Re: Largest External HDD I Can Use With a Dimension 8200?

Hallelujah! Got the problem with the external Maxtor OneTouch II drive resolved.

As mentioned, Maxtor sent me a new, replacement drive. I totally uninstalled and reinstalled the Maxtor software, and used a different USB port on the back of my D-8300. Exact same problems. Drive wasn't being detected 90% of the time, backups wouldn't work unless you re-booted and turned the drive off/on several times, software would lock-up (forcing a system hard-boot to resolve), repeated pop-up error messages from Windows saying that it couldn't write to Drive I: (the drive letter assigned to my Maxtor drive).

I still felt this was a USB Controller problem, since my other USB devices have been operating more "flaky" over time (see brief recap down below):

RESOLUTION:
My Maxtor drive has both USB and 1394 Firewire connections. I discovered my Soundblaster Audigy 2-ZS card has a 1394 Firewire port on it. Check your sound card, to see if it has a firewire port on it. If so, there's no need to buy a firewire PCI card/hub, which like any other PCI card, will draw a little more power from the system. But I have no idea how much more power any PCI card (whether firewire or USB hub) will actually draw.

I also bought a PCI card 4-port USB-2 hub (Belkin). So I could either try the Firewire connection (getting the Maxtor external drive OFF THE DELL'S USB CONTROLLER, -OR- try the FIREWIRE option. Knowing that inserting ANY PCI card would draw more power from the system (not sure how much more, but my ATI All-In-Wonder X800-XT graphics card recommends a 300-watt power supply, 350-watt if you have a lot of PCI card in your system (I only have the sound/NIC card, and AGP graphics).

Knowing the ATI graphics card is pulling a lot of power anyway, I decided to try the FIREWIRE option. All I did was re-connect the Maxtor to the Dell via FIREWIRE vs. USB, and problems were resolved.

Before posting this message, I waited until I had done 4 backups, deleted backups, and ran some disk-intensive programs (DVD editing) on the Maxtor Drive. All worked perfectly (KNOCK ON WOOD). No need to re-boot.

But the coolest thing is how much faster the Maxtor drive is. The old transfer rate under USB was 300 MB/Minute. After the Firewire backups, I'm getting 800 MB/Minute. Backups that used to take hours, now take 30-40 minutes. TOTALLY AWESOME. And USB-2 is theoretically faster, with a top speed of 480 MBps, whereas 1394 Firewire is 400 MBps.

And the drive used to "grunt and grind" all the time. Now, I barely hear it during most accesses.

So now I'm convinced there is a continually worsening problem with my Dell D-8300's USB controller, with intermittent communication errors, slowing down or stopping devices intermittently and with increasing frequency, etc.

On the Dell Talk article I mentioned in a previous post, that person solved his problem by installing a PCI card USB hub. He reported the same improvements, including in speed/performance of the Maxtor drive.

My next step is to install the PCI card-USB hub. But I want to give the Maxtor external drive another week or two, to make sure it's OK. Once I've installed the PCI USB hub, and connected the devices, I'll post back here.

My Dell on-site warranty is good until August, so have a little bit of time to validate my suspicions before calling Dell back.

I can't tell you how relieved I am to FINALLY have that Maxtor drive working normally. I should note that when I first bought it and installed it (USB port) 9 months ago, I didn't have any problems for the first few months. I still had the same printer, scanner, web cam, flash drives connected to the same USB connections they are today. These problems with ALL THE USB DEVICES started about 6 months ago, and increased with frequency until recently they became intolerable.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck with your devices.

RECAP OF HP SCANNER/PRINTER PROBLEM
First, Pat that MS KB article only applies to printer/scanner combo units. I don't have that. My scanner and printer are separate units. So that solution won't work
for me.

(HP USB printer lock-ups during printing or power-off about 20% of the time), HP Scanner not scanning on the first attempt (99% of the time). The scanner and printer are connected to USB ports on the back of the D8300. I use the two front USB ports to connect my PNY Flash Drives, and get errors when plugging in to forward connector, but not the back one. PNY flash drives work perfectly in all USB ports in my laptop and office desk-top.

Gary
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Pat Conover wrote:

Gary, Try MS KB320549 to fix the HP USB Photosmart Printer. See link below. My friends has caused all kinds of USB problems and I suspect that may be yours too! I'm going over to his house now to try and fix it one last time. I hope this helps. Post back if you get it fixed, Pat

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320549/en-us


"Pat Conover" <pat conover at comcast dot net> wrote in message news:FaOdnUQcRMZcvZrZnZ2dnUVZ_sCdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gary, Please post back if you find a solution with the PCI USB card. My friend has a Dimension 4550 (I think) and I have been trying to get his USB HP all-in-one printer, scanner and card reader to work. The printer works, but the scanner is splatted out in device manager. Uninstall and reinstall drivers, no luck.

