USB Mass Storage Device

Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?

Not sure how you 'freshly formatted external USB HDD." nor do I know if it
is a 'known problem with a known solution'

Assuming the disk itself is okay, take a look at the following URL and see
if your method of partitioning/formatting was similar, or if this works any
better!

"How do I install, partition, and format an external hard drive in Windows
ME?"
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....=&p_faqid=1051

Mart


"Ryton" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?

Does the drive show up only once in windows explorer?
You mention multiple drives. Are you swapping drives from the enclosure?
Is the enclosure USB2?
If so, is the mass storage device and HDD hung off a USB2 controller? (view
by connection)
Assuming WME.
Did you follow the manufacturer instruction for install?
You mention a 2.5G HDD, and the speed of that era drive would be pretty slow
compared to new drives. It might not even do DMA16 and have to function in a
PIO mode. So the modern controller might have a limitation related to that.
Check in the device manager, one of the tabs will show if a drive is
operating in msdos mode, which will be extremely slow. Also current drives
run at DMA/ATA 100 & 133. A big difference in speed.
It sounds like you are plugging directly to back of computer. Are you?
Also, in case you didn't know, there is the size limitation with WME. No
drive larger than 137G decimal without limiting the size.

Your first line. I've never seen that error. If I had, I'd "assume" that I
had formatted the new drive to something different than what the OS was
installed on. Right clicking a partition and choosing properties will show
you the file system. For WME it has to be FAT16 or FAT32. Actually I am not
certain what results will occur if running multiple drives in same box and
one was FAT16 and the other is FAT32. I have seen where WD utilities will
happily copy from a FAT16 partition to a FAT32.
Norman
"Ryton" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?

Nice link Mart. One caveat. This was obviously put up before they started
selling 160GB drives or larger.
Norman

"Mart" wrote in message
...
Not sure how you 'freshly formatted external USB HDD." nor do I know if it
is a 'known problem with a known solution'

Assuming the disk itself is okay, take a look at the following URL and see
if your method of partitioning/formatting was similar, or if this works
any
better!

"How do I install, partition, and format an external hard drive in Windows
ME?"

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....=&p_faqid=1051

Mart


"Ryton" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?

Maybe .. but as it breaks the 137GB barrier, may not be an issue g Don't
have anything larger myself, so can't confirm.

Mart


"Norman" wrote in message
...
Nice link Mart. One caveat. This was obviously put up before they started
selling 160GB drives or larger.
Norman

"Mart" wrote in message
...
Not sure how you 'freshly formatted external USB HDD." nor do I know if
it
is a 'known problem with a known solution'

Assuming the disk itself is okay, take a look at the following URL and
see
if your method of partitioning/formatting was similar, or if this works
any
better!

"How do I install, partition, and format an external hard drive in
Windows
ME?"

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....=&p_faqid=1051

Mart


"Ryton" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?

Norman, thanks for the feedback. On the weekend, I picked-up two
external USB CD-RWs for $5/ea. One was a Micro-Solutions 4X4X24
Backpack and the other was a Pacific Digital 52X32X52. My daughter
wanted another internal burner so I gave her the Backpack's Teac drive
which works great in her machine. I then installed the PD's drive in
the Backpack and it also works fine (uses proprietary Backpack
drivers). This left the PD's enclosure to convert to an external HDD
(uses standard Microsoft driver, usbstor). I have just installed yet
another drive (WD Caviar 22500) and it functions as it should, problem
solved! For general interest to others, I have answered your questions
below. Again, thanks for the help.

On Mar 5, 8:48 am, "Norman" wrote:

Does the drive show up only once in windows explorer? "Yes"

You mention multiple drives. Are you swapping drives from the enclosure? "Yes"

Is the enclosure USB2? "Yes"

If so, is the mass storage device and HDD hung off a USB2 controller (view by connection)? "Yes"

Assuming WME. "Yes"

Did you follow the manufacturer instruction for install? "N/A"

You mention a 2.5G HDD, and the speed of that era drive would be pretty slow compared to new drives. It might not even do DMA16 and have to function in a PIO mode. So the modern controller might have a limitation related to that. "Okay now with WD drive"

Check in the device manager, one of the tabs will show if a drive is operating in msdos mode, which will be extremely slow. "Unknown but 32-bit now"

It sounds like you are plugging directly to back of computer. Are you? "Yes, using a PCI USB card"

Also, in case you didn't know, there is the size limitation with WME. No
drive larger than 137G decimal without limiting the size. "N/A"

Your first line. I've never seen that error. If I had, I'd "assume" that I had formatted the new drive to something different than what the OS was installed on. Right clicking a partition and choosing properties will show
you the file system. For WME it has to be FAT16 or FAT32. Actually I
am not certain what results will occur if running multiple drives in
same box and one was FAT16 and the other is FAT32. I have seen where
WD utilities will happily copy from a FAT16 partition to a FAT32. "I
guessing that this was the issue. The previous drives I tried, could
have been FAT partitions while this box is FAT32 and the now properly
functioning WD drive is known to be FAT32 so it didn't require
formatting prior to its current use."

