Not recognizing External Hard Drive

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Guest

Hi there, if anyone can help that would be great. I bought and I/O Magic
external 250gb hard drive to store music and photos but when I plug it in,
Windows XP doesn't recognize it and actually my PC starts to beep constantly
and doesn't respond at all (mouse and keyboard stop working) and I have to
reboot. Any ideas as to what the problem is? I'm thinking I might have a
defective product but before I trudge all the back to the store, I'd like to
get some feedback. Please and thanks!
 
I'm assuming you plug it into a USB port.
This is direct to the PC?
Have you ever plugged any other USB devices in?
 
Yes, I use the USB ports to download pictures from my camera, no problems
there. I'm trying to use the same ports for the external hard drive and
nothing happens and my pc stops responding along with the irritating constant
beep.
Any ideas?
thanks.
 
Christina said:
Yes, I use the USB ports to download pictures from my camera, no problems
there. I'm trying to use the same ports for the external hard drive and
nothing happens and my pc stops responding along with the irritating
constant beep.
Any ideas?
thanks.
Click to expand...

Is the external hard drive self-powered? Have you got it plugged directly
into the wall or into a good-quality Uninterruptible Power Supply? If you
have it plugged into one of those cheap power strips, an extension cord, or
are not using its external power connector, that would be the reason for
the problem - pulling too much power for the source into which it is
plugged in.

Malke
 
I have it plugged into the power bar that some of my other PC components are
in. Its surge protected and a high quality power bar.
 
Cristina,

What is the make and model of your computer..? Did you upgrade an older
computer to XP or was XP originaly installed, Home, Pro, w/SP2 installed..?
Does your system support USB 2.0..?

See if the tool below can reveal info on USB 2.0 controller..
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/stream/vidcap/UVCVieweula.mspx
Look over the FAQ below for your drive..
https://iomega-na-en.custhelp.com/c...ted=1072727206&p_sid=uCabsvVh&p_lva=500&p_li=
Might try the Intel tool below to see if your USB ready or need an
upgrade/update..
http://www.usbman.com/WebDrivers/Intel USB System Check/USBREADY.EXE
Hope for the best..
Cheers
j;-j
 
Don't worry about it. I ended up returning it to the store as I realized it
was a refurbished product that had already been returned for the exact same
problem I was having. Thanks again for all your help. I'm going to try a
different and smaller product for much less money as well. Thanks again and
have a very Happy New Year!
 
Hi Christina,

I bought the same I/O Magic external hard drive. My computer will not boot up unless I leave the hard drive turned off until after my computer is fully booted up. I can then turn the hard drive on and its works fine. However, there is another disturbing fact about this I/O Magic 250 Gb external hard drive. It is actually false advertising by I/O Magic because after I formatted the hard drive and put in only a single partition, I have only a 233 Gb capacity. No one can convince me that it uses 17 Gb of space to partion and format this hard drive. It is plain and simple false advertising by I/O Magic. If it has 233 Gb of space, then they should advertise it as such.

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com
 
Hi Christina,

I bought the same I/O Magic external hard drive. My computer will not boot
up unless I leave the hard drive turned off until after my computer is
fully booted up. I can then turn the hard drive on and its works fine.
However, there is another disturbing fact about this I/O Magic 250 Gb
external hard drive. It is actually false advertising by I/O Magic because
after I formatted the hard drive and put in only a single partition, I
have only a 233 Gb capacity. No one can convince me that it uses 17 Gb of
space to partion and format this hard drive. It is plain and simple false
advertising by I/O Magic. If it has 233 Gb of space, then they should
advertise it as such.

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com
Click to expand...


Ron:
Your experience is not unique. We too come across some motherboards that
will not boot while a USB external HDD is connected and powered up. Rarely a
problem with other USB devices being connected at bootup - just a USBEHD in
our experience. And, as you indicate, there are (usually) no further
problems with the USBEHD after booting up with that device disconnected and
then powering it up after bootup.

Incidentally, to make this situation (with respect to USBEHD recognition)
even more bizarre - we come across just the opposite situation from
time-to-time, i.e., if the USBEHD is *not* connected/powered on at bootup,
it won't be recognized following bootup. Go figure.

As to disk capacity - I'm afraid that's the way it is for the most part. The
actual disk space (in binary terms) for an advertised 250 GB HDD is, in
fact, 233 GB. But that situation is (slowly) changing as some HDD
manufacturers are beginning to advertise their wares in binary terms. I
think some class-action suits have been brought (or threatened) against one
or more HDD manufacturers re this situation so they're starting to come
around.
Anna
 
Ron:
Your experience is not unique. We too come across some motherboards that
will not boot while a USBexternalHDD is connected and powered up. Rarely a
problem with other USB devices being connected at bootup - just a USBEHD in
our experience. And, as you indicate, there are (usually) no further
problems with the USBEHD after booting up with that device disconnected and
then powering it up after bootup.

Incidentally, to make this situation (with respect to USBEHD recognition)
even more bizarre - we come across just the opposite situation from
time-to-time, i.e., if the USBEHD is *not* connected/powered on at bootup,
it won't be recognized following bootup. Go figure.

As to disk capacity - I'm afraid that's the way it is for the most part. The
actual disk space (in binary terms) for an advertised 250 GB HDD is, in
fact, 233 GB. But that situation is (slowly) changing as some HDD
manufacturers are beginning to advertise their wares in binary terms. I
think some class-action suits have been brought (or threatened) against one
or more HDD manufacturers re this situation so they're starting to come
around.
Anna- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

Hello.

Despite this apparent issue with the unit Christina had purchased,
does anyone know if this drive is reliable? The company is not
familiar to me and I want to use this for backing up personal files
like photos, so I want to make sure it is a reliable device.

Does anyone have an opinion on this I/O Magic 250 GB USB External HD?
I'm asking because it is on sale at a local store at which I have some
credit.

Thanks.

John
 
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