New
#1
Dell T3500, freezes on Widnows boot with USB drive connected
I have a Dell Precision T3500, BIOS version A17 (which is the latest). It's running Windows 7 SP1 Ultimate 64-bit with all updates.
I find that if I boot the system with a USB drive connected, Windows freezes during the splash screen. The only way to boot the system is with the drive disconnected. I can safely connect the drive once the Login screen is on.
The system is a file server, so it's on 24/7. The issue is a nuisance when Windows reboots after an update or due to a power glitch, because it can't complete the reboot unattended.
The drive is Toshiba Canvio 3TB hard drive with USB 3.0 interface. I had used a USB 3.0 PCI-e card and also connected to the built-in USB 2.0 ports with the same results.
This same drive had been connected to a another machine with the same Windows version and booted fine. The trouble started when I put the Dell into service.
The external drive is configured with one Primary partition, not marked active.
Any ideas? I had Googled this a while ago and vaguely recall that this was seen by others as well.
Thanks