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USB 2 not working with ext harddrive

2899 Views 34 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Rich-M, 
E
Win xp pro service pack 2
mobo: gigabyte 8sq800 ultra

I've read similar problems to the one i've got but i think they differ slightly.

I've got a problem when connecting my Western Digital 'My Book' ext harddrive to my pc. Once connected it says it could work much faster if connected to a usb 2 port. As far as i'm aware it is usb 2. The mother board disc came with usb 2 drivers and i've tried updating as much as i can manually.

When i plug a small usb mem stick in it confirms that its usb2. But the harddrive dont like it. I tried all the usb ports with no luck, and tried it on 2 other machines and it works fine there.

Any ideas?
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Noyb
As a test ... Try this ...
Power up the External HD ... Then connect the USB cable to the computer ....
Or have the Ext HD on .. before booting the computer.
Do these procedures connect as USB2 high speed ?
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Noyb
I've seen this before .. not sure what the problem is.
But just maybe .. Reformat and Reload the External ...
As I remember, this worked for me on another USB external type.
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Noyb
But not on the USB external .. ??? right ???
He said he reloaded Windows .. He wouldn't have done this in the USB external.
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Noyb
In the past, when I had this problem .. the workaround was to ..
Do a safe disconnect...
Leave the XHD running ..
Remove the USB cable ..
Wait a few ...
Then plug the USB back in (Hot) with the XHD running.

I was suspecting Plug n Pray problem .. but never found a fix.
I had several USB XHDs (same kind) .. but one always seemed to be undecided if it was USB 1 or 2.

Since the problem only happens with one computer .. I suspect you're thinking it's the computer.
From my past experiences .. I'm thinking it's the External.
By any chance .. Did you load any backup software that came with the "My Book" ???
I did this once and it messed up my computer .. I'll never do that again.

Not familiar with "My Book" .. don't these also come with Firewire ??
Sounds like it's time to go to WD's support here ..
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=241&language=en
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Noyb
elementol said:
.... How else would it work on the other computers ...
Click to expand...
A long shot guess .. Did you install any Software for the external on this computer ???
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Noyb
elementol said:
... Whats the worst that could happen? ...
Click to expand...
You'd have to delete your USB Drivers .. and Reboot to let XP restore them.

Anyway you can disable the Auto .. and have the XHD running .. manual on/off ??
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Noyb
Don't know ... I don't have one.
Was reading the comments/reviews here ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustR...SortField=0&SummaryType=ALL&Pagesize=50&Page=

AltF4 says .. "The on and off is kind of confusing. don't worry about the button, just un plug the power and replug to get it on"

Anyone you know got an External HD you can try ??
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Noyb
Maybe it’s time to switch.

I have 3 of these and have setup 2 more for friends … no problems so far.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817123021
HD not included .. Some assembly required.
I like these because of the easy assembly and it has a front panel power switch .. no auto.

I prefer “enclosures” so I can move the HDs if needed ... which also gives me backup hardware.
I can also use these to extract data from a HD in case one of my friends has a problem booting up.

A couple of weeks ago ..
Best Buys had a sale on WD 250gigs w 16MB cache at $59 … limit 2 .. so I got 2.

If you still have USB problems (which I doubt) .. You could go Firewire.

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Noyb
Are you saying a PCI > USB card might fix this ??
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