Thinkpads Forum

Has anyone experienced random USB disconnects... It keeps disconnecting my 2.5" external drive every so often

J


Update

The N100 has 3 USB 2.0 on the right, and one on the left. The CD drive sits next to the ports on the right. What I have noticed is the USB starts acting up when the CD drive spins. Also the disconnects happen to my USB 2.5" external drive only. If I have a powered external drive attached I dont notice any problems. And the disconnects donot happen to devices that dont draw too much power eg, flash drive, or a USB network adapter. Interestingly enough the disconnects dont seem to affect the USB on the left. I believe whats happening is the USB is not being powered enough.
Chime in if you guys want me to test something

Yes, on my Dell Dimiension B110 desktop. Two of the six USB ports do this, so I just avoid using them. If there is a simple solution to this, please let us know!

I believe whats happening is the USB is not being powered enough.

That sounds correct. I have this problem with a self-powered USB drive as well. This happens with certain ports on various desktop computers of mine (don't own a laptop yet). My external USB drive clicks and stutters/disconnects when it hasn't enough power. I'm curious if this problem of yours happens even when the laptop is plugged in.

In one computer, I was able to open my case and move the internal USB cable (coming from the port) to a different MB pin header, solving the problem. Further, some jumpers use heavier gauge wire and seem less prone to these problems. Other times it appears the MB is simply weak or delivers insufficient voltage. I noticed using a back panel (soldered to board) USB connection is no guarantee of success either—some work, some don't.

My drive came with a 'helper' cable to supply additional power from another USB port (it's round on the drive end) that doesn't help much one way or another. The helper cable is impractical as well.

I realize none of this gives a solution for deploying your drive on the port of your choice.

It's helpful to read your post, since I'm seriously considering a Lenovo N100. It's probably not enough to dissuade me from buying one. (I should take my USB drive to the library and test it on their HPs.)

i have experienced similar behaviour when using self powered 2.5 inch external drives..

and here i pinpointed the cable as being the culprit..

using one rather thin cable made the drive non-functional, changed cables to another and it worked fine..

this was not limited to any particular computer.. dexktop type box or thinkpad..

i discussed this in another thread, someplace..

This is the thread Bill is referring to:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=37330

Thanks for the comments. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a high-quality (or thicker, anyway) cable to use with my drive. I'm loathe to spend money on a USB cable, the way storage prices are dropping.

The drive enclosure mentioned in that posting looks like a good deal.

Its good to hear that this seems like a general shortcoming rather then a flaw in my particular unit.

danny_8 wrote:

It's helpful to read your post, since I'm seriously considering a Lenovo N100. It's probably not enough to dissuade me from buying one. (I should take my USB drive to the library and test it on their HPs.)

Please dont take this as me trashing the Lenovo 100. I am loving this machine. It has quite a few things that you will come to appreciate so an underpowered USB is not a big deal. And the one on the left seems to work just fine .

J

I did experience that, and the solution was to upgrade your BIOS to the latest BIOS drivers (v3.01) from the lenovo website. I even experienced a worse scenario (when you press on a keyboard button the usb power drops).

(make sure u choose the bios image in the realtek folder)

check my posting on BIOS problem