asus u3 - shuts down with usb dvd drive? but fine with other usb connections

so ...i decided to just buy an enclosure and stick my old laptops dvd player into it to use on my new vista laptop.

the dvd uses two usb ports- one is powering the unit, the other to get data.

here's the weird thing- when i connect even just the data part (without powering up) the laptop shuts down- i have to disconnect the power cord and the battery and re-insert to re power up....essentially if there is a connection to this new unit, the laptop shuts down.

if i turn laptop back on with it connected- it's fine. if i then disconnect and reconnect the usb plugs it's fine...its only when i introduct the unit to the laptop while it's powered on does it shut down.

i connected both my iphone and my usb harddrive into the laptop (hd is powered seperately) it's stable.

so...should i just not use a cheapy enclosure for the dvd OR is it something wrong with my laptop?

 

Hello.

I have the same laptop and the same thing happened to me. i was surprise how almost every time i plug in my portable USB hard drive the computer would shut off...There is not good reason why this happens with the U3. I thought it was my laptop, but i after seeing your post it most likely a problem with the model. there should be a fix somewhere.

Keep me posted if you figure a solution and i'll do the same.

good luck.

 

Perhaps: (partial) short circuit on the enclosure? That was the cause of similar problems for me with an enclosure.

Do you have another enclosure to try out, or can you exchange it from warranty?

 

First I thought it might be a hotswap PnP issue, but after the second post that doesn't make sense either.

For both posters -- Does the same thing (shutdown) happen regardless of which USB port you plug these things into? Does it occur on both battery and AC power?

If yes on both counts, perhaps some BIOS issue with the USB port power management and maybe the system is reading a spike with immediate shutdown being a protection mechanism (which would follow what EBE is suggesting as the triggering event). The U3 has been around a while, and this is the first time this issue has come up - despite being similar in two instances, I'm leaning toward enclosure issues too rather than notebook fault.

 

I have this happen on my old laptop. I got around the problem by using a powered USB2 hub. It seems to be that the spike when the unit is connected directly to the PC causes a shutdown.

 

I can't imagine your USB DVD is designed to draw power from USB. I thought it came with power supply AC adaptor. 3-1/2" harddrive enclosures all have separate power line. 2-1/2" HD enclosures come with USB cable that has auxiliary second power header - do draw extra current from second USB.
Just of a curiosity, what brand do you have a trouble with? Is it 5" form factor?

E.B.E was correct - this is enclosure issue

 

The problem occurs when i plug in any USB HDD in any of the ports whether battery, AC or both. I did contact asus tech. support (vip.asus.com) and they responded quickly asking me to re-install ATKOS2 and ATKUtility drivers from the bundled CD or from their website. i did that, quickly, and no change! they then asked me to take it to the local service center. but i do think it's some settings in the bios besides it's a hassle taking it to the service shop in Saudi!! I'm now thinking it maybe the bios upgrade i did when it asked to! cuz i kind of remember this not happening before. i wanna try downgrading to an older bios version and see maybe that would do it.

anyways, let me know your thoughts on this. it's a great notebook and if this persists it'll be a great loss...

 

Do you feed your external USB HDD from USB or your extrernal HD has it's own power line?
USB port has limited ability to feed USB device attached

 

USB HDD feeds from the USB port (without an external pwr source). I uninstalled the ATK drivers and reinstalled them for a second time, restarted and so far things seem to work correctly. no more shutting down when i plug the same USB HDD! what does the ATK drivers have to do with this i don't know, but it seemed to have fixed my problem so far. I'll update after i give it a few more tries.

thanks for the follow up.

 

Since ATK drivers are for power management, if buggy they may be triggered by all kinds of system events...

 

Bad news! The problem is back. i don't know if it was just luck that it worked a few times than started shutting down again when plugging in the same USB HDD. It does it under OpenSUSE and Vista as well.

anyone else experiencing the same problem?

 

Tell little bit more about your USB HD (make, side ets.)

 

So, if I read all the previous posts correctly, it does it with different USB devices: HDDs and external DVD. And under different OSes. If all those USB devices work fine on other computers, I would then tend to blame the hardware in the computer. For instance, maybe one of the USB power or signal lines is not properly insulated and there is a short.

I don't know what to suggest other than sending the notebook to ASUS for repairs... if it is hardware then probably a motherboard replacement will fix the problem.

Does it do it only in some of the USB ports or all of them?

 

It does it with any of the three USB ports. The USB drive is made by Lacie and is a 160GB.
I tend to agree with E.B.E.'s theory, but it's just a hassle sending the unit for repair...might be the only solution, but i wanna try every possibility before sending it away.

The weird part is that sometime it works fine, especially if I plug in the drive before switching on the notebook. very frustrating.

Should i do a clean install (format and reinstall windows with all drivers again)?

 

If you have the time, you can try...

But is it just the one USB device, or are there more? If it's just one USB device it's quite possible that the enclosure or the HDD is at fault, and not the computer.