I keep all my files, photos and folders on two identical Freecom external hard drives. Lately one of them gives me a warning that it would load faster if connected to a USB2 port. This is new HP Pavilion Slimline computer and I thought all the ports were USB2.

This one hard drive takes forever to load and if I let it stand without using it for any length of time, I have to switch off and on again or it freezes. It is about 70% full and the one without problems is about 50% full.

I have defragmented it and cleared any unneccessary files off and I have also tried it on all the USB ports just in case.

I read on another forum someone suggested uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers for the port but I would prefer to trust this forum's advice if anyone can advise.

kewtie

In response to Reply # 0

You are using safely remove I hope.

That lead to my getting the message on a couple memory stick I think.
chkdsk /r seems to have worked for me for this computer, but on some Dells, they I still get that message.

Just my experience.

In response to Reply # 1

I've seen something like that intermittently, but never 'fixed' it.

So I have no personal knowledge.

I did look at this:

http://www.everythingusb.com/forums/showthread.php?s=ebbe9a011e8d840e79539bae14400910&threadid=9159 , and 'guppy's' final post makes sense.

Good Luck.

LurkHere

In response to Reply # 2

Makes sense to me.

In response to Reply # 2

I read the response and it looks way above my capabilities. I have to say that this new computer in Windows 7 replaces an HP running XP which had excatly the same problem with the same hard drive.

To be honest the HP Slimline is not as good or as fast at processing as I would have liked (it struggles if I try to perform two functions at once) and I wondered if quite simply, as the hard drive is around 75% full it was just struggling to upload the info?

kewtie

In response to Reply # 4

Well, in your order, guppy's solution was more involved for him. because he had an add in card he could remove to be assured the drivers were uninstalled before reinstalling them.

The main point would be to use Device Manager to assure that the best drivers for attaining USB 2.0 specs are being driven. (Which those will be, may depend on the motherboard used.)

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The Slimline I have recovered was essentially a laptop with legs on the edge.

I'm on an HP laptop now, that I like just fine, and it was a Black Friday special, so it's not at the top of the heap by any means.

That said, the slimline's power envelope could be exceeded. These folks were ready to replace it, when I grabbed it for a few hours.

You can do next to nothing about the cooling, so you have to trim operations. And max out RAM.

The applications that require the most attention, are the HP branded utilities that run on top of or next to the normal Win ones.

That HP health center is a killer. Any of their stuff that calls out or pops up has to go.

Then, and we've rambled about this before, the security measures need to be sleek.

I'm not sure who the best is for each situation, but if I have to try a few, I start with the free ones. Don't overlook Microsoft's Security Essentials. This one is getting my attention. I need to do more side by sides with the latest Avast! Free, to see just what is what, but at this point, Microsoft has an honest contender.

RAM. I'm not sure just what kind of compatibility constraints these motherboards may hold, so I match up with the Samsung or what ever the machine is using, I have seen them in 3 gig configs with Epilida and Samsung mixed. Stay with the Samsung.

(I do have 4 gigs of OCZ in mine.)

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Was the XP on a different hardware ? Is this the Vista Upgrade ? (If so then the HP gunk is gone anyway with a clean install. )

In that case, hmmm, the drive should still be OK at 75% but it is getting full.

I'd make sure indexing is not being used on that drive. If that things indexing each time it's loaded, you'll never be on line long enough for it to start running.

In Windows Seven, the indexing Service is replaced by Windows Search, but Vista can have the holdover Indexing from XP, this can get gooey, if an Upgrade is involved.

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Back to the theory. Or a general approach:

1) Get familiar with the Task Manager.

2) Become aware of the differences between applications and services. (Don't control the Services from the Task Manager, use it's snap in for that, when you get to that point.)

3) The Task Manager can launch a Resource Meter, that can also be helpful is tracking down who's frittering with you.

LurkHere