Norman"Ryton" wrote in message

ups.com...



Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Mart, thanks for the link. Please see my reply to Norman above.

On Mar 5, 8:05 am, "Mart" wrote:
Not sure how you 'freshly formatted external USB HDD." nor do I know if it
is a 'known problem with a known solution'

Assuming the disk itself is okay, take a look at the following URL and see
if your method of partitioning/formatting was similar, or if this works any
better!

"How do I install, partition, and format an external hard drive in Windows
ME?"http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid...

Mart

"Ryton" wrote in message

ups.com...



Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Tat is a definite Mart. Often I see posts where users have gotten by that
barrier because the problem often doesn't show up for some time, usually
when the drive starts to fill. Looks like drive has room but everything
starts to wrap back to the beginning at that barrier and overwrites
important stuff. Poof , disaster. So, do not be misled by those who
initially post they find no problem under W9x or XP w/o SP.
I don't know exactly how that is avoided as SG tools have a check mark to
limit. My guess would be that they just do not fdisk beyond that point, but
that is a guess.
Norman
"Mart" wrote in message
...
Maybe .. but as it breaks the 137GB barrier, may not be an issue g
Don't
have anything larger myself, so can't confirm.

Mart


"Norman" wrote in message
...
Nice link Mart. One caveat. This was obviously put up before they
started
selling 160GB drives or larger.
Norman

"Mart" wrote in message
...
Not sure how you 'freshly formatted external USB HDD." nor do I know if
it
is a 'known problem with a known solution'

Assuming the disk itself is okay, take a look at the following URL and
see
if your method of partitioning/formatting was similar, or if this works
any
better!

"How do I install, partition, and format an external hard drive in
Windows
ME?"


http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....=&p_faqid=1051

Mart


"Ryton" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it
has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage
Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly
slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?

Glad you got it singing your song. BTW, those old WD drives must be made of
iron. I have one of those Caviar 22500 as well, but don't use a large amount
because of size and speed.
Norman
"Ryton" wrote in message
ups.com...
Norman, thanks for the feedback. On the weekend, I picked-up two
external USB CD-RWs for $5/ea. One was a Micro-Solutions 4X4X24
Backpack and the other was a Pacific Digital 52X32X52. My daughter
wanted another internal burner so I gave her the Backpack's Teac drive
which works great in her machine. I then installed the PD's drive in
the Backpack and it also works fine (uses proprietary Backpack
drivers). This left the PD's enclosure to convert to an external HDD
(uses standard Microsoft driver, usbstor). I have just installed yet
another drive (WD Caviar 22500) and it functions as it should, problem
solved! For general interest to others, I have answered your questions
below. Again, thanks for the help.

On Mar 5, 8:48 am, "Norman" wrote:

Does the drive show up only once in windows explorer? "Yes"

You mention multiple drives. Are you swapping drives from the enclosure?
"Yes"

Is the enclosure USB2? "Yes"

If so, is the mass storage device and HDD hung off a USB2 controller
(view by connection)? "Yes"

Assuming WME. "Yes"

Did you follow the manufacturer instruction for install? "N/A"

You mention a 2.5G HDD, and the speed of that era drive would be pretty
slow compared to new drives. It might not even do DMA16 and have to function
in a PIO mode. So the modern controller might have a limitation related to
that. "Okay now with WD drive"

Check in the device manager, one of the tabs will show if a drive is
operating in msdos mode, which will be extremely slow. "Unknown but 32-bit
now"

It sounds like you are plugging directly to back of computer. Are you?
"Yes, using a PCI USB card"

Also, in case you didn't know, there is the size limitation with WME. No
drive larger than 137G decimal without limiting the size. "N/A"

Your first line. I've never seen that error. If I had, I'd "assume" that
I had formatted the new drive to something different than what the OS was
installed on. Right clicking a partition and choosing properties will show
you the file system. For WME it has to be FAT16 or FAT32. Actually I
am not certain what results will occur if running multiple drives in
same box and one was FAT16 and the other is FAT32. I have seen where
WD utilities will happily copy from a FAT16 partition to a FAT32. "I
guessing that this was the issue. The previous drives I tried, could
have been FAT partitions while this box is FAT32 and the now properly
functioning WD drive is known to be FAT32 so it didn't require
formatting prior to its current use."

Norman"Ryton" wrote in message

ups.com...



Hello, I'm experiencing the following problem:

Scandisk reports the presence of mismatched FATs on a freshly
formatted external USB HDD. When repaired Scandisk reports that it has
fixed the problem. However, the problem persists on the next running
of Scandisk. The same result is obtained for multiple HDDs.

The following is known:

Device Manager does not report any problems and has two relevant
entries - Disk Drives: USB connected HDD is correctly identified and
shown to be working properly & USB Controller: USB Mass Storage Device
(usbstor.sys) is present and shown to be working properly.

Windows Explorer lists the connected USB HDD (Drive F in my case) and
allows full access to it. However, data transfer is pains-takenly slow
(i.e. hours to run a thorough Scandisk on a small 2.5GB drive).

Is this a known problem with a known solution?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -