Computer locks when plugging in external USB drive

USB drives freezing server
Server 2003 OS

I'm setting up a backup solution for one of my clients and am having problems. When we plug in an external USB hard drive, things get all wacky. I can open some programs but not others, can't reboot, and lose some functionality of the OS. Eventually I have to hard reboot in order to get it back up and running. Many new external USB hard drives create an extra "virtual CD drive" when you plug them in. I first figured that this was incompatible with Server 2003 but when I tried some older WD USB drives, I realized differently.

Some external USB drives work fine and some don't. Those that do work: I plug in the drive, it's recognized in Windows Explorer and the Disk Management utility. I can safely remove tham as well. Those that don't work: I lose OS functionality, can't see it in Windows Explorer, and can't reboot. (All of the drives are tested and working on other computers.)

I removed all the utilities that install with the newer HDs, and went into the registery and cleaned out all the remnants as well. There are no errors in the Event Log. I have tried different ports. Each drive that works, consistently works. Each drive that doesn't work, consistently doesnt work.

Tomorrow I'm going to run all the Windows Critical Updates and update the BIOS.

Any ideas???

 

Is it possible to test some of the faulty drives inside the server? As in install them using an internal connection?

How old is the server?

 

Server is approx 2 years old (Dell PowerEdge 830 I think). A few weeks ago the RAID controller failed. We replaced it and tested all the HDs. I also used Dell's POST hardware testing utility on the USB ports and found no errors.

 

everyone's system & usb drives are different, but my WD usb 500gb external drive recommended i shut down, plug it in, then restart. i can unplug it by using the "safely remove hardware" from the systray icon, but i've never tried plugging it in while my system was running. based on your issues, i don't think i'll try it, either. LOL

 

Greetings, Digi8...

One quickie you might try: in BIOS, make sure that legacy USB support is disabled - I've seen this same type of problem crop up when legacy is enabled...

 

The key thing that I'm dwelling on here is why some drives work and some don't. Obviously there is something different about each drive that is causing a hickup or incompatibility with the server...driver, version, firmware ,etc. Regardless, the solution needs to come from the server.

FYI-
The drive that is NOT working:
Western Digital My Book Essential 320GB (WDG1U3200)

The drive that IS working:
Western Digital My Book Essential 500GB (WDH1U5000N)

cake: I'll try that for kicks and see what happens. We are going to be rotating drives while the server is running so that won't work for a long term solution, but at the least it will possibly give me some more info.

Caliban: Through some googling, someone else mentioned that as well. I haven't tried that yet.

I will be back in there Monday morn and will run the rest of the Windows Critical Updates, update the BIOS, check for the legacy setting, and try booting with the HD already connected. I'll also try to removing the USB ports in the Device Manager and reboot before hooking up the HD.

Thx for the replies thus far...

 

Ok....here is the latest:

I flashed the BIOS, ran the rest of the Windows Critical Updates, checked the BIOS for any legacy support and there is none, tried all of the USB ports, and it still locks up. I was able to see the culprit drive when I plugged it in before booting though. I then "safely removed" the drive and replugged it back in, and once again the server locked up.

I did find something at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314634 which talks about disabling "selective suspend". I thought it was going to fix my issue but it didn't.

So, as cake mentioned, I'm able to see the drive if I boot with it already plugged in. Whenever I plug it in while Windows is running, it freezes again...

 

Any ideas???

 

Hey, Digi8...

When you say some USBs work and some don't: are the differences in drives common? I mean, do some Cruzers (for example) work, and some don't, or are the drives in question from different manufacturers? I'm sure you've tried to narrow this down already, but it seems like if some types of drives are compatible with your server, you could stick with those, if possible...

 

I haven't tried anything but external USB hard drives. We originally started off with new identical 640GB Toshiba drives. Next we tried new identical 1TB Western Digital drives. Those all had the "virtual CD drive" function, so I decided to bring in some of my own drives.

Below are the results of my drives:

Worked-
500GB Western Digital Essential
400GB Western Digital Passport (2.5")

Did not work-
320GB Western Digital Essential drive
160GB? Western Digital Passport (2.5")

 

My results show that there is no real correlation from one drive technology to the next. Maybe certain drives of the same model, etc. will work but I'm not certain of that. The drives that do work are no longer being sold by WD. As external drives are getting larger and more affordable by the byte, I constantly see myself and other techs using them over tape, especially in the small business arena. That being said, my results show that I either have a really rare case or that many others should be having the same problem. This is a Server 2003 box, you would think this would be more documented.

 

Any new ideas on this?