Mac won't boot, stuck on grey screen if the external hdd plugged in

as the title.
if i plug my external drive, via usb port, the mac won't boot and stuck at grey screen.
unplugging it, the boot process will continue.
the hdd is a LaCie mobile hdd
any help?

Hello jason(?)
It's a LaCie external mobiel hdd, formatted as exFAT. without adapter. take power directly from usb port.
i tested it on my iMac and it works fine. boot up as normal. the only difference is my iMac is on 10.6.8 and my Air is on 10.7.2
I tested on both USB port on my Air and the problem still persist.
the read/write speed is normal (bought it like a day ago).
another thing is I don't have this problem with my external WD drive.
One thing to notice is that, I accidentally left like for like 2-3 mins and it boots. So why the question now is why it's taking so long to boot? normally it just takes <20 seconds. Seems like it tried to boot from the external hdd, doesn't it?

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    Stuart

    Stuart:
    Sorry about the glitch. That Disk Utility reports "Underlying task reported failure" when repairing a volume is a serious directory issue that can sometimes be repaired by Disk Warrior.
    In terms of getting you data off the HDD to the external Firewire HDD, here are two options.
    1. You can use SuperDuper to create a bootable clone of your entire HDD on the external firewire HDD.
    2. You can purchase DataRescue II to get your music off. I understand Prosoft has excellent tech support. Give them a call. See also Dr. Smoke's FAQ Data Recovery.
    Please keep us updated.
    Good luck.
    cornelius

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