[Marius]

Hi,

Been having this issue http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/197/~/wd-external-hard-drive-makes-a-repeated-clicking-sound with wd passports from the beginning, and placing the HDD on my desk in the office in a vertical position always solved it.

Never heard the clicking coming from my BDP1 attached hdd's before though. But since I am in a kind of heavy test environment (with a new motherboard (trying to identify several speeding issues between the network, the bdp1 and a time capsule) just now the system hung in a reboot. The bdp1 would not be read by Mac/Finder and the Max interface, and could only be reset powering off/on. Being next to the bdp1 and the hdd's, I suddenly heard the clicking and squealing coming from them too... The BDP1 wouldn't finish the reboot cycle until I placed this HDd in a vertical position too.

Anyone with the same experience?

Obviously I use the official cables, WD sent along with the hdd's, even have the longer, but still compliant cable they sent me upon request.

USBPower is on treshold level apparently, on the BDP1, but even on the Apple TC. Wonder if this is the cause of extreme slow updating and file transfers.
Any help would be appreciated.

in http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/505/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMzQ1NTQxNjE5L3NpZC9lSlJabWU0bA%3D%3D WD explain about formatting fat32 on a Mac system, and its peculiarities. Good to know about. Especially the bit about recognizing the HDD's in Finder.

Thanks,
Marius

[unincognito]

Hi Marius,

Have you tried using this drive with a powered USB hub?

This would tell you if it's power related.

Cheers,
Chris

[Marius]

was on my way, until I read WD does not support that. Gonna try anyway I guess.
Marius

Hi Marius,

Have you tried using this drive with a powered USB hub?

This would tell you if it's power related.

Cheers,
Chris

[Marius]

Hi Chris,

Just read this on the WD website http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1488/session/L3RpbWUvMTM0NTYzMjQ2Ny9zaWQvZm9UUlZqNGw%3D:
 
'If you are using a WD Passport 2.5" hard drive, please ensure that the computer's USB ports supply at least 650 milliamps through the USB ports. If your USB controller or USB hub is limited to 500 milliamps of power draw, you may need to use a USB 2.0 Power Booster Cable or a WD Passport Power Supply (for the original Silver Passport). Both items can be found on the Online Store under Accessories. For the WD Passport (+WD SmartWare) the Power Booster Cable will not work for your drive. A new version of this cable is coming soon."


Dated 2/23/2011.... and still no new cable or Powersupply...
Apparently the Passport draw 650 instead of the max 500 milliamps. That might explain a lot of the speedproblems, clicking etcetc.

Thanks,
Marius

Hi Marius,

Have you tried using this drive with a powered USB hub?

This would tell you if it's power related.

Cheers,
Chris

[unincognito]

Hi Chris,

Just read this on the WD website http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1488/session/L3RpbWUvMTM0NTYzMjQ2Ny9zaWQvZm9UUlZqNGw%3D:
 
'If you are using a WD Passport 2.5" hard drive, please ensure that the computer's USB ports supply at least 650 milliamps through the USB ports. If your USB controller or USB hub is limited to 500 milliamps of power draw, you may need to use a USB 2.0 Power Booster Cable or a WD Passport Power Supply (for the original Silver Passport). Both items can be found on the Online Store under Accessories. For the WD Passport (+WD SmartWare) the Power Booster Cable will not work for your drive. A new version of this cable is coming soon."


Dated 2/23/2011.... and still no new cable or Powersupply...
Apparently the Passport draw 650 instead of the max 500 milliamps. That might explain a lot of the speedproblems, clicking etcetc.

Thanks,
Marius

Hi Marius,

Yes it would, the clicking would be the driving powering up, then less then a second later it would loose power and repeat.  A powered usb will resolve this issue.

Cheers,
Chris

[Marius]

got this usb 3.0powered hub. thought I'd attach it to the TC to see what happened.
Took a lot of rebooting and remounting but finally got 3 1tb passport working in the Mac/Finder. not perfectly, cause copying files to and from it is annoyingly slow, and ends up with all kinds of error messages...

Reason for trying was to ease up on the powerneeds for the BDP1 of course, so that's tried next, still on the TC. First share no problem, but upon trying the 2 new shares (that were in the BDP1 directly before the error "error Mac" is displayed.... 

Another 'industrial' metal hub is coming in the next couple of days so as to rule out this specific hub as the cause of the (even) slower filehandling. Maybe this TC is not such a good idea after all. Ill try the hub into the BDP1 next, maybe things workout better that way.
No such luck, to cut it short: back for a refund.

Marius

Hi Marius,

Yes it would, the clicking would be the driving powering up, then less then a second later it would loose power and repeat.  A powered usb will resolve this issue.

Cheers,
Chris

[unincognito]

got this usb 3.0powered hub. thought I'd attach it to the TC to see what happened.
Took a lot of rebooting and remounting but finally got 3 1tb passport working in the Mac/Finder. not perfectly, cause copying files to and from it is annoyingly slow, and ends up with all kinds of error messages...

Reason for trying was to ease up on the powerneeds for the BDP1 of course, so that's tried next, still on the TC. First share no problem, but upon trying the 2 new shares (that were in the BDP1 directly before the error "error Mac" is displayed.... 

