[FuNkiTo]

Hi!

I need more room in my hdd so I have decided to buy an external hdd. As I can read, no one specifies about wk2 but only xp, 7 and those new ones. I'm specially interested in this one:

http://western-digit...se-9496708.html

Any idea?? Thanks!!

[submix8c]

?
As long as it's recognized, my impression is that Win2000 and up supports up to 2.2tb. Maybe Win2K isn't mentioned because it's an unsupported OS? Notice that MAC OS doesn't show older either (and unsure IF older would support it).

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong on this.

This post has been edited by submix8c: 10 March 2013 - 11:40 AM

[dencorso]

I confirm it supports Seagate 2 TB Free Agent External USB HDDs. Now, 2 TB is 1.862 GiB... so that much I guarantee it supports OK. USB 3.0 HDDs are no problem either, since they are guaranteed to work in USB 2.1 mode (i. e. "USB 2.0 compatibility mode). I see no reason whatsoever for any of the current 2 TB USB HDDs in the market to have compatibility problems with Win 2k, regardless of their brand.

[tomasz86]

As long as you've got SP3 or newer installed and a USB 2.0 / 3.0 port (in case of USB 1.1 you may need a special cable and connect it to two ports at once)

This post has been edited by tomasz86: 10 March 2013 - 11:43 AM

[jaclaz]

tomasz86, on 10 March 2013 - 11:42 AM, said:

(in case of USB 1.1 you may need a special cable and connect it to two ports at once)

These are "news" for me, care to expand on this?
Or are you talking of the common Y-cable to allow more than 500 mA to power the disk drive?
I am not aware of a change in specs before 3.0 , i.e. the max is 5 units (of 100 mA each) on both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 and was upgraded to 6 units (150 mA each) in USB 3.0.

jaclaz

[tomasz86]

jaclaz, on 10 March 2013 - 12:48 PM, said:

Or are you talking of the common Y-cable to allow more than 500 mA to power the disk drive?

I meant a Y-cable like this one:

[jaclaz]

tomasz86, on 10 March 2013 - 02:19 PM, said:

jaclaz, on 10 March 2013 - 12:48 PM, said:

Or are you talking of the common Y-cable to allow more than 500 mA to power the disk drive?

I meant a Y-cable like this one:

Never seen one of those, you mean something like this one:
http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/B0052OJ97O

They seem to be needed for *any* of USB 1.1, 2.0 or 3.0. (in the sense that you still have a female "A" connector on the motherboard, and if it USB 3.0 you don't need the "Y cable", but if it is indifferently a USB 1.1 or 2.0 you may need it) of course if the disk has a USB 3.0 "micro-B" connector.
Or am I missing something?

jaclaz

This post has been edited by jaclaz: 10 March 2013 - 02:36 PM

[FuNkiTo]

Thanks so much for your replies. I got SP4 installed, and my motherboard supports USB 2.0 ... I'm gonna buy it tomorrow, as my PC is starting to crash doing weird noises and freezing I blame it on the dvd but not sure at all. I'll give you some news!

[tomasz86]

jaclaz, on 10 March 2013 - 02:32 PM, said:

Never seen one of those, you mean something like this one:
http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/B0052OJ97O

Isn't it same as the one above?

[jaclaz]

tomasz86, on 11 March 2013 - 12:38 AM, said:

Isn't it same as the one above?

Yes , only instead of linkig to the image aI linked to a page where there is some textual description.

Let's try to expand on the matter, I am just trying to understand if there is a misunderstanding.

A USB 1.1 connector on a motherboard is (normally) an A-type connector female and can provide by specs up to 5*100=500 mA.
A USB 2.0 connector on a motherboard is (normally) an A-type connector female and can provide by specs up to 5*100=500 mA..
A USB 3.0 connector on a motherboard is (normally) an A-type connector female and can provide by specs up to 6*150=900 mA.

The A-type connector is the same (actually "compatible) for USB 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0.

A USB 3.0 connector on a 2.5" hard disk external enclosure may be a (USB 3.0) B-micro type.

To connect the enclosure to a motherboard you need a USB 3.0 cable.

Normally, i.e. if you have a USB 3.0 motherboard, you need a USB 3.0 cable with a A-type male connector on one end and a B-micro-type on the other.
Normally, i.e. if you have a USB 1.1 or 2.0 motherboard, you can use that same cable, as the hard disk won't need more than 500 mA.

