Can't write to external HDD

[suicdekng]

I am having quite the frustration. When I attempt to copy files to USB-powered portable hard drives (such as the Seagate GoFlex or WD MyPassport) the transfer fails with the message

Could not find this item

This is no longer located in [Drive Letter]:\. Verify the item's location and try again.

I can transfer a small file or two before this message appears, but once it shows up, I can no longer transfer to the drive at all. I can, however see and browse all the files on the drive including opening folders, but I cannot open any files nor copy to of from.

My operating system is Windows 7 Professional 64bit. I have several powered external harddrives, both USB and eSATA that work just fine. It is only the external drives without AC adapters that are having this issue.

I have tried formatting the problematic drives with mixed results. Usually the format fails and the drive becomes useless until formatted on another computer, or it does format successfully but the "Could not find" error persists.

Thank you very much for any help.

 

[mwroobel]

It is possible that your machine is not offering enough power to the external drive. What kind of system are you using, and how big is the external drive? Are you connecting directly to the computer or to a hub? You might want to try a dual USB cable for enough power. http://www.amazon.com/Connectland-CL-CAB20042-5-Pin-Power-Cable/dp/B002N2EL6C less than $3 delivered.

 

[suicdekng]

Thank you for responding. I had considered this, but am unsure how to properly test. Here is possibly too much information -

I am running a Corsair 1050w PSU, GTX570 and GeForce 8400 GS with an i7 x 980 not overclocked.
Internally, I have one 300gb Velociraptor drive, one 2tb Seagate 7200 RPM drive and a 1tb 7200 RPm drive. Externally I have 3x 1tb AC powered USB drives.

The external drives are all using the USB ports from the motherboard, no hubs or extenders.

When I unplug all USB devices except the one external unpowered drive in question no difference occurs, the error still happens.

The external drive in question is currently a Seagate GoFlex 1.5tb USB 3.0 drive. I have a PCI-e host card made by Vantech that gives me usb 3.0, but the error happens when the unpowered drive is plugged into the usb 3 or any of the usb 2 ports.

 

[mwroobel]

The 1.5TB 2.5 drives suck more power than most, so I owuld suggest getting the Y cable and seeing if that fixes the problem. Most unpowered drive disconnection problems end up being power related. It's a cheap way to troubleshoot the problem.

 

[suicdekng]

I have ordered one of the y-cables. However, I wonder if another issue I am having is related.

When I power on my computer it will not get past the first boot screen (where it displays what processor I have) unless i unplug ONE of my attached USB harddrives. (The AC powered ones). If I don't unplug it prior to booting my PC will power on, display the first BIOS screen then the fan will shut off, the screen will go black and it will power off. A second or two later it'll turn back on and continue that loop ad infinitum.

Once the Computer is on, I can plug the external back in, no problems. (Again, this pertains to the AC powered externals only. It does not seem to work if I unplug my USB microphone, unpowered HDD or printer)

 

[mwroobel]

Yeah, you have a USB problem. Since it is happening at post, it is not a driver problem. Either one of the attached devices is flakey or overdrawing power and it is likely your USB controller. It is not uncommon for it to happen, the easiest and cheapest fix is usually just adding a USB card if you have the slots.

 

[suicdekng]

I'm using my last free slot for the USB 3.0 host card, and it doesn't seem to be working, with the unpowered HDD issue.

 

[mwroobel]

What motherboard and what USB3 card are you using? Some of the cheapo USB cards have either a floppy or molex power port on them which they use to provide power to the USB bus instead of putting a vr on the board. Does yours have that and did you connect it? Also, is this the only unpowered USB drive you are using?