This problem has come up before for people, but they never reported back ... as to what fixed the problem.
Are you doing all this on the broken-flakey Alienware desktop?
This sounds like an important process. I suggest you do it on a computer that is working properly to begin with. Use one of your working computers or use the Precision Workstation when you get it next week.
Running it through my Dimension. The AW won't even start because as soon as there is any source of external power running to it the circuit breaker blows.
Seems an odd issue......
Maybe I will plug one in and leave it overnight to see if shows up.
You might get more exposure posting in one of the general forums.
I do know some people are having problems with the SmartWare AutoMount and that might be part of your problem. I almost didn't buy my new WD 3tb because I heard they put SmartWare on it (they had stopped putting it on a few models). However, it seems to be different, and hasn't caused a problem for me. Here are some notes I made when I was testing it (before I put it in it's permanent place):
WDBACW0030HBK-00 WDBACW0030HBK-NESN
Best Buy $199 : 10-17-2010
In XP DeviceManager: WD My Book 1130 USB Device
When connecting to USB2 port on XP laptop, needed to load: WD SES Driver
Not sure if it's required for proper operation - Tried on another XP PC. Although the SES driver didn't load - - "Hardware might not work" icon eventually disappeared - - Drive appeared and seemed to work ok. SES device was still yellow in DM Not sure if it loaded from Windows Update or from itself - This driver and WD-Smartware is sitting on drive (ready to be installed)
There is no auto-mounting virtual CD that I have seen Works fine without WD-Smartware installed.
There is a full version of Smartware, and a Limited one. The Limited one just does the Password Locking (encrytion), Diagnostics, and some other minor things.
Doesn't sound like a hardware problem to me. I would tend to agree with your suspicions on a Windows Update. Have you tried a Windows Restore or maybe your machine is protected with snapshot imaging software or a full Acronis/Ghost backup?
If you can't go back in time at all I would suggest inserting your Windows CD and doing a repair. The only challenge I can foresee is that once repaired Windows Update will want to reinstall whatever was responsible for this nonsense so it is paramount that you identify which update is the culprit and then remove it from the list of downloads.
Starmage, you are clearly a very experienced user, probably more so than me, so please excuse me if this sounds like a stupid question however, I take it you have Windows Update set to notify you when updates are available (without downloading them) and not on the default setting of download and install all updates? I ask because it seems to me that if it were on auto-update that could explain why the machine rebooted without any input from you.
Drives were all previously connected to this machine and SmartWare was removed from all WD Drives and they were reformatted with NTFS when originally connected. This problem also seems to be occuring with my Seagate external HD as well.
Last time I posted in the more general forums I didn't get a response and that was 3 weeks ago.
I don't know if there's a setting that lets Windows allow or disallow external drives? At least ones that haven't been plugged in for a while.....
Basicaly what's happened and what I've tried....
3months ago when I got my Alienware I disconnected and stored all HD's in a box. Except for 3 drives I did not connect them to the Alienware (as I bought new usb3 DRIVES). Prior to this they were all running quite happily on this computer.
On first attachment all drives were formatted and any trace of SmartWare removed from the HD (I had this issue again recently when connecting a Passport Elite).
Basically they were sitting in the cupboard for 3 months and ahve been looked after. Prior to the reboot (I suspect a Win Update) the drives were working fine (at least the 2 WD Elements and 1 WD MyBook) that I plugged in. Up untilo then I had no issues now it seems I do... I wonder if it has anything to do with the update to Windows.
While I agree with everything you just said Tesla, this is precisely the reason why I use Rollback RX. Whenever the machine freezes requiring a hard shutdown and restart, gets a BSOD, shuts down unexpectedly, gets a virus, or any other reason that could affect the intergrity of my system/data, I simply restore it to a previous image instantly undoing any damage that has been done.
Yes, I also agree that an Acronis clone image is even better but there are limitations with that, the most important being the loss of any data accumulated since the last backup. This problem does not exist with Rollback RX and most other snapshot imaging programs because the advanced settings allow you to specify all data that must not be restored to a previous date.
If you just want to recover certain files you can mount images as a virtual drive and then copy the data to the real drive in Windows Explorer.
Of course this has nothing to do with a genuine battery backup but it does give you a level of protection which personally I have found to be indispensable. Rollback RX has gotten me out of trouble at least 100 times in the last 3 years. I also like the way it is Windows-proof in that even if Windows won't boot, you can still restore the system by using Rollback's subsystem which appears before Windows begins to load.
