External Storage Devices and Booting

[TedZ]

I recently purchased an external 1TB hard drive. My system will not start p
with it power on. I need to wait until everything is running to turn it on.
Is there a way to fix this? Also, when this device is installed, my system
will not recognize a flash drive (4GB HP.) Can two storage devices be
installed at the same time?

Thanks

 

[LVTravel]

I recently purchased an external 1TB hard drive. My system will not start
p
with it power on. I need to wait until everything is running to turn it
on.
Is there a way to fix this? Also, when this device is installed, my
system
will not recognize a flash drive (4GB HP.) Can two storage devices be
installed at the same time?

Thanks

Yes more than two can and it should allow the computer to power up with it
turned on.

Quick check. Go into the computer's bios on boot-up and check to see what
is the first boot device available. Ensure that it is the internal hard
drive and not USB.

If that does not solve the problem, post back here with more information as
the the computer involved the external unit involved. You also may want to
contact the external device manufacturer for troubleshooting tips.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I recently purchased an external 1TB hard drive. My system will not start p
with it power on. I need to wait until everything is running to turn it on.
Is there a way to fix this?

It's likely that the mortherboard's BIOS is trying to find a boot
record on the external USB drive and, when it fails, failing to boot.
Check your BIOS settings to ensure that it's not set to place USB
devices higher in the boot priority than the CD/DVD or internal hard drive.

Also, when this device is installed, my system
will not recognize a flash drive (4GB HP.)

What, exactly, are you calling a "flash" drive? The terminolgy here
can get confusing. Do you mean a USB "thumb" drive, a.k.a. memory
stick, as the term normally means, or is this device something else?
(The precise make/model would help clarify the matter.)

Can two storage devices be
installed at the same time?

Normally, yes. How does is your external 1TM hard drive electrically
powered? Does it have it's own AC power adapter, a second USB
connection for power, or does it run entirely off a single USB
connection? If either of the latter two conditions pertain, it might be
that your USB bus simply lacks the power capacity to support so many
devices.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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[Patrick Keenan]

I recently purchased an external 1TB hard drive. My system will not start
p
with it power on. I need to wait until everything is running to turn it
on.
Is there a way to fix this? Also, when this device is installed, my
system
will not recognize a flash drive (4GB HP.) Can two storage devices be
installed at the same time?

Thanks

Check with the manufacturer of your system. Some systems have issues
starting with attached USB storage devices. There may be a BIOS update
available.

HTH
-pk

 

[M.I.5¾]

I recently purchased an external 1TB hard drive. My system will not start
p
with it power on. I need to wait until everything is running to turn it
on.
Is there a way to fix this?

This is a known Windows XP problem. As you note: the workaround is not to
switch the external drive on before the system starts.

Also, when this device is installed, my system
will not recognize a flash drive (4GB HP.) Can two storage devices be
installed at the same time?

They should be able to be. I don't have a theory for this problem.