Pb with X200, NEC based USB 3.0 PCI card and external USB 3.0 HD

Hello, I ordered a USB 3.0 Express Card based on the NEC chipset. I am using a Lenovo X200 under XP SP3 and I have an external Buffalo Ministation USB3.0 HD. No problem to install the Express Card driver, the card is recognized but the HD won't mount. I have the USB connection beep and in the next 10 sec the USD disconnection beep. This is not a low power issue, I connected to the Express Card a power supply and have the same issue. In addition, this config, Express Card and Ministation Buffalo just work fine on a T60 under Windows 7. Any idea? Many thanks ! Tom

craig stewart wrote:
I would like to add IO to my Mac Pro Details of it are below
I have looked at several options and would be happy to go with either eSata or USB 3.0. I have heard some bad reviews about the USB 3.0 PCI offerings out there though.
On the one hand, I have an unused eSata enclosure so I would not have to buy one, on the other hand a few USB 3.0 ports on the machine would allow grerater expandability with a USB 3.0 hub hung off the back. ( can you get eSata hubs? never thought of that until just now)
The nearest thing to an eSATA hub is a 'SATA port-multiplier'. This allows connecting up to 4 SATA drives to a single SATA port.
Note: Not all SATA or eSATA cards support 'port-multiplier' functionality. The CalDigit card says it does support port-multiplier enclosures, what this means is that a single eSATA cable can be connected to an external box containing multiple SATA drives and see and use them all.

Similar Messages

Rev. A Beige G3 DT compatible with USB 2.0 PCI cards?

Having had a lot of luck upgrading and updating some old Sawtooth G4s I decided to try my hand at something more interesting - an old Rev. A Beige G3 that fortuitously dropped into my lap.
I tried installing a 5-port USB 2.0 card with an NEC chipset, since apparently NEC's chipsets are the most compatible chipsets with the Mac. However, I've been getting Type 11 errors on startup everytime. Curiously, an older 2-port USB card works fine.
So my main question is: has anyone else seen this occurring? Have other successfully used NEC-based USB 2.0 PCI cards on their Rev. A Beige G3s?

Sorry for the inordinately long time it took me to reply. The OS running on the G3 is 9.2.2.
After doing some digging around I discovered a trick with replacing the OS 9 USB adapter card extensions with those from the installer for USB Adapter Card 1.4.1 updater. What I did was that I took out of my extensions folder the following files: USB Authoring Support, USB Device Extension, USB Software Locator, and USBAppleMonitor. I then ran the 1.4.1 update, and everything seems to work - the computer recognized the card and USB mice and hard drives were detected by the system.
I'm normally not one for mixing and matching extensions, but I'm glad the card now works.

IPod 30GB will not work with 3rd party USB 2.0 PCI card

I've had an IOGear PCI USB 2.0 card (GIC220U-BIO) in my Sawtooth for some time now, and have been using it flawlessly with my Canon i860 printer, and Canon LiDE 30 Scanner.
Just recently I received a Video iPod (30GB) and wanted to take advantage the high speed USB bus offered on that card to sync my iPod. The problem is, when I plug in the iPod to the USB port on that card, I get the transparent gray box telling me that I need to restart my mac by pushing the reset switch, or holding the power button for several seconds (in other words, freezes).
The iPod works fine with the built-in USB ports (albeit slow), as well as the high speed port on my iBook G4. Why am I getting this error? There are no drivers or firmware updates for this PCI card available.
Is there a solution?

Yes, use a different USB 2.0 PCI card, like from Sonnet. I use a Sonnet in a G5 and it works great. There are (at least) 2 USB chipsets and I find the TI ones are great and the other not so great.
The fact it works on 1.1 and the 2.0 on the G4 at least tells you it is not the iPod and a USB 2 card is $20 or $30 at the most.

USB 2.0 PCI card VT6202 chipset?

