External HDD + Vista

[typeadam]

Good morning, this is my first post and I have a pretty frustrating issue. I've searched the internet all over for my problem but others seem to have similar but not quiet my problems so I figured I'd ask here.

I have Vista Home Premium 32bit running on a Sony notebook. I actually ran system restore last night and have not installed anything since so my system is clean/fresh.

I have a Maxtor 500GB external HDD which I connect to my PC via USB2.0.

When I connect the drive, it shows up in Explorer, it shows up in Disc Management, it gives the correct capacity, etc. However, every once in a while (yes this problem is random) when I try to access files/folders on the drive, Explorer will just hang. The busy cursor shows up, and nothing responds. The ONLY way to fix it is to pull the USB cable. Rebooting doesn't work b/c on the "shutting down" screen it just hangs UNLESS I disconnect the drive. Other times, I can go into a folder on the drive but only a few of the many files inside show up. However, sometimes the drive works NO PROBLEM and is very speedy!

I can't run any disc scan utils b/c they hang and the HDD again becomes unresponsive until I disconnect it. And I can never see properties of ALL the folders, nor can I change folder icons...

While any of this is going on, the drive NEVER grinds while hanging. It doesn't seem to be searching for anything. It's like it's clogging up something w/ Windows. Also, in Explorer, the green bar is always growing as if searching...

Please someone help. I don't want this to be a hardware failure.

Thank you,
Adam

 

[SIW2]

Hi,

Think it may be a problem with your external hdd.

Try plugging it into a different usb port and see how it goes.

Plug it into a friends machine to see if it works perfectly and if you can run checkdisk - if not, you'll know what the problem is.

Good Luck

SIW2

 

[Dwarf]

Hi typeadam and welcome to the forums

I had a similar problem with my external USB hard drive not being recognised. This too was intermittent and random, although it became more regular in the end. I solved the problem by getting a new enclosure and transferring the disc over. It has been working fine ever since. I suspect that the root cause of my problem was the USB to IDE/SATA interface board in the enclosure. This sounds as though it could also be your problem. However, before getting a new enclosure and transferring the drive over, simply try a different USB cable to eliminate the possibility that the one you are using is faulty.

 

[typeadam]

I tired hooking it up to an XP Pro notebook and I tried a different USB cable and a different USB port. Works fine for a while, but every once in a while it just craps itself.

Another thing: when I run the 'error checking' tool in Vista it gets to like 9483 and stops. I can cancel the process but in Explorer the drive remains w/ a letter but the capacity info disappears and if I click it, it tells me the drive is no longer available.

Based on this do you guys still think it's a case issue OR HDD failure OR perhaps is it the USB drivers in my notebook?

Thanks again!

 

[SIW2]

Looks like a case of trial and error. Just have to try everything it might possibly be and hope to find the cause.

If you think it may be the drivers, you could try going to device manager and uninstalling them. Did you get a driver cd with the Maxtor, or is it supposed to use Vista's native drivers?

SIW2

 

[typeadam]

There was no CD, so I assume Vista drivers. I checked Maxtor's site b/c I know they have some compatibility issues w/ Vista and some of their drives but mine is listed as compatible.... Ever since my original post, the drive has been working w/o any problems. I can search it, write to it, read from it, copy to it, delete stuff, play videos/music from it, save large files and it does it no problem and is very quick.
Of course, like I said originally, sometimes it DOES work no problem like this for a long time and than suddenly it just craps itself.
The only thing I can't do is get properties of folders - that information is ALWAYS wrong for some reason AND it causes Vista to disconnect the drive...
Even if I get a different enclosure it might work OK right away and it might be weeks before I see problems so there's really no way for me to "test" this right away (except for running the scan tool, I guess). Or perhaps I should pull the drive out of the enclosure and put it into a desktop and see if that direct IDE connection does anything...???
Oh well, I'll keep testing but if anyone has any other inputs, please let me know!
Thanks!

 

[Oskari]

I think the Maxtor 500Gb is fine with Vista because I have one and it causes no problems. None. However, my brother's older Maxtor (320Gb) was rejected by my machine to the point of freezing my system.

I think you better keep trying to narrow down the fault with some of the above advice. I know it's a pain, especially when the fault is intermitent. It definitely sounds like a hardware fault, but it could be a driver issue - even one concerning your motherboard or BIOS. More likely a faulty USB because I've had those.

What about Anti-virus? Are you running any?

 

[typeadam]

Yes, I'm running an anti-virus but I've tried it on another PC w/ no AV and a PC w/ another AV and had the same results...

I will first test another enclosure. I have an empty one that I can try. I'll post results.

Thanks!

 

[OldBloke]

You could try testing the disk with Seatools, which includes more tests than you get with chkdsk. (Maxtor is owned by Seagate now.)
Seagate Technology - SeaTools

If Seatools finds an error, you could test it again while it's connected as an internal disk instead of using your USB adapter. That way you might discover whether it's the USB thing or the disk itself.