Is there a downside to using a program like Rollback RX? Yes. Dell claim the program is not on their list of officially recognized software authors so when dealing with Dell tech support they won't allow you to restore Windows, your drivers, and programs in under 30 seconds using Rollback RX (or similar). Instead, they insist you reinstall Windows. I don't know if the same applies to Acronis or Ghost but it seems to me to be a total waste of time and completely unnecessary.
Done and bought.... I also have put in a voltimeter and it's been sitting steadya t 245V since I plugged it in. As I said I really doubt it is the power and "intermittent" issues have not been occuring except since i got my AW.
I've identified the culprit actually... It is correct that Win Update is set to auto which is a bit odd as I am fairly certain I set it to notify first (this possibly could have changed during a restore once). Right at the top of the updates list is a WD Other Hard Drives SES driver update.....
2 nights ago I left the PC formatting one HD and copying files from another. I woke up the following morning to discover the computer had rebooted overnight in the centre of both these.
Which is it?
and "intermittent" issues have not been occuring ...
Done and bought.... I also have put in a voltimeter and it's been sitting steadya t 245V since I plugged it in. As I said I really doubt it is the power and "intermittent" issues have not been occuring except since i got my AW.
Good job.
I've identified the culprit actually... It is correct that Win Update is set to auto which is a bit odd as I am fairly certain I set it to notify first (this possibly could have changed during a restore once). Right at the top of the updates list is a WD Other Hard Drives SES driver update.....
Good. Yes, the ole SES Driver. SmartWare is gone, but you can't get did of that part it seems ... or can you?
I keep mine on Download but let me choose. Drivers always show up on the Optional page and they are always unchecked. I almost never install drivers from Windows Update.
So, if all the USB drives work on another Windows PC, you know they are good.
There are some registry settings than can disable USB Mass Storage Devices (so that they can be control by a Group Policy) but I doubt that is the problem.
I also doubt a Windows Update stopped that USB Mass Storage functionality. People would be screaming.
See if you can get ANY simple USB hard-drive (not the Drobo) or know-good flash drive to work on the USB ports of the Dimension. If you can't, then you have to figure out why. It's either hardware or software. If only the Drobo works, it's likely software. Did the Drobo install a special USB driver?
I wondered how many more strange problems and/or damaged equipment you will have to encounter before you buy the UPS (that I recommended a couple of weeks ago), and put everything on a proper battery backup? If for nothing else than to keep it turned on during a flicker or brown-out.
I can't imagine how you would trouble-shoot problems intermittent problems if you can't be sure the machines are being supplied with the proper electricity while they should be operating.
If a Windows machine gets turned off (or not shut-down properly) ... almost always ... some software or file gets corrupted. After the integrity of the OS has been violated to a certain point, the only recourse is to format and reload the OS from scratch ... (Microsoft's words ... not mine).
If the machine (PC, Drobo, whatever) is writing to a hard-drive during the power-event, that data will be lost or corrupted. If the FileTable is being changed (and gets corrupted) you will likely lose everything on that partition. If it creates a hard-error, it might permanently damage the drive (needing replacement).
The computer rebooted and when I checked it in the morning was at its general "start up"point with the Windows Live Messenger screen open and all programs I had left open the previous night closed. This suggests an update andd not an "intermittent problem".
It wasn't clear in your original post whether the large batch file copy actually finished or not. If it was still copying, a scheduled Windows Auto Update should not have run until it was finished (or at least the reboot part). If it happened after the batch copy was finished, that was likely by design.
I still trying to get over the fact that you actually purchased the battery backup.
The Drobo, Mac-Mini, large LCD, and Precision Workstation are all protected ... excellent.
The computer rebooted and when I checked it in the morning was at its general "start up"point with the Windows Live Messenger screen open and all programs I had left open the previous night closed. This suggests an update andd not an "intermittent problem".
This particular machine has had no issues for 5 years except a hard drive replacement 6 months ago (and has also worked fine since then).
So it looks like its' the update (I haven't tried resotre it yet).
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 25th, 2011 22:00
This problem has come up before for people, but they never reported back ... as to what fixed the problem.
Are you doing all this on the broken-flakey Alienware desktop?
