External Hard Drive keeps on showing Autoplay prompt

logicearth said:

I'm going to take a guest as to why this is happening. The drive turns off, Windows thinks it has disconnected, the drive turns back on, Windows thinks it has reconnected. Either way, I think this problem is hardware related in some way.

Well, the thing is that it never happens when I connect it to the laptop. And when connected on the desktop, it only happens when REBOOTING the computer. Comments on that?

Just another guess but maybe it has something to do with the desktop power plan. Some desktops have a hybrid sleep option that puts the computer into a low-power state. Perhaps the computer goes into hybrid sleep after "X" minutes and this affects how the external HDD is treated when the computer comes out of hybrid sleep mode.

Power Plan Settings - Change

marsmimar said:

Just another guess but maybe it has something to do with the desktop power plan. Some desktops have a hybrid sleep option that puts the computer into a low-power state. Perhaps the computer goes into hybrid sleep after "X" minutes and this affects how the external HDD is treated when the computer comes out of hybrid sleep mode.

Power Plan Settings - Change

I've turned off hibernation already so hybrid sleep isn't an option. And it doesn't happen in "X" minutes also. I can turn on the desktop all day long without the autoplay issue happening. It just happens when I reboot the desktop and even then it happens randomly (not always after reboot).

Definitely an odd situation.

If it's strictly a reboot issue perhaps (and this is just another SWAG) your machine has damaged or corrupt system files adversely affecting how the external HDD is seen. Safely remove the external HDD and try running a System File Checker scan just to see if there are any problems. If, by chance there are any file issues, run the scan three times rebooting in between each scan.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

marsmimar said:

Definitely an odd situation.

If it's strictly a reboot issue perhaps (and this is just another SWAG) your machine has damaged or corrupt system files adversely affecting how the external HDD is seen. Safely remove the external HDD and try running a System File Checker scan just to see if there are any problems. If, by chance there are any file issues, run the scan three times rebooting in between each scan.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

I've already reinstalled Win7 multiple times and the result is the same. Does turning off the USB legacy support in BIOS have something to do with this?

I would guess that depends on how old the external HDD is. What happens if you enable the USB legacy support?

The external HDD is brand new. It is USB 3.0 and contains a newly released Hitachi drive. I'll try enabling the USB legacy support first and see what it does because the problem is random so I have to reboot until I reproduce it.

OK, the problem does not occur when the external HDD is connected to a laptop. The problem does occur when connected to the desktop. I'm assuming that the laptop does not have the same BIOS, mobo, etc as the desktop. Also, the laptop has different USB ports, etc. Have you tried connecting the external HDD to a different port? Are you using a hub? Does ASUS have any self-diagnostic tests for mobo, BIOS, etc?

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support-

If no diagnostic tools perhaps you might consider submitting this issue to ASUS to see if they have any feedback.

http://vip.asus.com/eservice/techserv.aspx

marsmimar said:

OK, the problem does not occur when the external HDD is connected to a laptop. The problem does occur when connected to the desktop. I'm assuming that the laptop does not have the same BIOS, mobo, etc as the desktop. Also, the laptop has different USB ports, etc. Have you tried connecting the external HDD to a different port? Are you using a hub? Does ASUS have any self-diagnostic tests for mobo, BIOS, etc?

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support-

If no diagnostic tools perhaps you might consider submitting this issue to ASUS to see if they have any feedback.

http://vip.asus.com/eservice/techserv.aspx

Ok. I plug it on one of the USB 3.0 ports in the motherboard. No I'm not using a hub.I'll try plugging it in a different port first. I've already tried the self-diagnostics of ASUS and they all passed without any problems.

If you're comfortable backing up and modifying registry -
In regedit look at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
If the Explorer key isn't there, look here instead:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
(If the Explorer key isn't there, create it)

In the right pane create the dword "NoDriveTypeAutoRun"
Default value is 91 which is supposed to stop autorun on unknown and network drives, which is default behaviour.
A value of 99 should stop autorun on fixed drives as well.
Or a value of 8 stops autotun for fixed drives only.
In your case, I would try 99, which would cover most of the ways your Windows could be seeing that drive.