Help on computer hardware problem

i think this place is good for me to post this question. any computer geeks here?

got a problem of not able to detect my usb 250 GB Maxtor OneTouch 4 mini external drive. The symptoms are as follow:

1) Beeping sound and flashing light when connected. Not detected. Tried all the ports
2) When my usb modem is plugged out, i am able to detect intermittenly but resulted "delayed write failure" after sometime.

My computer specs are as follow:
AMD Athlon 2600
Asus A7V600 motherboard (with usb 2.0)
Win XP SP2 (updated last year)

I have tried connecting using a self powered usb 2.0 hub and updated my VIA usb driver to 2.57

Is there any suggestion? The drive is working perfectly on other pc.

What are the chances that it might work if i buy a pci usb card? If my motherboard usb is problematic, does it mean anything asociated to usb protocol will not work even if i put pci usb card?

Really need you help. Im completely burnt out. Thanks

 

does your current pc have other uSB devices connected to?
try unpluggin other minor USB devices and try with only the ext HD.

 

2) When my usb modem is plugged out, i am able to detect intermittenly but resulted "delayed write failure" after sometime.

i have already unplugged my usb modem

 

try pluggin it into another PC to see if it's functionable. As long as it's detected and not giving you that problem, the HD is fine, if not, it's a HD error(PM me if it is a HD error, we'll go from there).

If it does work on another computer, then it could be the tower, which could be one of two things...Not enough current from the power supply(need a bigger PS), or updated firmwire on the mobo.

 

guys thanks for the reply.

but pls read my post thoroughly. thats the problem when you try to be in detail but turns up, people dont read.

i have mentioned alot of things in the post so maybe the help can be something out of those

 

I have also had this kind of problem with my external HD but in my case it was the HD that had a failure so I bought a new one. Have you tried it on another PC ? does it work ?

 

oh not another one.

 

thanks for the good reply. i have 8 ports total. i have tried on all.

like some people suggested my usb controller might got problem.

luckily i borrowed a self powered usb hub to try before purchasing as suggested by maxtor technical support.

thats why im a bit reluctant to buy a pci card. afraid what if it doesnt work. i was suggested from usbman website, to buy only those usb card with NEC chipset. this is going to be my last 2nd resort. and if it doesnt work, im gonna give up and throw it away. lol

so right now, im looking for suggestion without buying a card yet

 

It seems your usb controller is not working properly. Try connecting your hard drive to some other machine to make this sure

 

yes i have tried on 3 other pc that it is ok. i will try it again once more

 

Im thinking its your motherboard

 

yeah usb controller is on the motherboard?

motherboard is a "very big" hardware. might want to be more specific on which area is faulty

 

it seems like your USB doesnt have "enough power" it happened to me when I have many USB drives going on. Its regardless of how many ports you have. If few USB ports are already using "power" to a limit your MO or USB device on your MO canhandle, it'll "shut off" others and and will even say "delay" or "connection not working, change to another USB for faster, etc..."

 

initially i thought not enough power. the strange thing is there is no "not enough power" error message shown on windows.

and i have used a self powered usb hub. this usb hub got an external dc adaptor to power up.

 

"delayed write failure" means the same thing in most cases, its power as in
how much your MB can say pump in and give out, if your MB can only pump in say 5, extra power of 10 will not matter, it'll only give 5 and not enough to power all.

I found this (auoted below) from
http://bermangraphics.com/problems/delayedwritefailure.htm#solution
give it a shot

 

thanks i will read it! i notice most of the users got problem with maxtor harddisks. in fact, this is my 3rd problem with maxtor. i regretted buying it!

recently i bought a pci usb card. it is able to detect but im still getting the error message