External USB drive disconnecting itself.

[Mikkel L. Ellertson]

Chris Ruprecht wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have two external USB drives connected to a FC6 machine. Under heavy
> load (like gzipping a large file), the drive disconnects itself. I have
> this message in my syslog:
> 
[snip]
> 
> I have tried two different adaptors, makes no difference. It only works,
> if I hook up the external drive to the motherboard USB port, but that's
> USB 1.1 - unusable for this purpose.
> 
> Any ideas?
> Thanks,
> Chris
> 
Are these hard drives in USB cases? If so, are they being powered
off the USB bus? If so, it is probably a power problem. If there is
an option to use an external power adapter, try that and see if it
helps. If it is a 2-1/2" drive that will only get its power from the
USB bus, then it probably has an extra USB connector that is power
only. If it is long enough, try plugging that into the motherboard
USB, and the data connector into the USB 2.0 connector. You can also
try using a powered USB hub instead.

If you are trying to use both drives at once, you are more likely to
run into power problems. Are you using any other USB devices at the
same time?

One other thing - check the specs on your USB card, and on the
devices that you are plugging in to make sure you have enough power.
There is usually a port limit and a total limit. If you have devices
that under report their power needs, or have any power-only devices
plugged in, you may be at or over the total limit.

Mikkel
-- 

  Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons,
for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup!