Win 7 keeps asking to format ext hard drive

[STU9000]

750 Samsung portable device. Problems seems to sort itself out eventually but it keeps firing up prompts to format the drive before I can use it. First time it happened I had to unplug it, restarted and then it was OK. It just did it again and then again when I restarted, took a minute or two but eventually it read the drive and it was ok.

Why is this happening and what can I do to stop it?

This is the first problem I've had. Not happy.

Might it be a power issue? I have the device connected via a USB 2.0 port, through an extension lead and then through a 4 way splitter. I have had problems with this splitter before I think, but not with the small connector. Maybe I can try connecting it through one of the other ports and see if it still has the same problem.

 

[TVeblen]

Yes, power issue could certainly explain it. Definitely test it connected directly to the PC.

 

[wanchoo]

If you can temporarily store all the stuff in the external drive elsewhere then may be it would be best to format it. Errors and bad sectors may have developed on the drive.

In case the format completes smoothly then you may stop getting the nags otherwise you would learn in advance that the drive is failing before you lose all the data there due to a crash.

 

[STU9000]

I'm pretty sure it is the splitter, I've had issues with it in the past and it's playing up something rotten today. Ext drive is new, recently reformatted from Mac OS and data added so there should be no issues with it. Will keep you posted.

 

[STU9000]

I've stopped using that splitter now, I was playing a game last night and it started going really slow, ended up having to quit. Logitech keyboard and mouse keep disconnecting (can hear the noise win 7 makes) and then trying to reinstall the drivers, other times they are intermittently unresponsive or I type in a key and it registers 20 times.

Had problems like this before with logitech keyboards, wireless ones, not sure what I did to fix it, but anyway I am using them both connected directly to the computer + the ext drive so going to see how it goes, will report back.

Don't understand why a passive device such as a splitter could have such intermittent issues, unless there is a dodgy connection inside it and it's cause problems with how the power is fed/split which is in turn causing further problems such as this game I was playing yesterday grinding to a halt and the screen going all wonky.

 

[TVeblen]

You might want to try a powered USB hub. Although these have reportedly been dodgy too, they at least do not split the power.

 

[STU9000]

I've also had issues with this splitter when it is connected to two self powered ext drives. Sadly the problem developed about a year after i bought it and the shop no longer stocks them, else I'd have bought a replacement and switched them and taken this one back as faulty.

 

[STU9000]

Would I be correct in assuming that these splitter devices can potentially cause problems by bouncing information back along the wrong channel if there is a bad connection in there somewhere?

 

[TVeblen]

Yes. That would be a potential issue. It depends on the quality of the build.