Help> new Xhard drv keeps crashing when I ...

[Tenenbaum]

hey there,

so i got a new external hardrive: 2 components>western digital with a metal box shell.

anyway, i had successfully transfered 3/4ths of my music/pictures from my old external hardrive to the new one via a usb 2 combo card on my laptop. However, now when I try to add a new folder to it, whether it's from my old external harddrive, or a folder from my C drive, my new X just crashes?!?! I can hear it puttering, and then it just quits. And, yes, it's not even half full!?!?

anyone know what the problem is here? is it the external hard drive, or the usb 2 combo card.

also note, the new external hard drive works fine when I play my mp3s from it and it updates my ipod accordingly. it's just when I add a new folder/file ot it it will konk out.

thanks for your time!

[headygouda]

Several questions for you:

1) When you say HD crash after copying files to it, do you mean it is no longer seen windows? Does the yellow triangle come up on the bottom right?

2) What brand/model is the external HD enclosure?

3) Is it USB2/Firewire combo and if so, is it connected via USB2 or Firewire?

The reason I ask the above, is that I had a similar problem with one of my externals as well, and after all sorts of experimenting and troubleshooting, I had determined that it was the fault of the USB2/Firewire controller chip in the external enclosure. I had no problems reading, but the HD would become 'disconnected' after writing to the drive.

The bad controller chip in my enclosure was the prolific PL3507. I corrected the problem by updating the firmware for that controller. Its a widespread, known problem...just google pl3507.

[Tenenbaum]

yes, heady gouda!!

1) the yellow triangle pops up

2) the X HD enclosure is the Metal Gear Box

3) it's a usb2/firewire combo and i connect it either way (usb or firewire).

ok, I'll try and update the firmware and see if it works out.

thanks a bunch!!!

[Tenenbaum]

so I did some research here and I found this website

http://member.newsguy.com/~siccos/PL3507%20Firmware.htm

am I on the right track? if so, which one do I d/l? is this a complicated procedure?

your help is greatly appreciated!

[bouche]

maybe it's just that free Phish video that you're trying to copy

[Tenenbaum]

that damn phish video is a pain! and it seems like I'm not the only one aving problems with it. check out the Phantasy board.

[headygouda]

There are several things you can do to pinpoint your problem. I was unable to find any info on the controller chipset for the metal gear box, but some message boards seemed to imply that it utilizes the dreaded prolific chipset (not the stable oxford 911). You should be able to take a look at the board of the XHD and see which chipset it is.. I wouldn't go ahead updating firmware until you confirm your chipset.

As for the latest firmware, you can get it from the site you found or from prolific's site:

http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?ID=44

Some little things I did to circumvent the problem (though not eliminate it) was to disable write cacheing on the xHD. Even with my updated firmware, I would occasionally lose contact with the drive when connected via USB when my mp3 player was also docked via USB. Similarly, I was unable to have both xHDs hooked up via firewire...the only stable way I've found is to hook up my drives in series, via firewire...with my other, stable, oxford 911-based drive hooked up to the PC directly, with the shitty prolific-based drive connected to the other drive via firewire.

What a mess. Stay away from prolific-based devices!

[Tenenbaum]

Heady1,

is there any way you can guide me to install the firmware correctly from the website!?! I'm a little confused on which one to download.

mucho gracias!