Another 'industrial' metal hub is coming in the next couple of days so as to rule out this specific hub as the cause of the (even) slower filehandling. Maybe this TC is not such a good idea after all. Ill try the hub into the BDP1 next, maybe things workout better that way.
No such luck, to cut it short: back for a refund.

Marius

Hi Marius,

What was the amp rating on the power supply that came with the USB hub?  If it was only rated at an amp it would only be good for one drive. if it was only rated for .5 or even .7 of an amp you'd still have the same problem.

Chris

[srb]

That's a good point.  I just checked my Belkin F5U307 7-port USB hub's power supply and it outputs 5VDC @ 3.5A - 3.8A.
 
I'm not sure, but it may be that each port has only the USB standard maximum 500mA available to it.  For drives that use more, or are rated at 500mA but are a bit out of spec, a USB Y-cable may be necessary to double up on the power.
 
Steve

[Marius]

5V/3,5A
http://www.mycom.nl/Product/Kabel-USB-Hub/ICIDU-USB-30-HUB-4-Ports/1110335

I guess enough power, the usb discs were not properly discovered though, at least not steadily enough.
I;ve reset it all to the original, reliable, original state. 2 discs in the BDP1, a thumb drive in the front, and 1 nasdrive over the wired TimeCapsule. Speed is less important than reliability!

Funny thing I noticed when attaching the hub to the front usb was that the top usbport on the back of the Bdp1 had power too, even with the bdp1 power-off.

Have this one coming in:
http://www.conrad.nl/ce/nl/product/986558/4-poorts-USB-30-hub-van-metaal/SHOP_AREA_37574

we'll see if that brings what we're looking for.

Marius

Hi Marius,

What was the amp rating on the power supply that came with the USB hub?  If it was only rated at an amp it would only be good for one drive. if it was only rated for .5 or even .7 of an amp you'd still have the same problem.

Chris

[Marius]

o really? Good point!
I was lead to believe there was some intelligence in those HUBs that devides power along with the needs... Certain to have read that somewhere. Will check again...
this Dlink has up to 900 mA:
http://www.dlink.com/us/en/home-solutions/connect/usb-hubs/dub-1340-4-port-superspeed-usb-3-hub

then again, seems logic, if 4 ports need 900mA, how would this fit into 3,5A....? This Dlink has 4A. Had not noticed that before.

Marius

That's a good point.  I just checked my Belkin F5U307 7-port USB hub's power supply and it outputs 5VDC @ 3.5A - 3.8A.
 
I'm not sure, but it may be that each port has only the USB standard maximum 500mA available to it.  For drives that use more, or are rated at 500mA but are a bit out of spec, a USB Y-cable may be necessary to double up on the power.
 
Steve

[srb]

I was lead to believe there was some intelligence in those HUBs that devides power along with the needs... Certain to have read that somewhere. Will check again...this Dlink has up to 900 mA:

Yes it obviously varies from hub to hub, and not something I really thought about when I bought it.  Just checked the owners manual for my Belkin F5U307 and it says:  "Per Port Current: 500mA (max)".
 
Steve

[Marius]

this Startech has DC 7-24 volts, would that be any good?

http://ca.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Hubs/Mountable-4-Port-Rugged-Industrial-SuperSpeed-USB-3-Hub~ST4300USBM
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Mountable-Industrial-SuperSpeed-ST4300USBM/dp/B004C3W25M

output current 12 v, 3 A

[srb]

this Startech has DC 7-24 volts, would that be any good?
output current 12 v, 3 A

I like the metal case and mounting flanges, and it is probably very high quality but it is a bit expensive.  The power supply that it comes with is 12VDC @ 3A (plugs in with a barrel plug), but that would at first seem to indicate that it might only output 750mA per port (4 x 750mA = 3A) using its 3A power supply instead of the quoted 900mA for each of its 4 USB ports, but maybe the 12VDC input (versus the 5VDC input on my hub) with its higher total wattage results in it being able to reach the 900mA per port output.
 
5VDC is the standard output that USB devices require, and the 7V -24V DC spec is the range of input voltages it can accept from another external power supply of your choice hooked up to the terminal block in lieu of the included supply.  So I guess you could go nuts and add an audiophile DC regulated power supply and end up with a high-end hub package for $400+!
 
If I buy another USB hub in the future, I would for sure get one of the ones rated for 900mA per port for (as D-Link says) "power hungry USB devices".
 
Steve

[Marius]

Thanks for this fine explanation Steve,
one new D-link order placed.

Marius

I like the metal case and mounting flanges, and it is probably very high quality but it is a bit expensive.  The power supply that it comes with is 12VDC @ 3A (plugs in with a barrel plug), but that would seem to indicate that it might only output 750mA per port (4 x 750mA = 3A) using its 3A power supply instead of the quoted 900mA for each of its 4 USB ports.
 
5VDC is the standard output that USB devices require, and the 7V -24V DC spec is the range of input voltages it can accept from another external power supply of your choice hooked up to the terminal block in lieu of the included supply.
 
If I buy another USB hub in the future, I would for sure get one of the ones rated for 900mA per port for (as D-Link says) "power hungry USB devices".
 
Steve

[srb]

Thanks for this fine explanation Steve,
one new D-link order placed.

I did edit and expand on my thoughts a bit on the previous post.  But the D-Link is probably still what I would have ordered.
 
Steve