I also have the computer of the same model.
It has escaped as the starting option at the time of installation. nofirewire or firewire=no
If the version of a kernel is 2.4.26 or higher, firewire will also run well. The sample of construction of a kernel is appended.
.::.:... .::....: .::...:: .::.:.:: .::..:.: .:::..:. Hajime Taira htaira@pantora.net (private) htaira-fdr@pantora.net (for fedora) web: http://pantora.net/