Hi there,
I own a QS 733 and want to put get a bit more life out of the machine, so thought I would install a USB 2.0 card. Trawling through eBay, the inexpensive cards all seem to be based on the VIA VT6202 chipset. The Via website claims to have Mac drivers for this set:http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=23&CatID=2470&SubCatID=122 but unfortunately I get a time out when I try to get the linked file.
Does anyone have experience with these cards on a Mac?
Many thanks in advance for your help!
All the best,
Dan

Hi-
The linked PCI card with the NEC chip-set will be better than a VIA or ALI chip-set card. It should work, and you don't need to worry about drivers- all you need is within Tiger.
So, as far as issues with sleep, either not sleeping, or, the most common problem, not waking from sleep. VIA and ALI chip-sets can cause problems with no device attached at all. NEC chip-sets allow the card to reside nicely in the computer (no conflicts), but the connected device may cause problems.
Memory writing USB hardware, or, as I like to say, mass storage devices, can be used on the USB 2.0, but, to keep from having sleep problems, especially if they are USB powered (like the iPod, and some card readers), the device must be ejected, and disconnected, before sleeping the computer.
Other devices, printers, scanners, cameras, some card readers, and such, are on a case by case basis. If the device has it's own power supply, often times they won't cause any problems. If, the device does cause a sleep problem while connected to the PCI card, often times a powered USB 2.0 hub between the device and the USB card will take care of the problem.
Real world results- I have a Logicool QCam Ultra, a powered mouse-pad, a Wacom tablet, and a HP All-in-one printer connected to my USB 2.0 card. All devices work without causing sleep problems. I also have a 30gb iPod. If I leave the iPod connected when I command sleep, or if the computer goes to sleep while the iPod is connected, I cannot wake the machine. It requires a hard restart (holding the power button for 5 seconds) to bring the machine back. As long as I eject and disconnect the ipod, all is fine with sleep. To aid in the connect/disconnect, I leave the iPod cable connected to the PCI card, and leave the cable where it is easily accessed.
Many people will inquire as to external USB hard drives-I say, firewire is better, period. USB HDD's and USB 2.0 PCI cards are the most common culprits with USB 2.0 incompatibilities. If you want headaches, use USB HDD'S and USB 2.0 PCI cards.
Testing each USB 2.0 device, individually, will soon confirm whether or not special needs are required. I realize that most all of us are "plug it and leave it" conditioned, but, with some modification of habits, USB 2.0 can work, and work well, on non USB 2.0 native machines.

Installing a USB 2.0 PCI card

I'm looking to install a USB 2.0 PCI card in my Power Mac G4 867 mhz.
I've heard of problems doing this, and was looking for advice or suggestions for specific cards.
Thank you.

Hi-
To get optimal results from a USB 2.0 PCI card, get a card that has the NEC chipset. Via and Ali chipsets are problematic, and should be avoided.
Some USB 2.0 cards that have the NEC chipset are:
Adaptec 3100LP
BAFO BF-460
Belkin F5U220
GWC UC-160
IOGear GIC250U
Keyspan U2PCI-5
O'toLink U2-C2B
O'toLink U2-C2A
O'toLink U2-P20N
O'toLink U2-P50
Ratoc PCIU5
USBWholesale UII-PCIP
Even if the card isn't stated to be Mac compatible, OS X has NEC chipset support, and can use the card. I have two different cards bought from PC stores, that work great. And, they're alot cheaper than mac specific cards.
One of the biggest problem areas of USB 2.0 in a G4 is connection of an external harddrive, or other mass storage device. These devices invariably (with few, erratic exceptions) cause sleep freeze, even with a NEC chipset card.
For external harddrives, on a G4, USB 2.0 is not a convenient option.
For more on other user experiences with various USB cards, see Xlr8yourMac.

What is the correct USB 3.0 PCIE card for Z800?

