Mackie Onyx firewire + laptop problem

I just got myself a new laptop but I'm having trouble getting my Mackie Onyx 1640 with firewire card to work.
The laptop has 4 pin firewire, the Onyx 6 pin, should be no problem with a 6 pin to 4 fin firewire cable according to the Mackie site.

So, I setup everything according to the manual, everything gets recognized by Windows XP (SP3) but when I want to playback or record something nothing happens, the playback or record won't start to roll, hope you get the idea.

Anyone here know where I should start looking?
 
PCMCIA Firewire card with a TI chipset? My laptop came with one (I bought it from a company that specializes in recording computers), and I've only ever used my Onyx Satellite with it, but it works flawlessly! DO NOT get an expresscard though, they come loose (causing a drop out) with even the most minuscule of nudges