External Hard Drives Freezing Only 1 Computer

Kerrin · 11-27-2008, 02:15 AM

Hello everyone!
From what I've gathered here on the internets, this doesn't seem to be a real warm & fuzzy problem to have...

I work on several computers and two platforms as a digital art major, so my external hard drive is pretty much my life (it's only a simptech 160-- but it has suited me fine up until now.) It works fine on all Mac and window comps EXCEPT for the computer located at my house. That's a nerd computer. It is meant for gaming and animation and graphical things. It has plenty of memory, plenty of power supply, and should, in theory, be fine.

However, whenever I plug in my external drive these days, my computer will freeze at some point. Sometimes it is at the point of plug-in. Other times it is when I try saving to or moving files from the external hard drive. If I reboot the computer WITH the hard drive plugged in, it is a crap-shoot as to whether or not boot up will complete. I then have to manually shut down my computer by holding down the power button, as it is always a hard-freeze.

I thought my hard drive was at fault, so I bought a new LACIE with its own power supply. Same problem. They are both USB 2.0... my computer is 2.0 enabled. USB ports have been uninstalled and reinstalled. I downloaded drives for the motherboard but maybe not the right ones... I need some help!

Does anyone know what I can do to fix this problem? It has to be the comp and it doesn't appear to be the USB port or the power supply. I'm at a loss. All other USB items work fine, outside of my SLR camera which will freeze the system maybe 30% of the time. Unfortunately my class assignments are usually large digital art files, so I realllllyyy need an external drive to work at my home station.

All help is GREATLY appreciated!!!
Thanks!!!
-Kerrin

11-27-2008, 02:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
Kerrin Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1 OS: Win XP Professional SP3	External Hard Drives Freezing Only 1 Computer Hello everyone! From what I've gathered here on the internets, this doesn't seem to be a real warm & fuzzy problem to have... I work on several computers and two platforms as a digital art major, so my external hard drive is pretty much my life (it's only a simptech 160-- but it has suited me fine up until now.) It works fine on all Mac and window comps EXCEPT for the computer located at my house. That's a nerd computer. It is meant for gaming and animation and graphical things. It has plenty of memory, plenty of power supply, and should, in theory, be fine. However, whenever I plug in my external drive these days, my computer will freeze at some point. Sometimes it is at the point of plug-in. Other times it is when I try saving to or moving files from the external hard drive. If I reboot the computer WITH the hard drive plugged in, it is a crap-shoot as to whether or not boot up will complete. I then have to manually shut down my computer by holding down the power button, as it is always a hard-freeze. I thought my hard drive was at fault, so I bought a new LACIE with its own power supply. Same problem. They are both USB 2.0... my computer is 2.0 enabled. USB ports have been uninstalled and reinstalled. I downloaded drives for the motherboard but maybe not the right ones... I need some help! Does anyone know what I can do to fix this problem? It has to be the comp and it doesn't appear to be the USB port or the power supply. I'm at a loss. All other USB items work fine, outside of my SLR camera which will freeze the system maybe 30% of the time. Unfortunately my class assignments are usually large digital art files, so I realllllyyy need an external drive to work at my home station. All help is GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks!!! -Kerrin