Seagate external hard drive problem

[southwood3]

I was given great advice the last time I had a computer problem (cheers Dave - Root) and I'm hoping I get the same this time!

I have a Compaq Presario CQ71 laptop (Vista) which is about 2.5 years old. I have a Seagate Freeagent Goflex 250 GB external hard drive. It's been a pain to connect to the computer since I bought the damned thing but it did eventually connect and I was able to back-up my pictures, etc. Lately however it just won't stay connected. I have two USB ports and it doesn't matter which one I use. I plug in the hard drive and the light comes on and it makes a bleeping sound. I click on 'computer' on the laptop and the external hard drive appears for a fraction of a second then disappears. This appearing and disappearing is repeated every few seconds but it just won't stay connected. The PC also makes a noise evey time it appears and disappears.

I've tried everything suggested on the Seagate website but have now exhausted all their instructions. I have e feeling that my USB ports are faulty but I have a memory stick which works perfectly well in both ports. The EHD works perfectly well on another laptop. Any ideas guys? Thanks.

[root]

have you tried it in another pc?

although it is probably the usb controller/port on the external.

if you get http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php ... ce=froogle

then you can move the drive from the seagate caddy to the new one should work nicely

[southwood3]

Thanks Dave. Just so I am clear...........do I need to buy one of these: StarTech 2.5 inch Tool-less USB 2.0 to IDE SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure: to attached to my Seagate HD?

[southwood3]

have you tried it in another pc?

Yes it does work OK on another laptop.

[kellys_eye]

Sounds like a dodgy USB socket to me. Try 'propping up' the USB plug to see if the problem stops. USB sockets tend to suffer when the devices plugged into them are either heavy or have leads attached that are subject to constant movement. USB sticks..... fine. ANything else just causes the sockets to become 'loose'.

[southwood3]

Sounds like a dodgy USB socket to me. Try 'propping up' the USB plug to see if the problem stops. USB sockets tend to suffer when the devices plugged into them are either heavy or have leads attached that are subject to constant movement. USB sticks..... fine. ANything else just causes the sockets to become 'loose'.

Thanks Dave. I've all ready wiggled everything to death but with no success.

[root]

hmmm interesting it works okay in other laptops......

must be something to do with your laptop then not the external ignore my other idea for now, will have a think for a moment

[root]

try plugging it in and run this http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9740816
follow the wizard, hopefully will find a problem with usb within vista

[southwood3]

try plugging it in and run this http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9740816
follow the wizard, hopefully will find a problem with usb within vista

Wow, once again you've come up trumps! I don't know what it found but it has fixed it Many thanks Dave, much appreciated.

[root]

probably some conflicting driver.

[BillyGoat]

Awww....I was going in a different direction, but see it's fixed. Damn you Dave....damn you......

I DID write.....

USB ports (typically) supply 500mA each. This can vary depening on the controller and what else is shared on the USB bus (internally) in the case of a laptop.

I'm assuming this is a portable drive, being one of the 'go' range?

Are you using the origional cable? Most of them come with double headed cables to combat this very problem, using additional power from another port. If not and this problem happens a lot - then you can get one of these:

cable.jpg (19.63 KiB) Viewed 3103 times

Typical symptons of power include:

- Detection in Windows, the loss
- Device drivers not installed (not enough power for the controller)
- A high pitched whine, beep, repeat noise from the drive.....
- Loss of data transfer when it drops out during read/write

Still...it's all academic now....it's fixed.

BG

[southwood3]

probably some conflicting driver.

I'm not too techy but I know success when I see it! Cheers.

Awww....I was going in a different direction, but see it's fixed. Damn you Dave....damn you......

I DID write.....

USB ports (typically) supply 500mA each. This can vary depening on the controller and what else is shared on the USB bus (internally) in the case of a laptop.

I'm assuming this is a portable drive, being one of the 'go' range?

Are you using the origional cable? Most of them come with double headed cables to combat this very problem, using additional power from another port. If not and this problem happens a lot - then you can get one of these:

cable.jpg

Typical symptons of power include:

- Detection in Windows, the loss
- Device drivers not installed (not enough power for the controller)
- A high pitched whine, beep, repeat noise from the drive.....
- Loss of data transfer when it drops out during read/write

Still...it's all academic now....it's fixed.

BG

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions BG. I'll let you 'win' next time I have a PC problem Thanks again to both of you