USB 2.0 Issue on my Nox A14?

So, I just got a new Seagate Free Agent Go portable hard drive to keep my information backed up and also to transfer files from my other machines. On my old laptop, the hard drive works fine. Powers up, lights up, and stays on.

Now, when I plug the HDD into my A14, it lights up then continuously beeps. It goes in and out of recognition by the computer. When reading the Seagate forums, they claim that this issue is caused by the HDD not receiving enough power from the USB ports.

So, I double checked and the drivers look fine for the USB ports on the laptop. Its 2.0 so it should be putting out enough power. What in the world might be causing this? I mean, the HDD doesn't do me much good if I can't plug it into the laptop. Also, I really don't want to have to go out and purchase a USB hub to get this to work. It should just work automatically. The laptop and HDD are brand new!

Does any one have any ideas?

Oh, and I know the HDD is working perfectly. Like I said, I plugged it into my old laptop and also my parent's desktop and laptop. It works fine in all of those.

*sigh*

 

Did you try a different port and is your laptop plugged in?

 

Try a different USB cable, something similar happened to me in the past.

 

Yes, there is one port where the HDD never works, one where it works for a few seconds, and then the last one usually works for a couple of minutes at a time. None of them work without interruption though unfortunately.

Hmm, just go out and purchase another mini usb to usb cable? You really think that'd be the issue when the cable is sufficing for all other computers I've tried?

 

What happens if you; shut down the laptop, remove the power cable and remove the battery and then press the power-on button on the laptop several times (don't be scared if you see the screen flicker once or twice, this is "residue" electricity) and then put the battery back in place, attach the power cable and then boot up the laptop again.
Does that make any difference when connecting the external HDD again?
Cheers.

 

Most laptops do NOT support external harddisks without using two USB cables or extra power supply. That is why most 90% of all 2.5" USB harddrives have an extra power source.

BTW : it depends on the casing and harddrive brand and speed. Use a 1.8" drive and it will run perfect because of the low power consumption

 

What percentage of all 2.5" USB 2.0 hardrives require an extra power supply?

 

Oh, ok. I did not realize that since I had never had an issue with External HDDs before. I guess I just got lucky in the past! Glad my laptop is acting normal hehe.

So, if I just buy a USB 2.0 x 2 to mini USB and it should work fine?

 

it got the same external 2.5" usb harddrive (which only came with a USB cable) and im using it with my 6224W and it works just fine.

I've only seen 3.5" external drivers with extra power supply...

 

Well you, in some cases need a cable with 2 normal USB ports in one end and 1 mini USB in the other end. This will give enough power for the external 2.5" harddrives that won't run on one USB port. I've seen this a lot of times. In my opinion it should be default that both kind of USB cable are with an external 2.5" harddrive.

 

In my experience it is the minority of notebooks that will not power a modern HDD from a single USB port.

I've got about six 2.5" HDDs and enclosures. Both the HDDs and enclosures are various ages and capacities. I recall one of those (old HDD + enclosure) will not work with one USB port. And that's with a whole variety of notebooks that has passed through my hands in the last few years.

However, I would also note that the USB specification allows for 0.5A current which means 2.5W. Almost all 2.5" HDDs have a maximum power drain of more than 2.5W which must mean that most notebook designs allow the specified power drain to be exceeded.

John

 

I am having problems as well with USB on the Nox A14 I just bought. after installing win XP and all the drivers on the Zepto CD, the only device that would not work was the USB.

Under Control Panel > hardware > USB, it would sometimes - for three of the USB items - show 'no driver installed', sometimes 'driver working properly'. After some time and reboot, it was working once. But then after more manipulations / reboot, it stopped again.

After patching with XP SP2 & SP3, no problem.

I didn't try USB under Linux. no problem neither.

 

My Nexus also have this problem, my 2.5" hdd only receive enough power from the right USB port, and not the left ports.

 

Most USB controllers have been needing SP2 to work properly for years now. I'm still puzzled why people complain about things not working when they have not patched the system with all available patches before saying things don't work. Why is that? Also the external USB drive "issue" has also been know for years now. I've always used a double USB cable for 2.5" external drives as they've always worked. I've never used the cables that came with the hard drives because i didn't want to run into not being able to use the drive if i was transporting it around to different setups.