False "Unsafe Unmount of USB" error msg. from W2K

[Seeker47]

I've been running W2K SP4 for many years, and don't recall seeing this before. Last night I had a USB connected hard drive turned on, but it hadn't been doing anything for well over an hour. The only app I was running was my browser. Left the room several times to go check on other things, and a few times when I came back I found an "Unsafe Unmount" of USB warning up on the screen. It was totally bogus: I never dismount USB without shutting it down properly in the System Tray; the drive was definitely still online -- I could read or write to it with no problem. So I just kept killing the warning screen, but it would return after awhile. So far, it appears to be annoying but harmless.

AV and spyware defs are up to date, and full scans have been done. I did a quick Google search, and this sort of issue is apparently not unheard of, but I did not come away with any enlightenment. I'm hoping this is just some transitory glitch. Has anyone seen this before, and know what may be going on ?

[oldandinthe way]

Is the external enclosure powered by the USB port or with an external power supply?

If powered by the USB port check your system power supply, mobo or mobo temp.

If powered externally, check the external PS and external box.

Drive spin down due to power problem will give this symptom.

May only be safe because the drive is idle and cache is clear.

[oldandinthe way]

Another thought.

Some external boxes will operate intermittantly if the drive is jumpered cable select rather than as master.

[Seeker47]

Another thought.

Some external boxes will operate intermittantly if the drive is jumpered cable select rather than as master.

Thanks for your ideas -- I will check them out. Both the drive and the enclosure have been in service for awhile with no prior problems.

If powered externally, check the external PS and external box.

How ? Do the PS bricks of these enclosures just suddenly go flakey ?

[hech54]

I never dismount USB without shutting it down properly in the System Tray

I never dismount my USB HDD in the System Tray....I just turn the power off and have never had a single problem. I just now did it about 2 minutes ago too.

[JohnnyMalaria]

How ? Do the PS bricks of these enclosures just suddenly go flakey ?

Yep.

To test them you need a voltmeter to check the output. Since it is DC, you should simply see a constant voltage. However, if the part of the electronics that does the conversion is on the fritz, the voltage may be fluctuating too fast to see on the meter and you'd need an oscillope. Also, the voltage really needs to be measured when connected to something drawing current.

BTW, I rarely use the tray item to safely unplug USB devices - especially since some refuse to give the "it is now safe to....". USB is designed to be hot-swappable and compliant devices should correctly handle the unexpected (this means the device itself and the Windows driver). Of course, unplugging a hard drive in the middle of a capture etc is rather foolhardy but isn't any worse than ann unexpected power failure.