I have a Storagebird Solo 20-U external disk that has been working without problems since I bought it 3 months ago. Today when I went to plug it into the normal USB port, it shut down my computer. As soon as I pulled it out of the port, the computer started up again on its own (rebooted, I guess). I tried the external drive in another port, but the same thing happened. I tried this about 4 times. Then I turned off the computer and while it was still off I plugged in the external drive, but the computer wouldn't start up at all - it'll only start if the external drive is out.

I tried two other USB sticks in the same ports and they work fine. Also found Device Manager and when I look under Properties in USB Root Hub no problems are reported.

I don't know much about computers. The info under "General" in System Properties gives the computer as an AMD Athlon(tm) 64X2 DUAL. CORE Processor 4200+. 1.77 GHz, 1.00GB RAM. I have Windows XP Prof SR2 (2002) SERVICE Pack 3.

Did a virus scan tonight and nothing came up.

I may have pulled the external drive out of the USB port a few days ago without going through the "Safely Remove Software" steps... but I think the disc still worked after that.

I'd appreciate any help. Thanks!Sounds like it's SHORT circuiting. Check the cable for damage. thanks for responding. the cable looks just fine with the naked eye. would you suggest that I take it to the store where I bought it so they can check it?What do you need us for when you come up with all the ideas?

If they ask if you want to leave it behind, make sure that you know whether or not they back-up the data (If that is still possible)

the external casing and the hard drive are two separate objects, either one of them could be broken. If the casing is the broken part, it might still be possible to gain access to the data.

What kind of external hard drive is it? OK, I'll ask them to back up the data; thanks for the advice.

On the drive it says its a Storagebird Solo 20-U. It just plugs in to a USB port - doesn't need electricity. I stupidly threw out the box (and I think the sales receipt!). The external casing looks fine.have you tried it in another machine??? If it works in another machine, close it down/remove hardware correctly...then try it again on your machine...

also you can goto control panel, system, hardware, device manager, click the + sign
next to universal serial devices, right click each one and uninstall...then re-boot system(they will be re-configured) and
try the disk again...

Good Luckthanks for the very clear instructions! After I read your note I tried it on another machine and it doesn't work there either. Took it back to the store where they tested it and said it's not getting any electricity. It's off to repair land.It does sound like a short circuit... and you are very lucky because USB SHORTS can be very unforgiving and painful.

They can take out motherboards on their own!

Good to see it's being repaired though