Found this at the Motu site:

MOTU FireWire audio interfaces and PCI/PCMCIA FireWire card chip setsMOTU recommends using strictly FireWire PCI/PCMCIA cards based on the Texas Instrument chipset.
There's an incompatibility between the NEC chip found in some FireWire cards and the MOTU FireWire line of interface.
If the FireWire installer warns you that you're running a FireWire card with the NEC chip, you should replace said card with a card that uses the TI (Texas Instruments) or Lucent chip. Keyspan, Sonnet, Miglia, and ADS are a few of the many brands using the TI or Lucent FireWire chips.
Please check with the manufacturer of the FireWire card before purchasing it to ensure it has the TI or Lucent chip. Note that nearly all combo USB/FireWire cards do not a use TI or Lucent chip, so you will need a dedicated FireWire card.
For additional considerations about FireWire cards when using the Traveler or UltraLite, please see this tech note.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOTU FireWire audio interfaces and PCI/PCMCIA FireWire card chip setsMOTU recommends using strictly FireWire PCI/PCMCIA cards based on the Texas Instrument chipset.
There's an incompatibility between the NEC chip found in some FireWire cards and the MOTU FireWire line of interface.
If the FireWire installer warns you that you're running a FireWire card with the NEC chip, you should replace said card with a card that uses the TI (Texas Instruments) or Lucent chip. Keyspan, Sonnet, Miglia, and ADS are a few of the many brands using the TI or Lucent FireWire chips.
Please check with the manufacturer of the FireWire card before purchasing it to ensure it has the TI or Lucent chip. Note that nearly all combo USB/FireWire cards do not a use TI or Lucent chip, so you will need a dedicated FireWire card.
For additional considerations about FireWire cards when using the Traveler or UltraLite, please see this tech note.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What kind of DC power adapter do I need for the Traveler or UltraLite?As alternative to powering the Traveler via the FireWire bus or battery, or the UltraLite via the FireWire bus, you can use a DC adapter.
The Traveler or UltraLite needs a 12 watt DC power adapter. It can be of any polarity (tip positive or negative), and of any standard voltage from 10 to 24 volts. The easiest way to achieve 12 watts is to use a 12 volt, 1000 mA (1 A) power supply.
If you are using DC power with the Traveler make sure to turn the Traveler's "FireWire Bus Power Enable" switch to Off.
For more info on powering the Traveler or UltraLite

You might check chipset from Control Panel>System>Hardware Tab> Device Manager> Look IEE1394 and open it under one of the tabs it should give you information on the card. It could also be a power issue or even try another firewire cable.

Maybe there will be more responses. You could try to post this at motu also.

I have a post at unicornation about it. There's a thread about ricoh chipsets, which is what I found that I have. Others are using motu products just fine, which makes me think that a service isn't running or something.
I'm using tinyxp right now, so I'll probably reformat this weekend with stock xp and see if that fixes it.
JJ