I'm looking to buy the correct USB 3.0 PCIe card for a Z800, but I cant find any thru HP. Any have any info> There's 12 and 60 dollar HP cards on EBAY, but I don't know if those are correct ones.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
Based on the following specs, the machine has plenty of options:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13278_na/13278_na.PDF
You can buy 1-port card, 2-port card, 3-port card or even 4-port card such as:
http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Cards/2-Port-PCI-Express-SuperSpeed-USB-3-Card-Adapte...
You need to check the slot to get the right bracket for the card.
Regards.
ps eBay is a different story, you can buy few dollars card.
BH
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Kernel panic after installing a USB 3.0 PCIe card

Hello everybody,
I have a recent issue with my Mac Pro (early 2008). I just bought a USB 3.0 PCIe card from eBay for my Mac Pro and as the seller mentioned there are drivers for Mountain Lion. After installing the cards drivers that the seller sent me and plugged the PCIe card, whenever I connect a USB 3.0 device (I have only one) the Mac Pro is forced to reboot. If I leave the drive connected after the reboot I get a kernel panic message during the "Grey Apple Boot Screen" and the computer continues to reboot again and again. I have no issues with USB 2.0 devices at the same card. The kernel I get is the following. Does anyone have any idea? it seems like the kext installed with the card {net.osx86.kexts.VLIUSBXHCI(1.2.4)} causes the problem but the seller told me he has sold a lot of them, and i 'm the first with such a problem.
Thank you in advance.
Tue Aug 27 10:58:35 2013
panic(cpu 3 caller 0xffffff800a4b8655): Kernel trap at 0xffffff7f8aa00cf8, type 14=page fault, registers:
CR0: 0x000000008001003b, CR2: 0x0000000000000000, CR3: 0x000000000c9a4000, CR4: 0x0000000000000660
RAX: 0x000000000b1cb000, RBX: 0xffffff8019bbee00, RCX: 0xffffff801981b010, RDX: 0x0000000000000000
RSP: 0xffffff80bba3b650, RBP: 0xffffff80bba3b690, RSI: 0x0000000000000000, RDI: 0xffffff8019bba630
R8: 0xffffff80bba3b570, R9: 0x0000000000000200, R10: 0xffffff8019bba630, R11: 0xffffff8019bba600
R12: 0x0000000000000000, R13: 0x0000000000000200, R14: 0xffffff80c1c7e000, R15: 0xffffff801981b000
RFL: 0x0000000000010206, RIP: 0xffffff7f8aa00cf8, CS: 0x0000000000000008, SS: 0x0000000000000000
Fault CR2: 0x0000000000000000, Error code: 0x0000000000000002, Fault CPU: 0x3
Backtrace (CPU 3), Frame : Return Address
0xffffff80bba3b2f0 : 0xffffff800a41d626
0xffffff80bba3b360 : 0xffffff800a4b8655
0xffffff80bba3b530 : 0xffffff800a4ce17d
0xffffff80bba3b550 : 0xffffff7f8aa00cf8
0xffffff80bba3b690 : 0xffffff7f8aa0a625
0xffffff80bba3b6c0 : 0xffffff7f8aa0a2a9
0xffffff80bba3b770 : 0xffffff7f8aa09f1a
0xffffff80bba3b7d0 : 0xffffff7f8aa036f3
0xffffff80bba3b7f0 : 0xffffff7f8a9b3591
0xffffff80bba3b850 : 0xffffff800a84907a
0xffffff80bba3b8b0 : 0xffffff7f8a9c400e
0xffffff80bba3b910 : 0xffffff7f8a9c41dd
0xffffff80bba3b970 : 0xffffff7f8a9a2eec
0xffffff80bba3b9a0 : 0xffffff7f8a9a1bbf
0xffffff80bba3b9e0 : 0xffffff800a83085b
0xffffff80bba3ba40 : 0xffffff7f8a9a1b09
0xffffff80bba3ba70 : 0xffffff800a84907a
0xffffff80bba3bad0 : 0xffffff7f8a9a1a74
0xffffff80bba3bb10 : 0xffffff7f8aeaa195
0xffffff80bba3bb40 : 0xffffff800a83194b
0xffffff80bba3bb80 : 0xffffff800a83146e
0xffffff80bba3bc10 : 0xffffff800a82d400
0xffffff80bba3bc50 : 0xffffff800a82d10f
0xffffff80bba3bc90 : 0xffffff800a82cfc4
0xffffff80bba3bcd0 : 0xffffff7f8a9ad2bd
0xffffff80bba3bd00 : 0xffffff7f8a9adb68
0xffffff80bba3bda0 : 0xffffff7f8ae08b47
0xffffff80bba3bdd0 : 0xffffff7f8ae085b9
0xffffff80bba3be40 : 0xffffff7f8ae07f6c
0xffffff80bba3be60 : 0xffffff800a83194b
0xffffff80bba3bea0 : 0xffffff800a83146e
0xffffff80bba3bf30 : 0xffffff800a82d400
0xffffff80bba3bf70 : 0xffffff800a831fc9
0xffffff80bba3bfb0 : 0xffffff800a4b3137
      Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
         com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(5.6)[065077C5-A49E-3C52-BDC0-60169E293563]@0xffffff 7f8a997000->0xffffff7f8a9f2fff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7.3)[1D668879-BEF8-3C58-ABFE-FAC6B3E9A292]@0xffff ff7f8a96e000
         net.osx86.kexts.VLIUSBXHCI(1.2.4)[00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000]@0xfffff f7f8a9ff000->0xffffff7f8aa17fff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(5.6.0)[065077C5-A49E-3C52-BDC0-60169E293563]@0xffff ff7f8a997000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7.3)[1D668879-BEF8-3C58-ABFE-FAC6B3E9A292]@0xffff ff7f8a96e000
         com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite(5.2.5)[E52D4507-6DB1-392E-B46B-FC7107573D4C] @0xffffff7f8ae07000->0xffffff7f8ae0dfff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(5.6.0)[065077C5-A49E-3C52-BDC0-60169E293563]@0xffff ff7f8a997000
