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General discussion

Problem with external SATA USB drive on XP SP2

Mar 11, 2007 11:21PM PDT

I have a 400Gb SATA drive which was purchased about 18 months ago. I've been trying to use it as an external USB drive on Windows XP Pro (SP2), using two different makes of SATA USB 2.0 enclosure. The drive connects OK, and shows up as an external drive, but as soon as I attempt to copy any data onto it I get problems: either Explorer hangs, or I get "delayed write failure". This happens within 2 minutes of initiating the file copy.

I've tried copying different folders and files, and I've tried it on 3 different machines (3 different motherboard makes, but all running XP SP2). In each case I connected the drive to one of the rear USB ports (i.e. not to an external hub).

I tried this with two different brands of USB 2.0 SATA enclosure, and got exactly the same result. In both cases the enclosures were independently powered by DC power adapters.

I then installed the drive internally into one of the machines, to check that it wasn't faulty. It installed fine, and I was able to copy huge numbers of files to it without any problems, so it looks as if the drive is OK. I also left it running there all day without any problems.

I just purchased a Lacie 500Gb external USB 2.0 drive and this works perfectly well with all of the 3 PC's that failed my tests with the other drive enclosures.

Is there any reason why specific SATA drives may be unsuitable for use in external USB enclosures?

Discussion is locked

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Just the usual.
Mar 11, 2007 11:33PM PDT

400GB may be beyond some case capabilities. I've also run into people who didn't start fresh by removing the partitions and making them anew. Also some front USB ports have issues. Use the rear ports.

Bob

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more possibilities
Mar 12, 2007 12:27AM PDT

Some SATA hard drives have different jumper settings for 3Gbps and 1.5Gbps operation. The enclosure circuitry may require one of these to work properly with the HD.

Maybe someone else has experienced the same problem with your HD model or enslosure models. Which ones are they?

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It's a Hitachi
Mar 12, 2007 5:15AM PDT

It's a Hitachi Deskstar, dated December 2004, and doesn't have any jumpers at all.

The enclosures are unbranded (both from eBay), so probably not a great spec. They have worked with other drives though.

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Sounds like..
Mar 12, 2007 5:47AM PDT

the drive went "kaput", i.e...the heads or pc card are bad. Sorry.

and life goes on...

Jack

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Drive's OK
Mar 13, 2007 6:14AM PDT

The drive is fine - I tried installing it internally and it worked flawlessly.

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Sorry..
Mar 13, 2007 7:19AM PDT

I should have re-read your first post where you stated the drive worked internally.

Has this drive ever worked externally? If not, then it has to be the drivers for the external case. Have you tried it without closing up the case? i..e.. just laying the drive flat while connected to the case? Could be this drive is defective in that it won't work with the USB interface for some reason.

Frankly, I've never come across this problem. You may still have to migrate your files to a different drive and go that route. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

and life goes on...

Jack

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Yes it's worked in the same enclosure before
Mar 13, 2007 8:12AM PDT

Yes - I have previously used this drive successfully in the same enclosure. I have also tried the drive connected to the enclosure without closing the case.

The curious thing is that I now have 2 different enclosures which were previously working fine, but which are showing the same symptoms (tried with 2 different SATA drives and 3 different PC's). Could be just a helluva coincidence I suppose.

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I've seen worse...
Mar 13, 2007 10:58AM PDT

This is not a stupid question: Have you tried different cables? I ask only because it hasn't been mentioned yet. Just trying to cover all the bases. Wink

and life goes on...

Jack

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Tried 2 cables
Mar 13, 2007 6:00PM PDT

Yes I've tried 2 different cables. Are there different grades of USB cable? Could it be that I used two low-grade cables which are not appropriate for this sort of application?