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General discussion

Simpletech external HD problems

Oct 31, 2006 12:01PM PST

Hello,

I am having problems with a SimpleTech 250G external HD. Things were working fine, until suddenly it became very sluggish. I have a lot of music on the drive, and it got slow to the point that songs were skipping and not playing properly. From there, i stopped all eHD drive activity, but my computer still acted very slowly, and the eHD kept making noise.

I let it go for a while, not having time to deal with it, and not knowing where to start. But, the problem came up the other day when i needed to access some of the files on it (and i really wanted to listen to some of the music too), and it would not load.

I plugged it in, turned it on, and my computer slowed way down, but acted as though it recognized the drive. Problem was that it took forever to show up in My Computer -- And when it showed up, it never worked worked. Several times I would click on it, but eventually i would receive an error that

''I:\ is not accessible. Error performing inpage operation.''

With a quick Google search, i found out that Microsoft says this is often a physical problem, which is really not exciting.

Either way, if anyone has any ideas or recommendations, I'd be really grateful -- and let me know if you need more information. Thanks for your time!

Discussion is locked

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The test.
Oct 31, 2006 8:58PM PST

I take such a drive and plug it into another machine. If it fails there then the drive does have a defect. Such drives are not "backup" or worthy to carry our one copy of any files and must be "backed up" just like our other hard disks.

I'll not write about the recovery methods since that discussion is on this page.

Bob

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A forlorn thanks
Nov 1, 2006 3:18AM PST

Thanks for that information... it is what i was dreading, but almost expecting at this point.

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Simpltech
Nov 17, 2006 12:16AM PST

I bought one and returned it two days later. Drive was very - very slow to transfer files. Plus it kept disconnecting from the computer and wouldn't transfer files completely.

I've heard nothing but complaints about this companies products. Priced cheap - but for a reason. I exchanged mine for a Seagate External that works GREAT !!! Never will buy a product from them again.....

Hope it helps:
Keith

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Things that hinder such devices.
Nov 17, 2006 12:26AM PST

I've seen issues (I'll list them) beyond the product to cause such effects. Most of today's PC owners are not equipped to handle these areas without help.

1. The front USB ports often have the wrong type wiring.
Workaround? Use the rear USB ports.

2. The motherboard drivers are often out of date.
No workaround. And Microsoft didn't help here. I've found their driver update to rarely fetch the latest.

3. Incorrect USB cable.
No workaround. Some have the older USB 1.1 cables and if they only shop at the usual outlets I can see why they don't want to replace them.

4. The unit has USB 1.1 ports.
Fix! Install an USB 2.0 card.

Hope this helps when you try again.

Bob

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RE: Simpletech
Nov 17, 2006 3:59AM PST

Keith,

Yeah, that sounds pretty realistic. I just received the replacement in the mail today, because it was still under warranty -- thankfully!

I haven't heard too many bad assessments of Simpletech before, but i know that if i'm ever on the external hard-drive market again, i will probably go with another Fantom Drive, but if not, i definitely will not get a Simpletech.