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    WD Passport + Vista = Headache

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by tenuulch, May 23, 2008.

  1. tenuulch

    tenuulch Newbie

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    Can anyone offer me a solution or advice?

    I own a Western Digital 250GB (external) Passport HD and a 320GB Passport. They work fine on any Windows XP PC, but when I safely remove from my new laptop (9262 running Vista x64), after it is "safe to remove," the power, lights and HD are stillrunning on [either] drive. Then I unplug the drive and hear the whining sound of the hard disk shutting down.

    I fear this may lessen the life of the hard drives. I've tried both the longer and shorter cables that came with the drives and same thing. I've tried changing the policy properties from optimize quick removal to optimize performance. Nothing helps.

    Anyone?

    I don't want to have to dual-boot XP just for this. I probably will end up dual booting Ubuntu.
     
    tenuulch, May 23, 2008
    #1
  2. Ayle

    Ayle Trailblazer

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    It won't shorten the life of the drive, basically all "Safely Remove" does is stopping all data transfers between the drive and the laptop. It doesn't cut the power.
     
    Ayle, May 23, 2008
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  3. The_Observer

    The_Observer 9262 is the best:)

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    I have seen the power stopping in Buffalo drive and not in Maxtor drive.
     
    The_Observer, May 23, 2008
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  4. knightingmagic

    knightingmagic Notebook Deity

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    The drive stops spinning after 15 minutes of inactivity (no reads/writes).
     
    knightingmagic, May 23, 2008
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  5. AKAJohnDoe

    AKAJohnDoe Mime with Tourette's

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    Some of the newer drives don't even have power switches.

    And all "safely remove" is supposed to to is flush buffers to be sure all I/O is complete
     
    AKAJohnDoe, May 23, 2008
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  6. surfasb

    surfasb Titles Shmm-itles

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    Maybe I missed something. Because the harddrive is winding down is a bad thing? Would you rather it just keep on spinning?

    Maybe you would rather it stop spinning first before you unplug it? Just don't drop it.
     
    surfasb, May 23, 2008
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  7. tenuulch

    tenuulch Newbie

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    Well, perhaps it might be OK. But, on XP, when I safely eject the HD, it shuts off so when I go to unplug it, it is already completely shut down.

    On Vista, when I go to unplug it after eject, it is still running and I hear a whining sound as I unplug the drive. Its like unplugging a computer from the wall while its still plugged in instead of properly shutting it down.

    Thanks. Perhaps it'll survive this way then. I suppose in any case, I'll get a 1 TB HD for backup purposes anyhow.
     
    tenuulch, May 24, 2008
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  8. Rodster

    Rodster Merica

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    I have the same issues with my Passport connected to Vista. It powers down in XP when I do a safe removal, just unplug it that's what I do when in Vista after doing a safe removal.

    As others have said when you do a safe removal it essentially stops communication with the device. As to whether you power down the drive by pulling the plug or XP does it for you it's bascially the same thing. ;)
     
    Rodster, May 24, 2008
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  9. surfasb

    surfasb Titles Shmm-itles

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    Ah I see. You mean you would rather have the HD spun off (haha, sounds like an oxymoron) when the OS says it is OK to unplug. Moving the harddrive around too much while it is spinning, that is a cause for concern.
     
    surfasb, May 25, 2008
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  10. mahmood

    mahmood Notebook Geek

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    True...

    I found a solution to that if someone don't want to wait 15 minute. If you safe remove the WD and then put the computer to sleep, then the drive is forced to turn off. Then you can unplug it and wake the computer up!!!

    Although it is not a good solution but it can help... I noticed also that SDPARM can stop (spin off) the drive, but at the moment the drive is safe removed from windows, it spin up again.
     
    mahmood, Sep 1, 2008
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  11. LIVEFRMNYC

    LIVEFRMNYC Blah Blah Blah!!!

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    My experience with WD Mybook external HD with Vista is a bad one. It would rarely detect it and the rest of the time it couldn't find drivers. Work perfectly on XP 100% of the time. What made me so disappointed was it clearly stated on the box the it supports Vista, just to find out in many forums this is a problem with all types of WD external HD products. I ended up exchanging it for a SimpleTech external HD and work flawless with Vista.
     
    LIVEFRMNYC, Sep 1, 2008
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  12. Doodles

    Doodles Starving Student

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    you DO NOT HAVE TO do the safely remove feature with the WD passport... when you plug the drive in, go the my computer, Right click the External HD, go to properties, go to the hardware tab, find the drive and click properties at the bottom. then go to the policies tab. "optimize for quick removal" should be the ONLY thing ticked. This means, and i quote, "This setting disables .... so you can disconnect the drive without using the Safe Removal Icon"

    enjoy! :)
     
    Doodles, Sep 1, 2008
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  13. jcm4

    jcm4 Notebook Evangelist

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    Heh, mine works perfectly fine with 32bit Vista Ultimate. Weird.
     
    jcm4, Sep 1, 2008
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  14. mahmood

    mahmood Notebook Geek

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    mahmood, Nov 29, 2008
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