External hard drives

[bluishbob]

Hey all,
I have a USB external hard drive, but it is being really temperamental.

It sometimes recognises it, but most of the time it doesn't. I have to plug it in, and unplug it and turn the lead around loads to get it to be recognised.

Has anyone had this problem before?
Any bright ideas as to stop this from happening, as i can't risk it doing that kind of this in the middle of a gig.

Many thanks
Jamie

[CRAZY K]

Hey all,
I have a USB external hard drive, but it is being really temperamental.

It sometimes recognises it, but most of the time it doesn't. I have to plug it in, and unplug it and turn the lead around loads to get it to be recognised.

Has anyone had this problem before?
Any bright ideas as to stop this from happening, as i can't risk it doing that kind of this in the middle of a gig.

Many thanks
Jamie

TIME TO FILE IN THE BIN--you cant go on a gig like that:eek:

Unless its the USB lead?

Which make is this?

We run 2 Seagates from Maplins 320gb and they are no trouble.

How old is the unit--go for a warranty replacement?

CRAZY K

[Dragonfly]

Indeed before using the filing system suggested :D :D

check its not the lead from the hard drive or any of the usb ports .....

I recently had a problem that my maya44 soundcard wasnt being recognised , after lots of fiddling it turns out I have a dodgey port in the USB hub that I bought so I got a new hub ...... everything hunky dory now. Just make sure you try all the variables out before just going out and replacing. :beer1:

[Vectis]

Is the drive USB-powered? If so, try adding an external PSU.

If not, skip to next suggestion :D

[scoopd]

If it's a Western Digtal I would copy all the data then chuck it in the bin.
Mine died on me

[discomobiledj]

Are your USB ports above, below or very near the processor/heat fan? If so then that's your problem. Same happened with mine. I now use a PCMIA 4port USB card in my laptop and everything is now tickety boo.

[sleah]

With usb drives it's more to do with the manufacturer of the case than the actual drive itself.
I've binned several 'Sumvision' cases (and other bits by them) as they have all proved to be horribly unreliable and have had what you describe.
Initially I tried swapping the drives and it didn't matter what make they were.
I have a couple of Freecom devices, both network and usb and found them very reliable.
LaCie are supposed to be good, I work with a Macintosh man who swears by LaCie firewire 2.5" drives.
It's another case (pardon the pun:D ) of get what you pay for.

[bluishbob]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't know the make of the caddy, but its my old toshiba laptop hard drive that i put in an unpowered case.

The case is virtually new, and it all works fine sometimes and other times just doesn't show up.

The USB lead has two connections at one end, and a singe at the other, will it matter which way round i have it particularly?

I usually just keep switching it round until it works.

[spin mobile disco]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't know the make of the caddy, but its my old toshiba laptop hard drive that i put in an unpowered case.

The case is virtually new, and it all works fine sometimes and other times just doesn't show up.

The USB lead has two connections at one end, and a singe at the other, will it matter which way round i have it particularly?

I usually just keep switching it round until it works.

Yes! it really does matter. The 2 usb connectors on one end 1 is for data and the other for power (this is because usb limits power to 500ma) This way the device can get a whole 1000ma which is what it requires in most cases to run. The other end obviously goes into the device.
It is most likely a case of use an external usb powered hub. This means it will be able to provide the power the computer cannot provide reliably. I use a belkin hub to power my mini drives and works fine.

[BeerFunk]

I always advise agains't relaying on any USB devices, and will continue to do so. I've had USB drives, and a USB CD-ROM drive, and all of them have failed at some point - one of them killed my motherboard.

The fact of the matter is, USB operates at a higher voltage than normal signal levels, so if a fault occurs, it can turn pretty bad. In saying that, most people use USB and never have a problem. On a professional level though, well USB is a bit of a no go - you will not see it in a recording studio, firewire and PCI are still the main interfaces there :)

[Vectis]

On a professional level though, well USB is a bit of a no go - you will not see it in a recording studio, firewire and PCI are still the main interfaces there :)

Maybe, but that's more to do with throughput and not connectivity. Wait until USB3 kicks off in the coming months with it's half-terabit/sec speeds and see what happens.

If USB was so ropey then why do Denon endorse it by fitting it to their hard drive players? You saying Denon isn't professional gear? (Cortex I can understand!) :boxer2:

[CRAZY K]

Maybe, but that's more to do with throughput and not connectivity. Wait until USB3 kicks off in the coming months with it's half-terabit/sec speeds and see what happens.

If USB was so ropey then why do Denon endorse it by fitting it to their hard drive players? You saying Denon isn't professional gear? (Cortex I can understand!) :boxer2:

Theres nowt wrong with Cortex---

As usual--its the humans that are the problem--cant sort out their MP3s:

D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

CRAZY K

[CRAZY K]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't know the make of the caddy, but its my old toshiba laptop hard drive that i put in an unpowered case.

The case is virtually new, and it all works fine sometimes and other times just doesn't show up.

The USB lead has two connections at one end, and a singe at the other, will it matter which way round i have it particularly?

I usually just keep switching it round until it works.

I know nothing about computers really--but if you are going to want a reliable playout system to use in a professional environment---YOU MUST DO THE JOB PROPERLY.

Using an old Tosh hard drive out a laptop is not the way.

Buy something like a powered Seagate HDD --I just did---from Maplins for about £60--

CRAZY K

[Dillmiester]

Im with the Freecom comment, very reliable and sturdy drives.

[Corabar Steve]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't know the make of the caddy, but its my old toshiba laptop hard drive that i put in an unpowered case.

So it's an internal drive then? I wouldn't have thought it would work too well just relying on USB power in that case,

[sleah]

So it's an internal drive then? I wouldn't have thought it would work too well just relying on USB power in that case,

An external 2.5inch drive that's bought as a complete unit, will contain the exact same bare drive unit as one you will find in a laptop, external hard disks are literally a bare internal-type drive in a case.

Your point about not relying on USB power alone is very true though:)

[Corabar Steve]

Which was my (badly put) point

[BeerFunk]

Maybe, but that's more to do with throughput and not connectivity. Wait until USB3 kicks off in the coming months with it's half-terabit/sec speeds and see what happens.

If USB was so ropey then why do Denon endorse it by fitting it to their hard drive players? You saying Denon isn't professional gear? (Cortex I can understand!) :boxer2:
Yeah, I was a bit surprised to see that Denon had gone with USB for the HC4500, it's obviously a compatibility thing. I'm not sure they were ready to release this unit though, a lot of DJs have had trouble getting it to work with their software of choice.

Oh, and USB 2 is more than fast enough for data transfer when it comes to audio use, I just don't have enough faith in it.

[CRAZY K]

Yeah, I was a bit surprised to see that Denon had gone with USB for the HC4500, it's obviously a compatibility thing. I'm not sure they were ready to release this unit though, a lot of DJs have had trouble getting it to work with their software of choice.

Oh, and USB 2 is more than fast enough for data transfer when it comes to audio use, I just don't have enough faith in it.

Problems with a Denon---

Surely not;)

CRAZY K