         com.apple.iokit.IOUSBAttachedSCSI(1.0.3)[1EBCBF6E-4BB8-341D-8B0B-D35C69425E67]@ 0xffffff7f8aea6000->0xffffff7f8aeadfff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(5.6.0)[065077C5-A49E-3C52-BDC0-60169E293563]@0xffff ff7f8a997000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily(1.8)[5BA4CD36-E96D-3A9E-ADFF-A863BBD63BC7]@0xff ffff7f8aa96000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily(3.5.5)[DCE95F6E-F7D4-33D8-9515-FB C4FF5B1AB4]@0xffffff7f8ab65000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task
Mac OS version:
Not yet set
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 12.4.0: Wed May 1 17:57:12 PDT 2013; root:xnu-2050.24.15~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 896CB1E3-AB79-3DF1-B595-549DFFDF3D36
Kernel slide:     0x000000000a200000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff800a400000
System model name: MacPro3,1 (Mac-F42C88C8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 1372235172
last loaded kext at 1219506626: com.apple.driver.CSRHIDTransitionDriver          4.1.4f2 (addr 0xffffff7f8b24a000, size 16384)
loaded kexts:
com.rogueamoeba.InstantOn          6.0.2
net.osx86.kexts.VLIUSBXHCI          1.2.4
com.apple.driver.CSRHIDTransitionDriver          4.1.4f2
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBAttachedSCSI          1.0.3
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient          3.5.5
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter          404
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage          2.3.1
com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver          3.0.1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless          1.0.0d1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib          1.0.0d1
com.apple.BootCache          34
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBXHCI          5.6.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub          5.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleIntel8254XEthernet          3.1.1b1
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort          2.5.2
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI          4.9.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelPIIXATA          2.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI          5.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI          5.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET          1.8
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC          1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS          1.9
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient          196.0.0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall          4.0.39
com.apple.security.quarantine          2.1
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement          196.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHIDKeyboard          170.2
com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard          170.2
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver          5.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice          3.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass          3.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub          5.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite          5.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice          3.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily          1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily          1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOATAPIProtocolTransport          3.5.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily          3.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily          3.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient          5.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily          2.3.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily          4.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOATAFamily          2.5.1
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily          5.6.0
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily          1.8.1
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily          1.1
com.apple.security.sandbox          220.3
com.apple.kext.AppleMatch          1.0.0d1
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet          7
com.apple.driver.DiskImages          345
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily          1.8
com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore          28.21
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily          2.7.3
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily          1.4
com.apple.kec.corecrypto          1.0

That card appears to be a Via Labs VL800 and Via has no Mac drivers, so gosh only knows where that kext came from. I'd highly recommend you remove it and consider getting a card from Sonnet where you can get proper Mac support:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegrousb3pcie.html
To me it's not worth saving a few bucks from some generic card/driver pair to risk problems and perhaps even malware.
Regards.