In some cases where the motherboard provides less current than specs or the enclosure/disk requires more than 500 mA (which are THE SAME for USB 1.1 or 2.0) you need an Y cable, capable of getting some more current from another USB port.

So you need a USB 3.0 cable with a doubled power connector A-type besides the standard data/power A-type connector on one end and a B-micro-type on the other.

I am saying that there is not AFAIK any particular difference between USB 1.1 and 2.0 (apart data transfer speed that you might get) when connecting a USB 3.0 device, you seemed to say that there is one.

jaclaz

[FuNkiTo]

I have already bought and checked this HDD and it's working really fine. I just plugged and started playing It has a simple usb cable, the only problem I can see it's copying data a bit slow because of my USB2.0 and my old IDE hdd.

[tomasz86]

jaclaz, on 11 March 2013 - 04:26 AM, said:

I am saying that there is not AFAIK any particular difference between USB 1.1 and 2.0 (apart data transfer speed that you might get) when connecting a USB 3.0 device, you seemed to say that there is one.

Well, I said that because I myself had problems with my USB 3.0 external HDD (2.5") which is detected properly on my desktop when it's connected to a USB 2.0 port but is not detected at all when connected to a USB 1.1 port on an older laptop.

It just acted as if it wanted to start but couldn't (the LED was blinking). Same thing happens if I try to connect it to my desktop using a USB 2.0 extension cable. It must be connected directly to the USB 2.0 port in order to start properly. In case of that laptop it couldn't start even though it was connected directly to the USB 1.1 port.

This post has been edited by tomasz86: 11 March 2013 - 06:08 AM

[jaclaz]

tomasz86, on 11 March 2013 - 06:05 AM, said:

Well, I said that because I myself had problems with my USB 3.0 external HDD (2.5") which is detected properly on my desktop when it's connected to a USB 2.0 port but is not detected at all when connected to a USB 1.1 port on an older laptop.

It just acted as if it wanted to start but couldn't (the LED was blinking). Same thing happens if I try to connect it to my desktop using a USB 2.0 extension cable. It must be connected directly to the USB 2.0 port in order to start properly. In case of that laptop it couldn't start even though it was connected directly to the USB 1.1 port.

I see , maybe (being an "early" laptop) it provides less than spec current?

BUT the issue with an USB 2.0 extension cable is "queer".

I mean. an extension cable is "passive" and if you give to it 500 mA at one end, you can surely can get AT LEAST 499.999 mA at the other end , though it is possible that you have a voltage drop, see how in practice:
http://www.girr.org/.../usb_stuff.html
It seems like *everything* or nearly everything is "out of specs", one way or the other.

Maybe they are two different causes (the one being the laptop not providing enough "juice", and the other one about the HD somehow *sensing* the extension cable as "not suitable" for data transfer, i.e. not related to current or causing a too high voltage drop).

jaclaz

[Dagorlad]

The USB spec evolved quite a bit over the years. The latest USB 2 spec allows for as much as 1500mA to be drawn from a port if the port is capable of supplying that much current. The current power spec can be found here.

[jaclaz]

Dagorlad, on 11 March 2013 - 08:52 PM, said:

The USB spec evolved quite a bit over the years. The latest USB 2 spec allows for as much as 1500mA to be drawn from a port if the port is capable of supplying that much current. The current power spec can be found here.

Yes , but here we are talking of the "minimum" you can surely find on a USB port, that is the "old" specs of 5 "units".

jaclaz

[Tripredacus]

Dagorlad, on 11 March 2013 - 08:52 PM, said:

The USB spec evolved quite a bit over the years. The latest USB 2 spec allows for as much as 1500mA to be drawn from a port if the port is capable of supplying that much current. The current power spec can be found here.

Some users may not click your link, expecting some sort of documentation but you have linked to a zip. In the future you are required to specify exactly what is in this type of download (which has 2 PDF files in the zip) ... see rule 1c.

[tomasz86]

jaclaz, on 11 March 2013 - 12:19 PM, said:

BUT the issue with an USB 2.0 extension cable is "queer".

I've just bought a USB 3.0 extension cable and replaced the old USB 2.0 extension cable with it. The HDD works correctly when connected through the new one so there's definitely something about it

This post has been edited by tomasz86: 29 March 2013 - 04:26 AM