This sounds like an important process. I suggest you do it on a computer that is working properly to begin with. Use one of your working computers or use the Precision Workstation when you get it next week.
Starmage
2 Intern
•
129 Posts
0
February 25th, 2011 23:00
Running it through my Dimension. The AW won't even start because as soon as there is any source of external power running to it the circuit breaker blows.
Seems an odd issue......
Maybe I will plug one in and leave it overnight to see if shows up.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 00:00
Dimension? Ok, good ... XP or Vista?
You might get more exposure posting in one of the general forums.
I do know some people are having problems with the SmartWare AutoMount and that might be part of your problem. I almost didn't buy my new WD 3tb because I heard they put SmartWare on it (they had stopped putting it on a few models). However, it seems to be different, and hasn't caused a problem for me. Here are some notes I made when I was testing it (before I put it in it's permanent place):
WDBACW0030HBK-00
WDBACW0030HBK-NESN
Best Buy $199 : 10-17-2010
In XP DeviceManager: WD My Book 1130 USB Device
When connecting to USB2 port on XP laptop, needed to load:
WD SES Driver
Not sure if it's required for proper operation
- Tried on another XP PC. Although the SES driver didn't load
- - "Hardware might not work" icon eventually disappeared
- - Drive appeared and seemed to work ok. SES device was still yellow in DM
Not sure if it loaded from Windows Update or from itself
- This driver and WD-Smartware is sitting on drive (ready to be installed)
There is no auto-mounting virtual CD that I have seen
Works fine without WD-Smartware installed.
There is a full version of Smartware, and a Limited one.
The Limited one just does the Password Locking (encrytion), Diagnostics, and some other minor things.
7leagues_4ebdf4
29 Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 01:00
Doesn't sound like a hardware problem to me. I would tend to agree with your suspicions on a Windows Update. Have you tried a Windows Restore or maybe your machine is protected with snapshot imaging software or a full Acronis/Ghost backup?
If you can't go back in time at all I would suggest inserting your Windows CD and doing a repair. The only challenge I can foresee is that once repaired Windows Update will want to reinstall whatever was responsible for this nonsense so it is paramount that you identify which update is the culprit and then remove it from the list of downloads.
Starmage, you are clearly a very experienced user, probably more so than me, so please excuse me if this sounds like a stupid question however, I take it you have Windows Update set to notify you when updates are available (without downloading them) and not on the default setting of download and install all updates? I ask because it seems to me that if it were on auto-update that could explain why the machine rebooted without any input from you.
Starmage
2 Intern
•
129 Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 01:00
It's running Win 7 Home Premium 32 bit.
Drives were all previously connected to this machine and SmartWare was removed from all WD Drives and they were reformatted with NTFS when originally connected. This problem also seems to be occuring with my Seagate external HD as well.
Last time I posted in the more general forums I didn't get a response and that was 3 weeks ago.
I don't know if there's a setting that lets Windows allow or disallow external drives? At least ones that haven't been plugged in for a while.....
Basicaly what's happened and what I've tried....
3months ago when I got my Alienware I disconnected and stored all HD's in a box. Except for 3 drives I did not connect them to the Alienware (as I bought new usb3 DRIVES). Prior to this they were all running quite happily on this computer.
On first attachment all drives were formatted and any trace of SmartWare removed from the HD (I had this issue again recently when connecting a Passport Elite).
Basically they were sitting in the cupboard for 3 months and ahve been looked after. Prior to the reboot (I suspect a Win Update) the drives were working fine (at least the 2 WD Elements and 1 WD MyBook) that I plugged in. Up untilo then I had no issues now it seems I do... I wonder if it has anything to do with the update to Windows.
7leagues_4ebdf4
29 Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 02:00
While I agree with everything you just said Tesla, this is precisely the reason why I use Rollback RX. Whenever the machine freezes requiring a hard shutdown and restart, gets a BSOD, shuts down unexpectedly, gets a virus, or any other reason that could affect the intergrity of my system/data, I simply restore it to a previous image instantly undoing any damage that has been done.
Yes, I also agree that an Acronis clone image is even better but there are limitations with that, the most important being the loss of any data accumulated since the last backup. This problem does not exist with Rollback RX and most other snapshot imaging programs because the advanced settings allow you to specify all data that must not be restored to a previous date.