3rd party USB PCI card and Leopard

I installed a USB 2.0 Compusa Card in my Dual 867 Mac several Years ago, to get USB 2.0 speeds when i got a new Ipod. When 10.4, most t=of the time, early versions not included, I was unable to put the card computer to sleep and then be able to revive it. Leopard fixed that problem, but now the card is losing ports. It is a four port card, and the currently the two inner most ports are not working. The two outer ports are still working. I have had since prior to installing 10.5 my Iphone, Dock, A USB external Drive, for time machine, A USB hub, and my Keyboard attached to the USB 2.0 card. Now the drive disappeared and I am unable to retrieve. Anyone else having this Problem, has anyone had this problem and resolved it. Any help would be appreciated. I am contemplating a New PCI USb 2.0 card, but Not sure if it is the card or Leopard, as i have not had a any problems until 10.5 and 10.5.1 installations.
Thanks in advance

Hello.
I have a G4 Dual 1.42GHz (FW800) and an USB 2.0 PCI card (VIA chipset) and it also worked very fine under Tiger. Since this card is sold for the PC market it doesn't bring a driver for Mac OS X.
I went to the VIA site (http://www.via.com.tw/), there I could found they have another site with drivers for almost any OS. This is the address: http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2
Click on the Mac OS choice in the list and then in USB to get the driver. The driver version is 1.60 and it supports G4 systems ONLY and OS versions: MAC OS X 10.2.x, MAC OS X 10.3.x, MAC OS X 10.4.x. Nothing is said about MAC OS 10.5.x.
Unfortunately it doesn't work in my G4 with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). I also tried to use the USB 2.0 PCI card before installing the driver to see if Apple could have done a driver of its own, but it also didn't work.
If your card has a VIA chipset I recommend you write an e-mail to VIA Technologies, Inc. and tell your problem and ask for the update. I did it too.
I hope they can work it out soon.

USB 2.0 PCI cards

I've got an old Power Mac G4 Quicksilver, which means I don't have USB 2.0 ports. I'm not sure the new printer I'm getting supports anything older than USB 2.0, so I'm looking at some of the USB 2.0 PCI cards. I'm finding them for, like, $12, which seems like no big deal.
My machine's obviously nowhere near new, tho', so I want to make sure these PCI cards are compatible. The cards' specs say "Compliant with PCI specification 2.2," for example, but I can't find any Apple specs that would tell me whether that means they would work in my Quicksilver. Any ideas?

Thanks -- that's good to know (about the USB 1.1/2.0 backwards compatibility). Some printers I'd seen listed only USB 2.0 compatibility, others listed 1.0 and 2.0, so I wasn't sure. I'll wait and try out the new printer before I start worrying about other options.
Now, should push come to shove, the PCI card I'd been looking at was definitely Mac compatible (listed as such, available through Macmall.com). And as I went on safari though Apple's support site, I did finally find the "Setting up your Mac" manual for my Quicksilver.
Hidden on Page 80 of that I found instructions to "install only expansion cards that come with Macintosh driver software and that comply with the PCI 2.1 standard." If I'm finding cards that comply with the PCI 2.2 standard, suppose I should expect them to work in my machine?

IPod touch will not work with USB 2.0 PCI Card?

I have a dual processor PowerMac G4 that has USB 2.0 via a PCI card. When I plug in the iPod nothing at all happens. I haven't read anything about PCI cards not being compatible with the touch. Is anyone else having this problem?

