Portable Hard Drive Issue...

[melon]

I have a LaCie rugged drive that's USB-powered. On my computer, though, I plug it in, and more often than not, it will be up for a minute, make this tiny pop noise, then disconnect and power back up.

At work, when I use this drive, it is up for hours at a time with no problems.

I'm inclined to think it's my computer, but what could be causing this? I also have to remember to unmount and disconnect before turning off my computer, because if I turn it off altogether, it will spin up, try to turn off, but not and then try to spin back up and turn off repeatedly until I disconnect it.

 

[falconguard]

Seems like a the power to the usb drive is going wonky. Does it do that on all the USB ports on your computer? Maybe a rail on your PSU?

 

[melon]

Sorry for not following up sooner. I've been very busy.

I've made an observation that it is solely limited to the "extra" USB ports that connect from my ASUS motherboard to a card slot panel. The "normal" USB ports are fine.

What would this perhaps signify?

 

[falconguard]

A connector on the card panel is coming loose. Not to bad, if you are handy with a soldering gun, but it might be cheaper all around to just replace the card panel.

 

[roirraW "edor" ehT]

The wiring or the connection to the motherboard could be at fault also.

I agree with falconguard that it would be wiser to just replace the entire card slot panel. If the problem persists after that then there's either a flaw in how they designed the motherboard, or your particular motherboard has an issue.