USB2 hard disk not functioning

Question

I'm using an Inspiron 2650, USB2 pccard and a 250GB Lacie USB2 external HD. Initially, the disk was recognised, but writing to it failed - nothing was written and removing the drive resulted in an error from Windows. Using the onboard USB1 port resulted in correct writing to the drive.

The drive was supplied formatted as FAT32. I tried formatting it as NTFS. This seemed to fail. However, I also have a Latitude C400. I was able to format the disk properly using this and the same USB2 pccard.

This resulted in the disk functioning perfectly on the C400 and not being recognised at all on the 2650 (even the XP disk manager wouldn't start until the disk was removed).

I then installed the latest BIOS on the 2650 and upgraded from XP SP1 to SP2. The only effect this had was to stop access to the disk via the USB1 port ('high speed device on low speed port').

Any clues?

Jerry Park · Answer

The disk may not be getting enough power from the USB2 port. Do you have a separate power supply for the unit or alternately can you attach to the PS2 port for power.

I'm running a similar situation and have to connect to another power source.

mtillman · Answer

It has an external power supply. I can't imagine any laptop could power a 3.5" drive.

Sadly, my C400 won't even power a 2.5" drive, which I specifically need it to do. The 2650 will power it.

I've just stumbled across a thread which points to a patch for the 2650's PCMCIA firmware. Hopefully that'll sort it, though I'll have to wait till Monday morning to find out.

Jerry Park · Answer

I replaced my 40 gig disk with a 100 gig disk and put the old disk in a USB enclosure. Since I don't have a USB2 port, I use a cardbus device. But the disk won't function without additional power. That is probably a failing of the cardbus device I purchased. But the disk works fine with the PS2 power cord it came with.

mtillman · Answer

That's exactly what I did.

No PCMCIA card will supply enough power for a HD, that's why they have power sockets built-in and power leads supplied.

However, my C400 won't power the disk, though the firm's 2650 will. This is not the position I wish to be in. I should research powering 2.5" drives from the C400 - if people are successfully doing it I'll get my motherboard replaced under warranty.

mtillman · Answer

Well, the firmware patch solved the problem on the 2650. Many thanks to the unknown people who mentioned it in the threads I searched.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

USB2 hard disk not functioning

Was this post helpful?