Hi Mikkel, 2008/1/20 Mikkel L. Ellertson <mikkel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: > André Costa wrote: > > > > I've read some reports about the same error messages suggesting they > > could be caused by insufficient power on the USB ports (looks like it > > really fluctuates, and that external drives demand more power than > > usual USB devices). Initially I wouldn't consider this an option on my > > case, since the drive already worked on this same port I am trying now > > before the failed GParted session. However, I don't know if the drive > > is now in a weird state in which more power is needed... > > > > WD sells a "power booster cable" for USD 9.99, but they only sell it > > on the US =/ I'll try to buy a AC powered USB hub, this should ensure > > all the power needed and get one variable out of the equation. > > > I have 2 2-1/2" USB drives that get their power from the USB bus. > They both draw more power then one USB connection will easily > supply. The computer end of the cable has 2 USB plugs, one that is > only a power connection. To make the drives work right, you have to > plug in the power-only plug first, wait 10 seconds for the drive to > spin up, and then plug in the data connection. If you plug them in > at the same time, or only use one plug, it will sometimes work, but > it will usually have problems. Thks for the tip. USB is trickier than I thought... all these requirements takes all the fun out of it =/ > One other thing to keep in mind - if the drive drew too much power, > the USB port may have shut down. I know some kernels enforce the > power limits, but I don't remember if the current kernels do. There > was debate about this, but I don't remember reading about the final > decision. Moving to another USB port may fix the problem. (I don't > remember how to reset the port.) This shotdown may also be BIOS > dependent. On my laptop, I get overcurrent warnings when waking up > under Windows sense updating the BIOS. I have not tested this under > Linux yet. Mmmh... didn't know about it. However, I've already rebooted the machine a couple of times, and even booted it on WinXP. I also tried some other ports, no luck. My guess is that the HDD got stuck into some inconsistent state, which is in turn confusing the SATA --> USB logic (don't even know if this makes sense). If that's the case, I will have to open it up and plug the HDD directly to a SATA controller to see if it's possible to do any kind of rescue procedure. I already started looking for it on the web (this was encouraging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0bgz3tyNk). But, before doing that, I'll see if I can try an AC-powered USB hub, so that I could really confirm that this is not the problem. Thks for your help. Regards, Andre