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents...I've got the same problem...I've had a Keyspan USB 2.0 5 port card in my Dual MDD G4 for years and it's worked fine. Well, until a few days ago when I tried updating some stuff on our iPods. It would initially start working then lose connection. Now nothing at all with 5 iPods. It won't even show up on the desktop under Disk Mode. I did the same and it works fine under the old stock USB 1.0 but slooooooowwww. Is this yet another problem with Leopard? I've searched the Keyspan site and they don't have any updated drivers. Guess I'll look for a Belkin as well...ugh!!! Leopard is horrible! First no printer drivers, then no iSub support, now this!

Performance Issues with 10.6.7 and External USB Drives

I've had a few performance issues come up with the latest 10.6.7 that seem to be related to external USB drives. I have a 2TB USB drive tha I have my iMovie content on this drive and after 10.6.7 update, iMovie is almost unusable. Finder even seems slow when browsing files on this drive as well. It seems like any access to the drive is delayed in all applications. Before the update, the performance was acceptable, but now it almost unusable. Most of the files on this drive are large dv files.
Anyone else experience this?

Matt,
If you want help, please start your own thread here:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1339&start=0
And if your previous thread you aren't getting sufficient help for your iPhone, post a new topic here:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1139
You'll get a wider audience, and won't confuse the original poster. Performance issues can be caused by numerous issues as outlined in my FAQ*
http://www.macmaps.com/Macosxspeed.html
If every person who had a performance issue posted to this thread, we'd never find a solution for the initial poster. Let's isolate each case one by one. It is NOT necessarily the same issue, even if the symptoms are the same. There are numerous contributing factors at work with computers, and if we don't isolate them, we'll never get to the root cause.

Mini doesn't always connect bluetooth and external (USB) drives on boot

I have had a new Intel mini for 4 months now (we also have a PPC G5, which we love). In the last few weeks the mini started to not connect my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, nor recognize some of my USB peripherals when booting up. When this happens, it also makes a repeated "startup sound - bong!" echo when the start button is pressed. I have two external USB drives, one 500GB Phantom and one 500GB WD MyBook. When the Apple logo appears at boot, I can see the activity lights flashing on the drives as the BIOS interrogates the USB connections, but after the Leopard start up desktop appears, the only drive shown is Macintosh HD, the mouse pointer is at the top left of the display and will not move, nor will the keyboard do anything. I have read every post on this subject and tried all of the resets suggested. Sometimes this works after a few attempts, sometimes it takes 6 or more tries - disconnecting all cables, and turning the computer on again and again. Occasionally the WD MyBook drive appears on the desktop, yet still the Bluetooth is unresponsive and the other drive absent. I am getting frustrated having to disconnect everything and trying to boot this thing up, sometimes for one hour or longer before I can use it properly (all of my work is on the external drives).
There MUST be a firmware update for this by now, because I see that I am not the only one experiencing these problems, and this is obviously some problem with how the BIOS is communicating with the bus.

Hi amyta pdx-
I'd be careful jumping to conclusions or the troubleshooting process may get clouded. For one thing those WD drives are junk and most people using them eventually have problems.
What happens with everything disconnected from the Mac except a mouse connected to a USB port on the Mac and the monitor connected to the video port only?
Luck-
-DP

Question on Time Capsule and external USB HDD

Hello everyone,
I have a 500GB Time Capsule that is working wonderfully. I recently have been downloading a number of large .iso image files that are taking up a lot of space on my internal drive on my Macbook Pro. I do not back these files up on the Time Capsule as it is getting full and i want it to backup other more important things.
I do however wish to backup these files. My current desk is rather full and really will not allow me to purchase a large 3.5" HDD and plug it in USB.
Is it possible to plug an external drive into the back of the Time Capsule and have it be used as a wireless disk as well?
I would prefer to have that drive not be part of the Time Capsule disks, i just want to be able to access it wireless over my network.
I would be grateful if anyone can help me out. If this solution will not work, is there some sort of NAS disk solution i can get to work with my TC?
Thanks

All you need is an external USB HDD. It needs to be formatted HFS+ (Mac OS Extended - Journaled), if you plan on a future Time Machine Disk on this drive, or FAT/FAT32. You could get a NAS, but you don't need to if you already have TC. Can I assume the USB port is free or do you have a USB printer hooked up to it?

