Resolving a USB Hard Drive Problem

 How can I tell if my computer has insufficient power?

The easiest way to tell is simply plug in the hard drive and listen to the sound it makes; it may power up and then die, or if the power is much too low it may then only click.

If the drive is failing due to insufficient power do not keep plugging it in, this is the worst thing you can do as the drive will receive power and then fail, if this happens repeatedly then data loss or even a complete drive failure can occur.

Causes of Insufficient USB Power

Different hard drive types can operate on slightly different amounts of voltage and one type of hard drive may work fine and another may not due to this.

The length of the USB cable can have a big impact on this too, if the cable is too long or runs through a passive hub the power lost through the cable can be sufficient to prevent the drive from working.

Resolutions

Upgrading a computers firmware is perhaps the easiest way to go and can increase the voltage to the USB port.

Be warned though I have found upgrading the computers firmware to be beneficial and in some cases make an external USB drive receive sufficient power to work, but that said I have also found the complete reverse to happen when upgrading the firmware on a Dell D400, the USB hard drive was working fine, but after the upgrade it then had the usual USB hard drive problem of insufficient power, and as in most cases it was not possible to downgrade the firmware to its previous version.

If the USB cable you are using exceeds around 2 feet in length using a smaller cable will help.

Using a dual header USB cable is perhaps the easiest way to increase power to the drive.

A USB dual header cable has a single USB port to the hard drive, but dual connectors going to the USB ports on the computer, thereby doubling the power to the drive.

A USB dual header cable is an easy way to resolve a hard drive problem caused by insufficient power from the USB port. Note the single drive connector and the dual USB connectors to increase power to any connected device

Of course using a USB dual header cable can only work if your computer has 2 free USB ports. If your computer does not the next option is either to purchase and install a USB card (PCI for desktop computers or PCMCIA for laptops)

Even a USB hub should be sufficient, but it must be one with an external power source, a powered USB hub may even provide sufficient power to power the drive with a single connection.

A USB hard drive problem can also be caused by a device trying to use the same device letter - although the article centres around flash drives, the principles of resolving drive letter issues are the same - find out how to resolve this.

If your USB device is slow does your computer have type 1 USB ports as opposed to type 2 which offers around 40 times the performance of USB 1, find out how you can upgrade your computer

Checkout our main USB page here..

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