If you just want to recover certain files you can mount images as a virtual drive and then copy the data to the real drive in Windows Explorer.
Of course this has nothing to do with a genuine battery backup but it does give you a level of protection which personally I have found to be indispensable. Rollback RX has gotten me out of trouble at least 100 times in the last 3 years. I also like the way it is Windows-proof in that even if Windows won't boot, you can still restore the system by using Rollback's subsystem which appears before Windows begins to load.
Is there a downside to using a program like Rollback RX?
Yes. Dell claim the program is not on their list of officially recognized software authors so when dealing with Dell tech support they won't allow you to restore Windows, your drivers, and programs in under 30 seconds using Rollback RX (or similar). Instead, they insist you reinstall Windows. I don't know if the same applies to Acronis or Ghost but it seems to me to be a total waste of time and completely unnecessary.
Starmage
2 Intern
•
129 Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 02:00
Done and bought....
I also have put in a voltimeter and it's been sitting steadya t 245V since I plugged it in. As I said I really doubt it is the power and "intermittent" issues have not been occuring except since i got my AW.
I've identified the culprit actually...
It is correct that Win Update is set to auto which is a bit odd as I am fairly certain I set it to notify first (this possibly could have changed during a restore once). Right at the top of the updates list is a WD Other Hard Drives SES driver update.....
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 02:00
Which is it?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 02:00
Good job.
Good. Yes, the ole SES Driver. SmartWare is gone, but you can't get did of that part it seems ... or can you?
I keep mine on Download but let me choose. Drivers always show up on the Optional page and they are always unchecked. I almost never install drivers from Windows Update.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 02:00
So, if all the USB drives work on another Windows PC, you know they are good.
There are some registry settings than can disable USB Mass Storage Devices (so that they can be control by a Group Policy) but I doubt that is the problem.
I also doubt a Windows Update stopped that USB Mass Storage functionality. People would be screaming.
See if you can get ANY simple USB hard-drive (not the Drobo) or know-good flash drive to work on the USB ports of the Dimension. If you can't, then you have to figure out why. It's either hardware or software. If only the Drobo works, it's likely software. Did the Drobo install a special USB driver?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 02:00
I wondered how many more strange problems and/or damaged equipment you will have to encounter before you buy the UPS (that I recommended a couple of weeks ago), and put everything on a proper battery backup? If for nothing else than to keep it turned on during a flicker or brown-out.
I can't imagine how you would trouble-shoot problems intermittent problems if you can't be sure the machines are being supplied with the proper electricity while they should be operating.
If a Windows machine gets turned off (or not shut-down properly) ... almost always ... some software or file gets corrupted. After the integrity of the OS has been violated to a certain point, the only recourse is to format and reload the OS from scratch ... (Microsoft's words ... not mine).
If the machine (PC, Drobo, whatever) is writing to a hard-drive during the power-event, that data will be lost or corrupted. If the FileTable is being changed (and gets corrupted) you will likely lose everything on that partition. If it creates a hard-error, it might permanently damage the drive (needing replacement).
Starmage
2 Intern
•
129 Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 03:00
Ok system restore has worked a treat.
Seems it was the updates WD Other Storage SES driver update causing hiccups. Things are back to normal...
Oh and Tesla, I suppose you could say WIndows Update is an "intermittent problem"... :)
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 03:00
It wasn't clear in your original post whether the large batch file copy actually finished or not. If it was still copying, a scheduled Windows Auto Update should not have run until it was finished (or at least the reboot part). If it happened after the batch copy was finished, that was likely by design.
I still trying to get over the fact that you actually purchased the battery backup.
The Drobo, Mac-Mini, large LCD, and Precision Workstation are all protected ... excellent.
Starmage
2 Intern
•
129 Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 03:00
The computer rebooted and when I checked it in the morning was at its general "start up"point with the Windows Live Messenger screen open and all programs I had left open the previous night closed. This suggests an update andd not an "intermittent problem".
This particular machine has had no issues for 5 years except a hard drive replacement 6 months ago (and has also worked fine since then).
So it looks like its' the update (I haven't tried resotre it yet).
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
•
17.4K Posts
0
February 26th, 2011 04:00
Good. You did catch that one of my original posts talked all about my experiences with the WD "SES Driver", didn't you?
When set to Automatic? Umm, yes?
(it intermittently jumps in and messes things up ... especially, if it forces drivers on you)