I did manage to get it to scan several times, but had to turn it off to get the PC to reboot. It would lock up until the HP was turned off and then would reboot. Stranger yet, if I turned it off prior to a shutdown or reboot, the scanner worked. But, even that only lasted for two boots. HP troubleshooting referred to an MS KB article about all-in-ones not allocating the USB ports properly or something to that effect, with an MS Quick Fix Patch. I will try and find the KB article and post back. Anyway, what a PIA!
Thanks, Pat

"gary" <gary.nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:LTBNf.5292$F56.1088@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have spoken with Maxtor and they sent me a replacement drive. Same problem. When I switch the USB cable to a different USB connector on the back of my Dell, sometimes the drive will work "reliably" for awhile, then the problems start again. But I did realize that some USB ports may not work as reliably as other ones. That shouldn't be, but I think it's true. Anyone agree?

But as I mentioned, and as is mentioned in the Dell-Talk article I sent, this is NOT just a Maxtor issue. It's an "EVERY USB DEVICE" issue, where all USB devices work intermittently, and with "flaky" performance. Sometimes my HP USB Photosmart Printer will be detected at system boot-up (about 50% of time), and the rest it won't. I have to choose "reconnect printer" from the system tray icon.

HP USB scanner NEVER scans the first time, you only get a blank (black) scan. You have to request a re-scan every time before it will scan.

USB flash drives aren't detected in the some USB ports, but are in others. I've replaced the PNY Attaché drives with new ones, but same problem. However, NO PROBLEM with the flash drives working in my laptop or office desktop. Only my Dell D-8300.

My Logitech USB web cam is not detected about one in five boot-ups, and has to be forced "re-detected", then it gets a new name with a Number added to the end. It's up to #7 now, and is shown as "Logitech QuickCam Zoom #7" in Device Manager, and Control Panel/Imaging Devices.

All my USB devices are having some sort of problems, with varying degrees of severity and frequency. And it's getting worse.

So, I'm going to buy a PCI-based USB hub, and plug all my devices in there, including the external Hard Drive. According to the Dell Talk article I mentioned, others have done this and it fixed their problems.

I'll let you know what happens. To be honest, I think the problem is related to the Power Supply, and overall available power in the D-8200 and 8300 machines.

Dell only equipped them with 200-watt power supplies, but provided 7 USB-2 ports on the back, and 2 ports on the front. But you're supposed to be able to add over a 100 USB devices to your PC...the main benefit of USB. BUT MANY USB DEVICES DRAW POWER, and IF THERE ISN'T ENOUGH POWER (OR CONSISTENT POWER FLOW FROM THE INTERNAL POWER SUPPLY) you could start having system problems, as well as USB problems. This is what I think is happening.

I had an ATI Radoen 9800 Pro, Dell installed, which according to ATI requires a 300-watt power supply. But by the time you add other PCI cards, and a number of USB devices that require some amount of Power, you start running low.

OR the USB controller could be getting "flaky" for a reason other than Power. By putting all the main USB devices on a PCI-contoller card, and getting them OFF the Dell internal USB controller, this may solve the problem.

The only problem is that, by adding another PCI card (the USB controller/hub) that will ALSO draw more power from the system.

So with trial and error, I hope to find out the cause on my own, without having to call Dell Tech Support "back" and spend the 3-4 hours running tests that they want me to run before they will replace my motherboard/USB controller.

Thanks for any advice/comments on this matter. Appreciate it.

Gary
=============
S.Lewis wrote:


"gary" <gary.nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:KEWMf.4447$F56.846@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


You can do it. But before you do, you might want to read this thread

from Dell Talk:

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=dhs&k=Maxtor+One+Touch&cat=all&eh=4&c=us&l=en&subcat=

Read article entitled: Disappearing Maxtor External Drive

Some people are having problems with USB external devices, especially hard drives, on 8200 and 8300 models, including myself. And Dell tech support (in India) refuses to acknowledge this problem and will force you to spend hours on the phone with their tech support reps, which may not even result in the problem getting fixed.

Good luck. I'm still having problems with my external One Touch II 250MB drive, and haven't decided whether to call Dell tech support in India back, and spend the 3-4 hours they want me to spend running tests I've already run.

Or do what this guy did on Dell Talk, and buy a PCI USB hub/controller, which fixes all the problems.

Keep in mind, my drive and the one mentioned in the article, worked fine for awhile. Then, it just stopped working reliably. Keep us posted on what you decide and how things go.

Gary



(snip)


I'd just like to point out that this assumes that the system is responsible for the intermittent function of the external drive.

Funny, no one has suggested calling MAXTOR tech support to see if they have a known issue.

That is all.


Stew




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