Accessories Viewing files on an external USB hard drive

I have my Macbook backed up to an external SimpleTech USB hard drive. I tried connecting it to the edge today, but the edge wouldn't even recognize that a USB storage device was connected.

As a test, I tried to connect an USB SD card reader with an SD card inside that I know works when inserted directly into the SD slot. The exact same problem occurred - neither view (the one where you can browse internal storage, SD card, etc. nor the storage settings view that simply shows total space, available space and gives you the option to unmount) showed any USB storage devices connected.

I use a USB keyboard and it works in both USB ports, so the ports themselves are at least functional. I know we had a whole thread about which SD cards do/don't work. Are there only certain USB storage devices (flash drives, external hard drives, card readers) that work? Has anyone successfully connected a large USB hard drive to their edge? Maybe it has to do with the formatting?

We're currently testing with other USB storage devices, but in case anyone's browsing on a Sunday... thought I'd ask.

UPDATE: The Flip video camera (FAT32) mounted in both USB ports successfully.

UPDATE 2: We've noticed that both hard drives we've tried (small, portable external ones for traveling) have made clicking noises when mounted, so you can hear the drive spinning. Hubby suggested that might be a current problem? So, maybe it's trying to do a task like verify the entire contents of the drive before mounting, but because it's only USB powered it's chugging along not very quickly.

To test, I'm letting the second USB drive sit connected to the edge for a few solid minutes before giving up on it, to see whether it just takes that long.

As for the SD card reader not being recognized - could that have something to do with drivers? I know in an earlier thread it was stated (probably by boris!) that keyboards/mice have pretty generic drivers, so that's why we don't have problems with most of them. What about a USB card reader? Would that likely require a generic driver, or something more specific?

I tried an external hard drive yesterday with the same results you got. I figure its a power problem and perhaps a drive that also can be powered with an AC plug might work.

It's been so long since I've used the AC adapter for this drive, I'd have to go hunting for it. But that was our next thought. Thanks for letting me know the same thing happened to you.

UPDATE: Yes, connecting the drive to the AC adapter worked. Well, worked in the sense that the edge "ding"ed and told me that a USB storage device had been connected. The message I got was that the device was either blank or using an unsupported file system. That at least I understand.

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

I tried an external hard drive yesterday with the same results you got. I figure its a power problem and perhaps a drive that also can be powered with an AC plug might work.

I plugged in my USB 2.0 Western Digital 500Gb Passport external hard drive and the eDGe recognized it no problem, and I could browse the files.

Power draw can in fact be a problem - I'm not sure what the power rating of the USB ports is.

As for the card reader, some I think are implemented as a USB hub with each card slot appearing as a USB drive. Again, it could be a power draw issue. I plugged in my Lexar USB 2.0 multi-card reader with an old 8Mb CompactFlash card, which worked fine.

At least the card reader isn't really an issue, since I can just use the SD slot. But when I couldn't get any of the drives recognized, I was using the card reader to help test the USB drive since I didn't have a regular flash drive handy.

I just wouldn't have expected the card reader (it's just one that looks like a flash drive, not a huge hub or anything) to be such a power draw. The hard drive, I get.

Some USB hard drive devices require the use of both ports. I have a Gateway drive that comes with a special cable with two plugs on one end; Green labeled "Power & Data" and Blue labeled "Power", and one on the other. The single plug goes into the drive and two plugs go into the computer. Have not tried it with the eDGe yet, though. On my Toshiba laptop it will work fine with only Green plug.

Update: The Gateway external hard drive required the use of the USB y-plug without having it plugged into A/C.
The drive particulars are:
Power: 5V @ 1A
Model #: PMD01120H
Part #: 2527961R
5400RPM
8MB Cache
120GB
Though Google search seems it has been discontinued...

Yup, my hard drive has one of those Y USB cables (I think that's what they're called) and I had mine plugged into both ports. Still wasn't enough to power the drive.

Is your drive a little one (2.5" laptop drive) or a full size 3.5" desktop hard drive? What make and model, for that matter?

This is my drive: "SimpleTech Signature Mini" 320GB (Black Cherry colour, of course!) ~ http://www.amazon.com/SimpleTech-Sig...dp/B0012R9WHW/

You can see from other amazon reviews that others talk about some computers having difficulty powering it, so needing to plug in the AC adapter (which I did buy separately to accompany it) makes perfect sense. I've had no other troubles with the drive, though, and owned it and used it as my primary back up drive for over 2 years.

That's quite odd - 2.5" drives usually are rather low power, and this one isn't even 7200 RPM.

And, this is my card reader that was not recognized: http://goshopping.thestar.com/shop/p...d_6962581.html


Of course as I said, not a big deal because the edge has the SD card slot. My Macbook, however, doesn't, so sometimes I forget I can just pop the SD card straight into the edge. I only used it to try to test the USB ports because I didn't have an actual flash drive around to test with. I wouldn't normally use this in the edge.

I've been using an old Archos 402 Camcorder (20 GB). (It's really an MP3 player with a Camcorder/Camara stuck on). Works well, but when in Hard-drive mode it needs to be plugged in to AC. Works really well.