Problem recognizing USB hard drive

Jim Smith · #1 07-28-2006, 08:23 AM

I have an external USB drive that works fine when plugged into a USB Port Expander. I do get the little balloon that says it would be faster if it were plugged into a main USB port. This is understandable but, when I do that, the system does not recognize the drive. When I put it back into the port expander, no problem, I have run the "Install New Hardware" feature in the control panel but it won't find it either. What is happening here?

Joel33 · #2 07-28-2006, 09:15 PM

You may only have USB 1 but you're trying USB 2. When that message comes up, cancel it. I believe there's a way to stop the message, but it eludes me at this moment.

Jim Smith · #3 07-28-2006, 09:29 PM

That sounds like a good advice, but the system and the external drive are both brand new. I bought them together a short while ago. The system was assembled special for me in New York and shipped to me here in Brazil. The Port Expander is plugged into a base hub, of course. Could it be that there are too many thinks going through the ports? I have a printer, trackball, and a digital cam (usually not connected) in the expander besides the hard drive.

My theory was that I would have the slow speed stuff in the expander and everything else in the base hubs. But you know what Bobby Burns said about "the best-laid plans"....

ANZAC_ELITE · #4 07-28-2006, 09:33 PM

does anything work in the base hub? Could it be that the expander is disabling the base hub ports?

Jim Smith · #5 07-28-2006, 09:52 PM

Hmm, an interesting thought. But I have a webcam plugged into one of the base ports and the Expander itself. The thing is, I have four USB ports on the back and two more in front. I could really put it all in those ports, but it would be quite a mess of cables and this is much neater. I keep it all on a top shelf and out of site.

You have given me another thought, though. I have another external USB drive. I might try plugging that in to one of the base ports and see if that works.

Joel33 · #6 07-29-2006, 12:23 PM

Yes, my next suggestion was to plug it into a separate USB port and see what happens. Further--you can test the USB port first by plugging in a USB device you know works.