External HDD question

speedyink

speedyink

VIP Member
So I decided I hate the short little cable my external hdd enclosure came with, so I picked up a standard 6' usb to 5-pin usb cable, and now when I plug it in it takes a couple tries before the unit actually powers up. It's almost as if it's getting JUST enough power, cause the first try it tries spin up, or spins up but doesn't actually do anything, then it will work on the 2nd or 3rd try. Is there like a max cable length for these things or something?
 
The cable length limit for USB 2.0 is 5m. It's just a longer cable not an extension right?

Also, if you are plugging it into a hub instead of directly to the motherboard port it may not get enough power.
 
It's not an extension, but a straight cable. I am also plugging it straight into the usb port, I don't ever use hubs. Maybe I just got a crappy cable.. :confused:
 
It could be but that external drive could require the use of a shorter cable for some reason. So I take it that the drive doesn't have an AC plug of it's own. Try swaping the cable as well it could be bad.
 
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