2.5" External USB Caddy Hard Drive Issues

[morgie]

Hi guys,

I have a SafeCom 2.5" USB 2.0 external caddy, product code SUSB2-25CA.
I had previously been using it with a 40 gb drive with no problem
until one day I hooked it up to my desktop the drive didn't start up.
The light was on, and the PC was even detecting it as a mass USB
storage device but nothing else. Seemed odd, I tried the drive in an
ultrabay in my ThinkPad, nothing, tried it as the main drive in my
laptop, nothing (apart from an error saying no hard drive detected),
nothing showing up in BIOS etc. So I accepted that perhaps this old
drive had kicked it.

I replaced it with a barely used 80 gb drive at the start of April and
have been using it with no issues.....until today, when the exact same
thing has happened!! This is getting to be an expensive habbit! Has
anyone had issues with USB caddy's killing drives off? I have always
used the safe remove for hardware in XP and the drive has been handled
extra carefully - is this to teach me a lesson for picking the cheapest
caddy going?

I've found one other post on the net with someone having problems -
possibly a similar issue, it's here:
http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/bb/sutra743099.html I couldn't find
the mentioned info. on the manufacturer's website though
(http://www.safecom.cn/code/sub/category ... ubcatid=43)
Maybe a heat issue?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter.....

[JHEM]

Are you using an external power supply? Using two USB connectors or just one? Any other external power provided? E.g., PS2 cable?

Often a single USB connection will not provide sufficient power to the HD and while they will work for a while, long term they give up the ghost.

Just a thought.

Regards,

James

[morgie]

Thanks James. I had been using it successfully with just one USB connection, but there is an optional second for when more power is needed. I've tried this too with no luck, and of course more importantly the drive itself in the ultrabay of my ThinkPad or as the main drive. I can only really think it's a heat issue, but I'd never considered it to be that hot.