I bought and external usb hard disc, and i added it to time machine and now i can't use it! what do i do?

I just bought this external USB hard disc, and what I did was I put all of my pictures in there because I need space for my computer. What I did after that , is that I configured the hard disc with Time Machine, to clear some space also and to "protect" my data. But now I can't use my hard disc, I can't see my pictures I had in it and I can't use it for Time Machine either.
What can I do to get my pictures back?? Thanks!!

External USB hard disks come formatted, and unless they're specifically sold for use with Macs, they're formatted for PC's, with FAT, exFAT, or NTFS formats. Macs can read data from all three formats but can only write to FAT and exFAT formatted drives. So you could save your pictures to an external with either of those two formats. However, Time Machine needs a HD formatted and partitioned for a Mac, and if you "configured the hard disc" for use "with Time Machine," you effectively erased the pictures. However, since you "can't use it for Time Machine either," it's not clear exactly what you did, so we'd need to know that first. Also, what do you mean by "clear some space also?" On your internal or the external? And if the external, how did you do that since it already had your pictures and should still have had some empty space.
I'd suggest looking here to see if your external's format agrees with what Time Machine needs. Just look, don't actually change anything, so we have some baseline to work with. And also look at the box the external HD came in. What does it say about computer compatibility and which operating systems it's intended for (i.e., Windows, Mac, both).

PCMCIA hardware: "Express Card" or "PC Card" (for external USB 2.0)

Can anyone advise how I might determine the external interface card hardware that is provided with my T43p Thinkpad? I've not used this feature on the machine previously, and do not recognize it from external view.
From the unit itself and original shipping documents, the T43p is model 2687DUU (shipped November 2005).
The packing list does not describe the hardware in detail.
The Service and Troubleshooting guide describes "ExpressCard/PC Card slots" but also says "Some models have the PC Card (Type II or Type III PC Card) slots only.
Device manager hardware report seems non-specific, and I can't tell whether it refers to the reader itself: "Ricoh R/RL/5C476(II) or Compatible CardBus Controller" under "PCMIA" adapters.
The slot has two ejector buttons and measures 54mm wide.
I need to buy an external USB 2.0 interface to support Western Digital external hard drive. An ExpressCard interface is inexpensive, but I would like to be sure that the T43p is built to support it.
Thanks for any help.
Robert
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Thanks very much for updates. The very slow throughput using the WD software is *extremely* slow. With only a 9.5 Gbyte backup to process, it was only about "80% done" after 7 hours. The problem seems to be with the WD software, since a simple Windows Explorer "copy" from internal hard disk to the WD drive completed a 11 Gbyte (sorry, I wrote 3 Gbyte originally) copy for a single file in about 5 minutes. The latter is indeed about what I would hope for from USB 2.0 (about half of the nominal 480 Mbps maximum).
I found various postings on the web relating to very slow USB backups to the My File product line. The product manual for my unit cites this as a FAQ, as follows:
Q: Why is the data transfer rate slow?
A: Your system may be operating at USB 1.1 speeds due to incorrect driver installation of the USB 2.0 adapter card or a system that does not support USB 2.0. If your system includes a PCI slot, you can achieve Hi-Speed USB transfer rates by installing a USB 2.0 PCI adapter card...
It seems clear that my native USB ports *can* move data to the disk at acceptable rates, but it's not happening in combination with the WD application software. A possible hint is that it seems that transfer rates really nosedive when lots of small files are being moved.
I agree it's a shot in the dark that new USB 2.0 interface will fix the problem - but it seems like an easy shot to take. The real problem might be in the design of the WD backup software, but I have no hope of fixing that. If new ports don't do the trick, I'll probably need to return the My File unit.
Since the WD external drive runs from an AC adapter, I'm not worried about a power shortage. I interpret this set up as not "portable", even though the My FIle is an external drive.

Pb with X200, NEC based USB 3.0 PCI card and external USB 3.0 HD

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