OT:I need a wig! lessons learned from cheap 1394/Usb enclosure.

epirb wrote on 2/28/2005, 3:17 PM
So all this weekend I drove myself crazy with my new machine,trying to figure out why the screensaver and monitor power settings would not work. Mind you I dont use the screen saver, but I like my sytem to stay on and the screens to turn off after about 10-15 mins of inactivity. Over the past week I had just finished migrating all my editing s/w over to this machine. So when it started I was not sure, but I knew the scrensaver orig. worked when new but I disabled it while loading programs.

My problem is if something doesnt work I need to know why! Even if it's something stupid like "a liitle green light should light up when xxx is pressed" if it aint working I gotta know why. even if it doesnt effect anything else.
That's where I get obsessive.
So now I'm on the quest to fix my screensaver, so I start looking into all sorts of things, is it a new program install that screw'd up the registry? Is it a windows issue? A graphics card driver? etc....
Nickle was kind enought to offer some advice but I still could not fix it.
So I started the long task of uninstalling each program 1 at a time, then rebooting and checking to see if it fixed the problem. After a full day of performing that, still same problem. So i thought it must be in windows, I'll do a complete reinstall, with just the pc provided programs and windows(this machine came with XP Media Center 2005 BTW).
So reformatt-reinstall windows and OE programs. This should do it......NOPE!
What the F*&^$?
now the only thing I didnt think to do was Physicaly remove the 1 usb cable from an ext harddrive that was turned off(including using safely remove hardware) and the other 2 firewire drives (turned off)that Thank God I made a disk image of my OS drive on 1 FW drive.

Turns out , it was the cheapo Usb ext enclosure causing the problem even when it was powered off! I could not see any additional process running, at least not where I know where to look.Go figure. Needless to say I removed the harddrivefrom the case(its used to store stills on) and stomped it to death,literally!
So I'm off to buy another ADS enclosure tonight....and a wig to cover up the bald portions of my scalp where I was pulling my hair out.

I restored my drive back to its orignial state, with the image ,thank God.
I was dreading having to reinstall programs like Connect HD and such that are a hassle to reinstall/activate, and bother them with another activation.

Thanks nickle for your help, thanks Acronis for your image software, and Metal Gear Box Hard drive enclosures you can BITE ME!

Comments

epirb wrote on 2/28/2005, 3:21 PM
OK I feel better now.
Spot|DSE wrote on 2/28/2005, 3:22 PM
I keep tellin' you guys.....the ADS boxes just WORK! First Cheno, and now you...ADS are ugly, big, and heavy, but they almost never fail. I feel your pain, I had a LaCie enclosure fail the other day. Took the 500 gig drive out and put it in an ADS. Running great now.
nickle wrote on 2/28/2005, 4:22 PM
Oh yeah, usb, I meant to tell you that but then I fell asleep.
nickle wrote on 2/28/2005, 4:25 PM
Seriously thanks for telling us. I still was thinking about it for a couple of hours.

You aren't the only obsessive one here.
epirb wrote on 2/28/2005, 5:19 PM
Your right Spot, My two F/W drives : WD the ones with the harddrive in them already.
And the other is an ADS no problems with the ADS enclosure the WD will still get lost at times and then when I go to turn it off I cant power it up via the power button until I unplug it from the power supply. : (
ADS no problems.
wish their HD upconverter was the same.
Yoyodyne wrote on 2/28/2005, 5:59 PM
Glad you figured it out. my ADS enclosure has worked great. Just picked up a Western Digital enclosure and I can't get the thing to shut off - it works fine- but the only way to turn it off is to just pull the (proprietary) plug.

I wonder if the airlines and the computer companies have a bet going to see how much they can torture there respective customers just to see who cracks first.
johnmeyer wrote on 2/28/2005, 6:54 PM
This may help. I was just going through all my BIOS settings today (finally upgraded memory and wanted to check the timing settings). One thing I found is that there is a setting in my (Award) BIOS for which peripherals can wake up the PC from standby (and who knows what else).

On my BIOS, this function is disabled for USB.

I wonder, on your PC, whether perhaps this is enabled. If so, you may be able to live with your cheap enclosure if you simply disable this setting, if it exists.
BillyBoy wrote on 2/28/2005, 7:19 PM
If your external drive is USB, it is DANGEROUS to just pull the plug, you could corrupt some or all your files or even damage the drive. IF USB you should see a little icon at the extreme bottom right of your desttop. Turn off here, then Windows will say its OK to turn off your USB device.
epirb wrote on 2/28/2005, 7:45 PM
Johnmeyer, yes as a matter of fact that is one thing even Nickle had suggested, and I checked it as well as others in BIOS.
and Yes doubleB I did use the safely remove hardware function. thats what was wierd and like I said the unit was Off too.
Lessons learned I guess,
Oh and the "Might get by still using the cheap enclosure? " It would be a bit hard to fit a 3.25" drive into a now 1/4" high flatened piece of scrap.
But I always save a little piece or trinket from a problem like that, even in my job when diagnosing a dificult problem. I keep that little piece in my tool box to remind me, that no matter how impossible it may seem to find the problem, if you keep at it,keep a clear head and continue to approach it systematicly, you will find it...eventually........
Spot|DSE wrote on 2/28/2005, 8:04 PM
I staple bad parts to the wall, kinda like a "Wall of Shame"
For those who haven't looked for the "Safely Remove Hardware" button, it shows up in your system tray whenever you have a USB or 1394 device connected. It looks like a little keyboard with an arrow coming off of it.

Depending on how you have your harddrives write caching set up, you should always use this to disconn drives. If you have your system optimized for performance, don't mess up on this one if you're working with vid drives. You could REALLY regret it later.