Help-Puter tries to boot from new xternal HD/Won't

07/10/2010 07:44:45 AM · #26

Originally posted by NeVeRyn:

I've seen this before - many times. The USB host controller (inside the drive) doesn't provide a proper translation to the BIOS - it says it's a drive, and the bios tries to talk to it to find out what kind of drive. When this fails, the system locks and won't boot. When it is plugged in after the computer is running, it loads a driver in the Operating System to talk to the drive - bypassing the BIOS. Two possible solutions - a different drive may talk to your computer correctly, or your computer may need a BIOS update. If you can get into the BIOS, you may want to turn off "use USB Legacy Devices" as this can affect how the controller talks to the computer. - Hope that helps. --Owner of two drives that won't let computers boot when plugged in--

I'll check that USB Legacy thing....

I'm cringing a little with your last line. Does this mean that you still have drives that won't let your computer boot? Or did you get them straightened out?

cpanaioti

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

07/10/2010 08:42:39 AM · #27

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Could be that the software installed is in the startup list which requires access to the external hard drive.

What was installed anyway? Was it some sort of backup management program? Do you need it? Does it need to be run at startup?

The first external had a window pop up for installation, but this second HD doesn't have anything inm the way of operating software........it's just a storage slave.

It's extra storage since my last HD is full.

Do I need it? Only if I want to continue shooting! LOL!!!

Does it have to run at startup, no, but then what's the point of passive storage if I have to unplug, then plug in the d*mn thing EVERY TIME I start up!!!!

That's just annoying, and it's not right.

I know there's a solution, I'm just too ignorant to know my way around well enough to sort it.

The software that installed is needed to keep shooting? It seems that it is more than just a driver for the USB storage. I have four external hard drives, none of which need to be unplugged/plugged in. Two have an on off switch, the other two turn on and off with the computer.

Was the drive pre-formatted as a boot drive?

Message edited by author 2010-07-10 08:43:50.

07/10/2010 08:50:57 AM · #28

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

The software that installed is needed to keep shooting?

No, the *storage* is needed if I want to keep shooting. My other external is full.

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

It seems that it is more than just a driver for the USB storage.

The second hard drive didn't have any software to install.....as I said in the last post, it's simply slave storage.

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

I have four external hard drives, none of which need to be unplugged/plugged in. Two have an on off switch, the other two turn on and off with the computer.

I keep saying this......I know plenty of people, most of whom have *zero* computer experience who have externals, and have never experienced this issue. I have another HD, external, hooked to the computer in question, and it was never problematic.

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

Was the drive pre-formatted as a boot drive?

Not to my knowledge......why would anyone do that for a stand alone storage expansion device?

cpanaioti

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

07/10/2010 09:02:16 AM · #29

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Originally posted by cpanaioti:
The software that installed is needed to keep shooting?

No, the *storage* is needed if I want to keep shooting. My other external is full.

The question wasn't about the storage so if the software isn't needed then uninstall it.

Message edited by author 2010-07-10 09:12:13.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

07/10/2010 09:36:04 AM · #30

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

The software that installed is needed to keep shooting?

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

No, the *storage* is needed if I want to keep shooting. My other external is full.

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

The question wasn't about the storage so if the software isn't needed then uninstall it.

What software?

There is no software with this unit.

Colette, I appreciate that you're trying to help, but PLEASE read the posts.

kawesttex

Apple iPhone 11 Pro

07/10/2010 09:44:42 AM · #31

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Originally posted by cpanaioti:
The software that installed is needed to keep shooting?

Originally posted by NikonJeb:
No, the *storage* is needed if I want to keep shooting. My other external is full.

Originally posted by cpanaioti:
The question wasn't about the storage so if the software isn't needed then uninstall it.

What software?

There is no software with this unit.

Colette, I appreciate that you're trying to help, but PLEASE read the posts.

Actually in your original post you loaded the software when you first installed it. I tend to agree that some of the auto load software on drives can mess things up. I would uninstall it. That software may be a backup type system that is interfering on boot up.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

07/10/2010 09:55:29 AM · #32

Originally posted by kawesttex:

That was for the Seagate......

This WD HD had no installation software.

Back to.....in my BIOS, neither of the USB externals is visible anywhere I can detect.

The current one never had an issue, so why does this one? What do I do?

How does one update the BIOS? I did manage to find out the info from my motherboard.....I got a screen that gave me the data, but what now?

kawesttex

Apple iPhone 11 Pro

07/10/2010 09:57:40 AM · #33

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Originally posted by kawesttex:
Actually in your original post you loaded the software when you first installed it. I tend to agree that some of the auto load software on drives can mess things up. I would uninstall it. That software may be a backup type system that is interfering on boot up.

That was for the Seagate......

This WD HD had no installation software.

Back to.....in my BIOS, neither of the USB externals is visible anywhere I can detect.

The current one never had an issue, so why does this one? What do I do?

How does one update the BIOS? I did manage to find out the info from my motherboard.....I got a screen that gave me the data, but what now?

Did you uninstall the software the Seagate installed?

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

07/10/2010 10:08:51 AM · #34

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Originally posted by kawesttex:

Did you uninstall the software the Seagate installed?

No, but I will....

What would that have to do with the WD HD? Especially since the WD didn't have any installation software and is purely a slave.

I don't know anything about computers, but my diagnostic skills aren't too shabby. Why is it that my computer thinks it should look at this external before its normal startup drive? Is it looking at this port differently because there's something hooked to it? Should I try hooking it to a different USB port?

kenskid

Nikon D700

07/10/2010 10:26:01 AM · #35

Yes try all usb plugs

07/10/2010 10:56:07 AM · #36

In my experiences with hardware each time I use the setup disc to install drivers or other software the company wants you to install these almost never work the way they should. Next time, just install the HDD and let Windows find it and install its drivers, Don't use the company CD that came with the hardware.

To prove this yet again I recently bought a wireless netcard and installed the drivers from the cd that came with it and it worked for a while but stopped the next day after booting up. I removed everything the CD installed and let Windows install its own drivers from their site. Fixed. No more problems.

These companies might make great hardware but they lack quality in their software.

In your BIOS, can you see it? Is it in a list with your other HDDs in a section called Boot Order or something similar? If so, remove it from there or put it last if you cannot remove it. I didn't read the thread Jeb so I'm sorry if I've repeated what others have said.

Message edited by author 2010-07-10 10:57:33.

07/10/2010 11:06:37 AM · #37

Originally posted by Jac:

No disc came with either HD.....the first one had imbedded software that popped up in Windows that asked me if I wanted to let it install itself....I clicked OK. The second HD had nothing.....no disc, no popup, it just laid there and did nothing waiting to be loaded. I even looked at the two folders that were in it.....both were for the icon that displays in My Computer.

Originally posted by Jac:

To prove this yet again I recently bought a wireless netcard and installed the drivers from the cd that came with it and it worked for a while but stopped the next day after booting up. I removed everything the CD installed and let Windows install its own drivers from their site. Fixed. No more problems.

I'm hoping that uninstalling the software from the Seagate HD will help, but I ain't hloding my breath.

Originally posted by Jac:

These companies might make great hardware but they lack quality in their software.

Why there would need to be software for the electronic equivalent of a storage closet escapes me.....I ran into that with my two flash drives. I have one that wants to guide me through the processes of hooking it up and loading, then shutdown, and I have another that I just plug in, and it opens when I go into it 'cause it's just dead space, no bells & whistles. The other one pitches a hissy fit if I don't do the exact right steps......which on my one computer I can't since it works differently and won't recognize that I've turned it off.

Wanna guess which one I use more?????

Originally posted by Jac:

In your BIOS, can you see it? Is it in a list with your other HDDs in a section called Boot Order or something similar? If so, remove it from there or put it last if you cannot remove it. I didn't read the thread Jeb so I'm sorry if I've repeated what others have said.

For some odd reason, I cannot find either of these external HDs in the BIOS listings, and that includes the one that's been there for about two years......about the time it took me to fill up 500 GB of space.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

07/10/2010 11:49:59 AM · #38

This may be a XP issue. I have three ext. HDDs and while one of them was on I couldn't boot my PC, with XP, it would freeze midway in POST. Never could find anything to fix it until I migrated over to Vista. All is fine now and I didn't do anything to resolve it. So, I didn't know what caused it and I don't know what fixed it. Don't you love computers. lol

You say you can't see it in the BIOS, ok. Do you see a section called Boot Order or something similar? Is it in there? If not then that may be a good thing since Windows isn't using it to boot up. What's the letter that was assigned to it?

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

07/10/2010 12:13:13 PM · #39

Jeb, let's see if I follow the thread correctly.
- You hooked up the Seagate, it ran it's "install" software and the drive worked, but needed to be unplugged in order to allow the computer to boot.
- You tired a second external, a WD, that installed no additional software, with the same results
- The drives, nor your older external are listed in the BIOS list

If that's correct, it sounds like a good thing, because it tells us that the problem is definitely *not* that the 'pooter is trying to boot from the external, but that the external is hanging the boot process.
Someone above recommended a BIOS upgrade. At this point, I would strongly recommend this path as well. It seems that the newer externals are communicating in a way that the BIOS does not expect, so it hangs.
Now it may also be that it's not the BIOS at all, but the OS that is hanging. I have *zero* experience with XP and very recent USB external drives, and it is possible that XP is just not going to work with some of them unless they are turned off during boot.

07/10/2010 12:37:10 PM · #40

Is there a way you can plug the HDD into a Vista or W7 PC and boot that PC up? That would immediately let us know that this may be a XP issue, if indeed the PC boots up normally.

07/10/2010 02:56:32 PM · #41

I'm gonna take a break and actually sit down with my lovely wife and watch a movie since the kid is out for the day.

Then I'll come back and slog through some more.

Yes, there's a Vista machine about five feet away......and I have another XP machine I can try as well.

07/10/2010 02:58:00 PM · #42

Originally posted by kirbic:

I did find the pre-existing USB HD that's full in the BIOS, but in a different place.

NeVeRyn

Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di for Canon

07/10/2010 06:44:14 PM · #43

I'm cringing a little with your last line. Does this mean that you still have drives that won't let your computer boot? Or did you get them straightened out?

I moved them to a different server box that pumps them directly to ethernet - don't have them plugged into a computer at all. Still usable as storage - just have to map a network drive.

ganders

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/11/2010 04:15:13 AM · #44

Originally posted by Jac:

That sounds extremely stranger; if you actually mean that it was freezing during POST then I don't see how changing the OS can possibly make a difference, because you haven't even started to load up the OS at that point...