davevont

Hi kenB and Plastic Nev Well, the cable arrived and I’m ready to go . . . . . . . all chargers 5v 500mA ish, decided to just log in to Segate HDD and restart PC to see if it stayed mounted . . . . . . . . . . . . First charger . . plugged in, screen went blank!! unplugged, all ok . . . . phew Second charger . . plugged in mini USB to Seagate last, everything ok, restarted , light flickered a bit . . . . . “USB driver not Recognised” “Windows has stopped device because it has reported problems” (code 43) and no sign at all in my computer. Third charger (LG 5v700mA) Light stayed steady on restart .. . my computer, THERE SHE WAS “Seagate” logged on READY AND WAITING ! ! ! Sweating a bit now, ready for the big test. Reboot to Linux CD (decided to test that one first) in a few seconds, there I was looking at theMacrium Reflect System Image Files !! I took it as far as I dare without starting it and all seems ok. Well boys, am I chuffed. . . . . . I’m still going to get the Toshiba from ASDA because it’s going to be simpler in the long run. You wouldn’t believe what people pay for second hand hard drives on eBay, so I think I’ll get most of my money back anyway. Where’s the SORTED button on here !! It’s been a real help talking to you Chaps, thank you so much, I’m sure I will be talking to you in the near future. Who knows, I might be offering my help to some poor soul soon ?? Regards, David

Hi kenB and Plastic Nev. Thanks again for all the help and advice . . . . . . . Re. the 5v Chargers I have a couple of Mobile Phone Chargers with a USB female Sockets, they seem ideal, there 5v and the mA look ok as well. Dare not try the HDD out of laptop just yet, it’s my wife’sand she would kill me! I’ve always hated the Seagate/Maxtor Drives they’re all passworded/encrypted, fine if you’re a spy or Politian but a pain if you’re a simple human. I contacted Acer Support about the off/on power during restart/reboot . . . don’t ever try it!! Very,very polite reply, obviously form the far east, must be the same suggestion for everything. “We suggest a full factory recovery” that may resolve the issue . . . “be sure to backup your personal data” Bet he’s never done it with an 18+ month old computer! 200+ updates from Microsoft, all your programmes lost etc.etc. Last question, Have I always been lucky with past/present PCs, they have never dropped that second of power during reboot or maybe it depends on manufacturer . What do yours do ?? Bet you both have never had to think about it!! Speak to you both later. . . . . thanks again, this is a brilliant website.

Oh I wish you hadn't asked. . . . . . . I'ts only £1.99 delivered eBay cheapy I'll only know if It's any good when I try it !! Hope link works . . . . . http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Dual-Power-2-x-Type-A-to-mini-B-Cable-Lead-Wire?item=270577163852&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8626879149431518375

Hi kenB and Plastic Nev. Well, I downloaded Windows PE, burned it to a DVD. It was all done through Macrium Reflect, so it was associated with it. Restarted with the Seagate HDD logged on, as it booted with the disc, power flashed off and on, obviously logged off but not worried this time. Had a look round the options, and went into my computer. Located the Seagate which only showed 36mb. which isn’t unusual when not logged in. It wouldn’t launch into password with a double click, so opened it and it showed the usual minor files like Help, Manager, Launch, Autorun, etc. Tried, ‘Launch’, ‘Autorun’, absolutely nothing opened other files, all I get is . . . . “cannot open file – no associated file found” Uplugged the Seagate. Replugged, still the same. I’ve had really had enough of that, I’m now banking on the 5v. outside power source when the Y cable arrives, or maybe a new NON PASSWORD harddrive. I seen a 320gb. Toshiba atASDA and if it doesn’t work I can take it back! ps . . . . . ken I've a few chargers, mainly 5v. phone but they don't say if DC or AC . . . .

Hi kenB and Plastic Nev. Many thanks to you both for your input. Yes I will try the Windows PE Disc. sounds quite promising . . . . . . . Will come back to you. When I talked about keeping power to the Seagate with a 5v. power supply, I was meaning a 5v. USB wall charger not a laptop, so it would be purely a power supply. Worth a try ??? Re the other question . . . yes the Seagate is passworded and open. This is the whole problem., after restart and into BIOS it clearly shows as Seagate HDD is first boot and recognised but the damn thing is logged off and can't be accessed !! Thanks again, be back later . . . . . .

Hi KenB Many thanks for your reply, The only thing I couldn't change/find was the "Time out" for USB Devices and I bet that's the one that could have helped. Still. I rebooted into BIOS and it does find the Seagate Ext. HDD. but unfortunately that's it. The problem is, as the PC is going into BIOS power is lost for a second and the Seagate logs off. Oh. the pain of a Seagate, it's "Password Protected" nothing can stop that and you can't log back on in BIOS ! Two questions for you . . . . (1) If I got a 3 way "Y" cable, IE. mini USB for the Seagate, USB to PC and a USB to an outside 5v. power supply, it would not unmount. (would it be safe ? ) (2) Would a new Ext. Hard Drive that wasn't passworded, unmount but remount, be recognised, thus staying usable ? The things I think of laying awake in bed! Anyway, the cable idea would be cheapest option, what do you think ?? Kind Regards, and thank you for your interest ps. would any Pics. of the BIOS help ?

Hello Everyone, this is my first post, hope I am in the correct forum, please be patient with me. Acer Aspire Z5610 AIO Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit) SP1 Intel® Core2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz BIOS: Phoenix P01-A4 08/10/2009 Video card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series Hard Drive: Hitachi SATA-2 1000 GB Memory: 4.00 GB Help & Advice please. Problem . . . . my external usb hard drive (Seagate MaxtorBlackArmor 320gb) is 'unmounted' after I reboot/restart, obviously power is lost. It needs to stay 'mounted' so I can load a Recovery cd (Linux) from bios if I need to do a system recovery, so it is recognized. If not, it cannot be used. With my other old desktop and my current laptop it is not aproblem, power stays to the usb's from a reboot and the external hard drive remains ‘mounted’and recognised. I have a fair knowledge of computers and have also searched Google etc., gone through my bios for boot options, all very carefully, but cannot find an answer. I've read & tried adjusting usb's through Device manager and Power advanced options, but nothing works. I appreciate there is the possibility of using Windows backup, but as well as that, I prefer to do a regular backup/recovery to myexternal hard drive using Macrium Reflect, it's a very impressive programme. Thats it, hope its clear and understandable . . . . . . . How can I keep power to usb slots on reboot like my other PCs . . . . . HELP Please.