configuration ROM and made it totally incompatible with Microsoft Firewire support. The only way to handle this problem is to revert to Version 2.5. You can download this version of Firewire, from our web site: http://www.unibrain.com/download/files/firewire25.hqx

    You will have to copy these files manually into the extensions folder. Before doing so, rename the current files (or copy them somewhere else so that you can always revert to your current Firewire version) and then replace them with the 2.5 version.

11. During the installation I receive one of the following messages: "Error. ikernel.exe is incorrect" or:

    

    Or this message (in Windows 2000/XP):

    

    This is a known bug of the Install Shield installation program. Press OK and the installation will finish successfully and Firenet operations will not be affected in the least. If the installation is aborted too early (or cannot start at all) then quit and go to the following folder:

    \Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\engine\6\Intel 32\

    Inside this folder find and rename the file ikernel.exe to ikernel.old. Now you can restart the installation.

12. I have connected 2 notebooks with Firewire-PCMCIA adapters and FireNet™ does not work.
    The reason for this is that PCMCIA adapters cannot provide the required power to the 1394 bus. A 1394 repeater (or hub) with external power must intercede between them.
13. I want to remove FireNet™ but when I choose to uninstall it from Control Panel’s "Add/Remove programs" applet, nothing happens?
    You have come across a bug of the InstallShield installation program. Unfortunately the installation log file has been corrupted and you must uninstall FireNet™ manually. Please follow carefully the instructions below.

    1. Go to Device Manager, expand the "Network Adapters" section, right-click on "Unibrain 1394 adapter" and choose "Uninstall"
    2. Go to the Program Files directory and delete the folder "Unibrain"
    3. Go to the Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\ directory and delete the (hidden) directory:
       {4C2F992E-32DC-11D4-AC0D-0080C8ECCD31}
       (or {F4EC2909-FE7B-433B-B66B-9DF365486506} for Firenet for Audigy installations)
    4. Go to \winnt\system32\drivers (or \windows\system32\drivers for Win9x & WinXP) and delete the files ubfwdev.sys & ubfwnet.sys
    5. Restart your system
    6. When your system restarts, edit the registry: Go to
       HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
       and delete the key {4C2F992E-32DC-11D4-AC0D-0080C8ECCD31}

    Note: Please be very careful when dealing with the registry.

14. I have a SoundBlaster™ Audigy card. Which version of FireNet™ is the latest and do I need to register it by buying product keys?
    The latest version of FireNet™ for the Audigy cards is 2.5 and can be obtained from our web site at the download section. Note that the version of FireNet™ for Audigy owners is DIFFERENT from the regular version, which can be installed on any standard OHCI Firewire adapter.

    FireNet™ for Audigy is registered and fully functional and does not need any product keys. The regular version though requires one product key for every system FireNet™ gets installed. For more information regarding the FireNet™ licensing & pricing policy visit our online store: http://www.1394store.com/eshop/buyfirenet/.

15. How can I totally remove FireNet™ for Mac OS X from my system?
    Note: The following steps require the use of Super User (su or root) account. Please make sure you know the su password (or that you have enabled the su account from the Mac OS X boot CD-ROM) before you proceed.

    Open a Terminal Window and run the following commands:

    1. cd "/system/library/extensions"
    2. sudo rm -r firenet.kext
    3. cd "/applications"
    4. sudo rm -r firenet
    5. cd "/library/receipts"
    6. sudo rm -r firenet.pkg
    7. sudo rm "FireNet log.rtf"
16. How can I remove FireNet™ for Mac OS 9 from my system?
    To remove (or temporarily disable) FireNet™ for Mac OS 9.x, please do the following:

    1. Restart your Mac by pressing the SHIFT button (so that extensions will not load)
    2. Go to the System Folder, open the Extensions folder and delete (or move somewhere else) the following files: "Unibrain FireNetConfig", "Unibrain FireNetDriver", "Unibrain FireNetLib" and "Unibrain FireNetPortScan"
    3. Restart your Mac. If you want to enable FireNet™ again, simply move again these files to the Extensions folder and restart your Mac.
17. I have updated all my systems to FireNet™ 2.5 (from 2.2) but the ones running Windows XP seem to have lost connectivity.
    This has happened because Unibrain’s driver was replaced by the Microsoft native driver. You will have to manually replace it. Please refer to the FireNet™ manual, at the Windows XP installation section and repeat Step 6. When the Hardware Update Wizard dialog box will appear you will see the following dialog box:

    Choose "FireNet™ PC Version 2.5.0.0" and press Next. You will be asked for a computer restart for the changes to take effect. Repeat the same procedure in all Windows XP based systems.

    
    
18. Is it possible to connect two (or more) computers via FireNet™ to the same external firewire Hard Drive?
    External Firewire Hard Drives can be connected in a daisy chain, that is no problem, but only on one computer. If 2 computers are connected to the same external HDD, the device can only be recognized on one of those. Which one it’s going to be depends on which one is first connected or turned on.

    So the only way, to connect multiple computers on an external HDD is via networking. Hook up the external HDD on one system, share the HDD through networking so it can be used for everybody and then connect your other computers using FireNet™ to this computer.

    In the case of a FireNet™ network though, you have to install a second Firewire adapter, which will not belong to the FireNet™ network, and connect on this the external HDD.

    This will have the following benefits:

    1. Permanent connection and ability to share of the drive from the specific system. Because if the HDD is on the same bus with the Firewire network, in every bus reset (on cable removals, system reboots etc.) the device may be attached on a different system every time (a random procedure that cannot be controlled). This would make impossible sharing the drive permanently to the other systems in the network.
    2. Less Firewire bus congestion. If the external Hard Drive shares the same bus with FireNet™, then a copy to/from the HDD would use twice the bandwidth: once for the data being transferred through the network and once for the (same!) data being transferred to the Hard Drive.