Why does my portable hard drive suck?

Steve Gain

i have a portable external hard drive (toshiba 200GB) that occasionally makes a clicking noise while i am using files that are on it, sometimes once and sometimes continuously until I have to disconnect it from my laptop. I think every time the HDD makes the clicking noise it is restarting itself because my computer will re-recognize it as if I just plugged it in. I keep schoolwork, movies, and all of my music on it so it is attached to my laptop almost all the time. I've used about 100GB out of the available 200GB (186GB from what my computer tells me), so it is a little over halfway full.

Answer
if it has used 186gb then it is almost full. There is software on the hard drive when you purchase it. That takes up some drive space also.
see here for general hard drive information-
http://www.gocomputertraining.com/what-is-hard-drive.html

USB hub keeps disconnecting?

Ssjkn

Hey guys, I have a 'Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-port Mobile Hub' that keeps causing my external hard drive (a MyBook 320 gb) to disconnect when trying to back up on my macbook pro's time machine program.
The USB hub is being powered through an AC adapter (a Coming Data, +5V 4A output adapter) that came with the hub.
The external will run for a while but about 10 minutes into the backup my computer will tell me the hard drive has disconnected even though the blue lights on the drive are still on. I tried plugging the drive directly into the computers USB port and it had no problems. At the time, I only had the hard drive plugged into the hub.
Anyone have any ideas what is causing this? Thanks!

Answer
Hi,
The reason is, that the power consumed by the external hard drive is very close to the limit of the port on the USB hub.Never mind that the hub has 5v 4A output.
This is divided over all the ports and each port has its own limit.
You should always use the computer's USB port for stabilty.Some ext. drives come with cable with a dual plug,so can be plugged in to 2 ports (in computer) and divide the current over the 2 ports.
For smaller ext. drives being a "portable " type is fine, but for larger drives you're better off with one that has its own power adapter (or "brick" ;) ) Power requirements will exceed what the USB port can deliver.

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