[Blackwheel]

Hey guys, so what are my options here? My laptop has usb and esata ports, is there any way I can make this happen? Would the Hiface usb to optical converter do anything for me?
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

If your laptop has a CardBus or ExpressCard slot you can use an adapter card to get a FireWire port.
 
If the FW1814 is like the FW410 it can't run standalone.  It needs to be operated over FireWire.  You can't plug in the optical and have it run standalone without being connected to the computer by FireWire.