Broken HD

January 12, 2006 1:10 PM

My external USB Hard Drive is freezing my PC!

When I connect it, the pointer still moves and I can (mostly) keep using applications which are still open. No new files or applications will open until I pull the plug on the drive (I just get an eternal hourglass).

If I pull the plug on it I get the Windows message about being naughty for unplugging without stopping it first. So, Windows is aware that it has been connected (BTW, it refers to it as a FUJITSU MHT 2060AH USB Device)

This has suddenly started when I connect it to both on my work and home PC.

posted by Kiwi to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Is this a "home built" external drive (i.e. you bought a drive and a case and put the drive in the case?) or a premade boxed one?

If it's a home built one, do you have an extra hard drive lying around that you could try replacing it with, and see if it still freezes up your PC?
posted by twiggy at 2:00 PM on January 12, 2006

Without deep troubleshooting, I'd say your USB interface is wonky. The symptoms you describe are very like a USB 2.0 device plugged into a USB 1.1 interface.

If the drive is making ANY kind of strange noise, stop using it to protect the data. If it sounds fine, proceed:

First, make sure there's no goop in the USB port of your drive. If it looks okay, replace the USB cable, see if that helps. Third, purchase a new enclosure (about 40 bucks) and swap the old drive to the new enclosure.

If you are feeling technically brave, you can take the hard drive out of the enclosure and connect it to the drive chain on your PC to see if the drive is still working. But I'm betting its the enclosure and not the drive.
posted by Slap Incognito at 2:35 PM on January 12, 2006

My guess is that you've got a power capacity problem. If the drive has some way of getting extra power and you're not using it, you should.
posted by krisjohn at 7:07 PM on January 12, 2006

twiggy: The drive was a premade boxed one. Just like this.

Slap: The cable and USB port on my machine seem ok; I used them to download photos from my digi-cam this morning. What are you referring to when you suggest purchasing a new enclosure?
posted by Kiwi at 4:03 AM on January 13, 2006