USB Hardrive not always recognized 80% of the time on first connec

[Primex]

WindowsXP sp3 with all patches and updates

I have an external 3.5" hardrive of about 60Gb and when I connect it to my
laptop via USB2 port I have a hard time getting WindowsXP to see it at all.
When I connect flashdrives they reliably show up with no problem. I did a few
diagnostic tests on the drive to see if it had a problem physically and it is
in excellent shape. The drive is only 1 year old.

I have formatted it with 2 partitions one for data and the other with an
Installed active partion of WindowsXP. I use this drive as a backup of my
data and in case the main drive inside my laptop fails I can swap drives
removing the usb drive from its casing and inserting it inside my laptop. I
have swapped drives taking this usb drive and inserting it into my laptop and
it gets recognized and boots without problem so I don't think the problem is
in the drives themselves or the USB ports since USB flash drives always get
recognized.

Is there a way to force WindowsXP to see reliably a USB drive?... either by
a patch, configuration option, or by a 3rd party hdd mounting program?

The way it is now I have to unplug and replug the USB hdd several times
before it gets recognized and maybe reboot. After several times 5-7 it will
see it. Going through the option "Adding new hardware" has the same problem.
It fails to see the USB drive. When it does see it I have made a "hardware
profile" for having a USB hdd connected but it is still a problem not seeing
the drive 70% or so of the times on reconnection. Booting with the USB hdd
plug-in or plugging it later after the OS boots makes no difference.

Thanks
Primex

 

[Primex]

O.K.

That sounds like the probable culprit, however, assuming that the controller
is working do you know of a way to more reliably help WindowsXP recognize a
USB drive either via a patch, Windows configuration, or 3rd party program
that would more forcefully attempt to mount a USB device ?

Thanks

P.S. Not everybody needs or wants a 5-hundreds gigabyte drive. It takes
forever to do virus scans , malware scans, and defragmentation, including
regular maintenace programs. Time is also money in the new math. Ha,ha,ha

 

[Paul]

O.K.

That sounds like the probable culprit, however, assuming that the controller
is working do you know of a way to more reliably help WindowsXP recognize a
USB drive either via a patch, Windows configuration, or 3rd party program
that would more forcefully attempt to mount a USB device ?

Thanks

P.S. Not everybody needs or wants a 5-hundreds gigabyte drive. It takes
forever to do virus scans , malware scans, and defragmentation, including
regular maintenace programs. Time is also money in the new math. Ha,ha,ha

You can buy as much, or as little hardware as you want.

SABRENT USB-DSC5 Serial ATA (SATA) or IDE 2.5" and 3.5" to USB 2.0 Cable Converter Adapter - $20

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812156017

Basically, that kit is a "drive to USB" adapter. You're not paying
for a housing or enclosure, so there is no protection or forced
air cooling for the drive. Kits like this allow easy connection
of a raw drive mechanism, to a USB interface on the computer.

The adapter has three interfaces on it, a SATA plug hole, a 2.5" IDE
connector, and a 3.5" IDE connector. So old or new drives can be
connected.

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/12-156-017-S06?$S640W$

*******

For SATA drives, they make a "toaster" style adapter, making it
easier to temporarily plug in a drive. For IDE drives, this isn't
a practical concept, so you're likely to see this only for SATA
hard drives. The difference with this concept, is the adapter
is "free standing". (THERMALTAKE N0028USU)

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/images/product/10007733.jpg

*******

You can also get a USB full enclosure, without a drive inside, and then
you can continue to use your existing drive. This one is for an
IDE drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145133

*******

I don't have a problem getting WinXP to detect my external enclosure,
so I don't particularly see the need for a "patch". My copy of WinXP
seems to do fine, without any help from me.

One reason for a drive failing to be recognized, would be if the
hard drive takes too long to "spin up" to speed. That can be
caused by a weak power supply adapter. Since you mentioned you're
using a 3.5" hard drive, those use 5V @ 1A, and 12V @ 0.6A when
idling. When the drive first spins up, some brands need 12V @ 2.5A
for the first ten seconds or so, and then the power needed drops
back to the 0.6A level. It could be, if the adapter is having
trouble providing that power level, that the drive takes longer
to spin up, or is not spinning up reliably for you. So even changing
the power source could make a difference. Of course, it isn't always
easy to find pin-compatible power adapters, when you have a weak one.
There are a number of different plug types.

I'm a little puzzled by my external enclosure, in that the power
rating printing on the AC adapter, is insufficient to spin up a drive,
and yet it works fine.

Paul

 

[ED]

Something to consider:
Some laptops do not supply enough power via the USB port to reliably
run some USB drives. Use a "Y" cable such as
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270226
This has solved some erratic problems I had with USB drives.

 

[Jim]

O.K.

That sounds like the probable culprit, however, assuming that the controller
is working do you know of a way to more reliably help WindowsXP recognize a
USB drive either via a patch, Windows configuration, or 3rd party program
that would more forcefully attempt to mount a USB device ?

Thanks

P.S. Not everybody needs or wants a 5-hundreds gigabyte drive. It takes
forever to do virus scans , malware scans, and defragmentation, including
regular maintenace programs. Time is also money in the new math. Ha,ha,ha

Scans only last as long as the number of programs on the drive .