My 15 inch Macbook Pro isn't powerful enough to power an portable harddrive?

cragmatic

cragmatic

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So I FINALLY invested in an external harddrive. I went with a portable, since my old external already failed on me. It's a western digital, which is a good brand.

Anyway, it won't stay powered on off my laptop. Sometimes it powers off after 5 seconds, sometimes I get like 10 minutes out of it. Is there something I'm doing wrong?
 
I have the same kind for my desktop and it does the same thing. Ive always dismissed it as a kind of hibernation or standby mode. its annoying as %%+!.
 
Does it have a built in fan? If so that might be the problem.
My externals with no fans work fine. 15" 2011 pro.
 
I know it's gotta be a a USB power issue.... but you'd expect a computer that retailed at 2500 in 2009 (didn't pay that much) could power a hard drive.

I guess I'll have to buy a powered hub.

It seems I was able to successfully transfer all my pictures and videos to it, should it be safe to delete the ones from my iPhone so I can free up a ton on space? I have them all on my computer too, but until I know I have them backed up, I don't want to delete them from my phone.
 
WD is not a reliable brand
laugh.gif


Learn that first. Stay away from the software that comes with the HD.

Second, when you say it powers on and then powers off, do you mean that on the desktop the icon shows and then disappears, so on and so forth?? If so, then you may have a bad connection, which means cable or connector.

You might want to go find the specific drivers for your OS version on the internet. Could be that easy of a fix.

If you're talking about the noise that a hard drive makes, and it goes on and then off. That's normal.

I'm assuming by "portable" you mean, "bus powered". Not all portable external hard drives are bus powered. Bus powered means you only need a USB/Firewire/Thunderbolt cable to power the external hard drive. Some "portable" hard drives, actually most external hard drives, come with power adapters. Use the power adapter if it did come with one.



Also, try a different USB port or w/e kind of port. If a different port works, THEN you know it's the macbook.
 
Originally Posted by Cragmatic

I know it's gotta be a a USB power issue.... but you'd expect a computer that retailed at 2500 in 2009 (didn't pay that much) could power a hard drive.

I guess I'll have to buy a powered hub.

It seems I was able to successfully transfer all my pictures and videos to it, should it be safe to delete the ones from my iPhone so I can free up a ton on space? I have them all on my computer too, but until I know I have them backed up, I don't want to delete them from my phone.
Click to expand...


They should be safe on your computer. I wouldn't say they are safe on the WD hard drive.

Also, you don't buy a powered hub. USB ports will always have a 5V charge coming out of them, i.e. phone chargers. Not all USB externals utilize "Bus Power".

When it comes to anything really, always remember that an external power supply will always be more reliable than bus power for the cleanest data transfer.
 
What brand would you recommend then? And yes, it's bus powered. It only came with a USB cable. I would be in the middle of a file transfer, and all of a sudden it would give an error and the icon would just flat our disappear. I'd also get messages saying it cannot power off while doing a transfer.
 
^sounds like the typical WD nonsense. I would go look for the latest driver on the WD website.

I wouldn't recommend any brand lower than Lacie. I've owned probably almost 10 external hard drives by now. I've always gone the cheaper routes and they never last. I've had a few Lacies that are still running after years with no problem.

Keep in mind these are devices for back ups here. If you can't trust your back up device, what's the point?





Basically:

Download Driver off website. This should be the fix. -- If not:

Switch USB ports and cables. If it's a bad USB port, contact Apple. -- If a new cable/port doesn't fix, then you should:

Get a refund or exchange, if it's the hard drive and not the computer. Get a diff brand.
  
 
Originally Posted by Cragmatic

What do you think of cloud storage?
Click to expand...

If I can't look you in the eyes I'll never trust you. No handshake? The same.

What happens when that company goes out of business? What happens when that company is sold to someone crooked you can't trust with your information/data?

Cloud is good for certain instances like media on the go. No security issues with media really, and you should already have a sort of physical back up of your media at home.

For important things, physical back up always, sometimes two physical backups, i.e. blu-ray disc.

A combo of Blu-Ray, Ext HD and Cloud services is a nice set up.


  
 
Never had that problem with a PC. One lesson at a time eh

But as others have sad WD is terrible.
 
You might have a defective hard drive, there's no reason why your hd should be doing that.

and there isn't a damn thing wrong with western digital. i've own 2 externals (with fans and ac outlets) that work fine 5 and 4 years later and my other portable external is 2 years old sitll working great.
 
Originally Posted by megatron

there isn't a damn thing wrong with western digital.
Click to expand...
This.
I've bought several reliable HDs from WD and they're still working after almost 2 years.
 
My WD has been going strong for 3+ years, and I literally use it 40 hours a week at work to play music from. Maybe I just got lucky.

*knocks on wood*
 
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