External Hard drive

I just got a new external Hardrive (WD 2 tera) to be used for backup and in replacement of the old one.
I found out that my PC cannot boot when the external HD is connected . The boot process freezes. If I disconnect the HD from the PC, the boot process can continue running.
When I connect the HD to the already running PC, the HD is shown 'normally'.

My previous HD, also a WD 2 tera has not this problem
Is this issue related to a Bios configuration?

thanks

 

An external HDD should not be plugged in all the time anyways. I plug mine in ONLY when I image or backup. It could be a bios setting. Be sure your first boot device is your internal HDD.

 

samy, check you BIOS boot-sequence order first and make sure you don't see "removeable device" in there.

I have seen an older Dell desktop machine that did the same thing (hung up at boot) when a USB flash drive was installed and there was NO setting in the BIOS for it.

 

Hi Aventador and thank you for your prompt answer.

1. My previous external HD was continually connected to the PC and had not this issue.
2. I wanted to partition the new HD using a bootable partitioning CD. The same problem occurred. The bootable CD ran only after I disconnected the HD.
When I reconnected the HD the 'CD boot process' freezes again.
3. Is it possible to partition it 'from Windows' using Windows disk Management.

thanks

 

There shouldn´t be any problem booting Windows with an external HD connected, as long as the system doesn´t try to boot from it.

Check the boot order in the BIOS configuration and change it so that the internal disk is listed before the external one.

 

I checked the Bios order:
First Bios Device: CDRom
Second Bios Device: Hard drive

As I mentioned, the PC is booting when the previous external drive (same size as the new one) is connected and the bootable CD is also running.
I connected a different external HD (Hard Disk Passport) and the PC boot normally.
The issue is with the new one. Is this problem related to USB3 ?

 

When you boot with the new disk connected, and you press F12 (or similar, depending on the computer) so that the boot menu appears, does the new disk appear on the boot list? It should appear as "Hard Disk - USB HDD0", or something similar.

 

Once again I will say that an external HDD should not and does not need to be connected 24/7. Its a backup drive. Why don't you try formatting it first. Most external drives come with pre-installed crap.

 

Sure.

 

"An external HDD should not be plugged in all the time anyways"

WHY

 

Cause its a backup drive only. No need to put wear and tear on it. I have a 1TB FreeAgentGo. It can fit in my pocket. I plug it into my laptop. Backup and run an disk image. Uplug it and put it away. Going on 3 years now of the same drive.

 

All my External Drives are 3.5inch drives mounted in cases,
they are always connected as far as the wiring is concerned
all have OFF-ON switches that I use as needed

 

I know many people that leaves their external drives plugged in the whole time and only take it off when really needed.

 

I had same problem awhile back with flash drives. Aaagh. Why didn't I post in Wilders for suggestions?? I ended up re-formatting. Damn.

I hated Externals. Always a failure sooner or later. My tower can hold up to four internal 3.5"s.

 

If they are connected to power or to your computer via a cable, an electrical surge could cause damage to them. Unlikely but possible.

I'm with Aventador. Why take a risk of losing your backup data?

 

Possibly there is a BIOS update that will fix this. I've witnessed the same behaviour intermittently on an ASUS Z81K laptop

 

I found that the HD (WD My Book Essential 2 TB) had the user manual on it together with the WD SmartWare program (for automatic continuous backup).
In the user manual (FAQ) i found out the following:

I visited WD support site but didn't find ID 1201 ?

Note: I have a feeling that if I remove the installed files (WD SmartWare program) in the HD root and reformatting it the problem can be solved

Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

I already said to reformat it. Western Digtal cones with preinstalled software. If you don't use it then format it.

 

Here is is: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers...ing-a-pc-with-an-external-usb-drive-connected

Removing the install files will have zero effect on the problems you are having.

 

I rechecked the BIOS menu.
Their is no "USB-..." option in the Boot menu

First Bios Device: CDRom
Second Bios Device: Hard drive
Third Bios Device: Disabled

Adding a USB, or Floppy, or other device in the the Bios menu (to Boot from) has to be done manually after clicking on "First Bios Device", which open a subsequent menu, and changing the 'CDRom' to that device (i.e. USB-HDD, or USB-Zip, or Floppy, etc.).

I will try reformatting it.

 

As I stated earlier on, I worked on an older system that absolutely would not boot if a USB flash drive was attached to the machine. Just for grins, I made that same flash drive bootable, and the problem went away. On this system the BIOS order was cd-rom then hard drive; I looked for an updated BIOS for this machine and there was none.

 

I reformatted the HD and partitioned it within Windows.
The same issue remaining.

What makes me upset is that I have two similar external HD (same brand: WD, and same size: 2TB). the old one is 'My Book Elite' I purchased 18 months ago, and the new one 'My book Essential' i just purchased (on sale) two days ago.
The lonely difference I can see is with the end-up cable connection to the HD.
The Elite one is a USB 2 compatible with USB 3 while the Essential is a USB 3 (next Generation) compatible with USB 2.
I have also an old 2.5" Passport external HD (80GB).
When the Elite and the Passport HD's are connected to the PC it boots with no problem.
I may assume it is not a Bios setup issue.

 

Leave it unplugged. Problem solved. Its that easy.

 

Western digital has a fake cd setup on some of their external hdd there was software on their site to hide it but they say it cannot be removed.

see:

--http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/search/1/a_id/3835/c/130/p/228,209,316--

--http://support.wdc.com/product/kb.asp?groupid=125&lang=en--

rrrh1 (arch1)

 

Then the cause of the problem may be that the system tries to boot from the virtual CD, and the solution would be to change the boot order so that the hard disk appears before the CD.