Sarah got me this external Maxtor 500 gig drive for Chirstmas an it's worked fairly well, I transfer a bunch of shows an the like at the house then stick em in the truck, but... lately, an the last time I was in, this happened on 4 different pc's, my lappy (which is shot an I figured that's where the trouble was) but then I tried my bunk had same problem, my house pc, same problem, my server all wit the same problem.

I can access shows an the drive data usin media player an vlc player etc, but if I open up a explorer window to view the files an copy/move etc the derned thin freezes up, the other day drivin I left it for 17 mins while I was attemptin to copy a saved game from the house to my bunk puter an eventually it will finally give me the option to copy the thin but then it's another 15 mins er so before it actually catches up to transfer anythin, an that's IF it doesn't have an error while transferin.

I've done everthin I can think of to the thin an still have the trouble, Maxtor's software is of no use an it's not a matter of jes bein on a slow 1.1 usb either, the thin jes lags up real bad. Any ideas?

only thing I can think of you've prolly already done....
chkdsk and defrag

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did you check the windows logs in manage computer?

What OS?

Since it happens on all 4 comps seems it would be the drive but but it also sounds like USB interface issues...have you tried a BIOS update or look for new chipset drivers for you mobos?

Do all your comps have only have USB 1.1?

I've also seen issues of long filenames causing data transfer issues...

Yeah, tried chkdsk an defrag, no help there, yeah everthins 1.1 an that's the way it'll be hehe, I agree, I am thinkin there is an interface issue but beats the heck out of me what it is, since three of the pcs are all the same hardware there may be a problem along those lines, but as far as firmware an software the usb interface is as current as I can make it. I detest long file names so keep them short, however there is a slight other problem I have never bothered to look into.

On some of the 'ripped' vid content, jes clickin on the file will cause an explorer crash, the same is true if you open a folder an do not have it set to list er details, the same exploere crash will happen. Do not know why that is the case an have never bothered to find out either. Would consider that to be a problem, but on the face of the drive, all of those files are behind a folder so there isn't an explorer crash anyways.

Have checked the logs but haven't found an error probly jes cause windows didn't come across one. There isn't any crashes for example, after 15 mins er so the drive will open a folder an display the files, but if I want to copy one via right click menu then it's another 15 mins etc. This is a new problem an it's bound to be the drive er the interface, bout the only thin I can do is swap out the cable, maybe sumthins gone wrong there, donno what else I could try at the moment.

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Was thinking about this...

Since you say it happens on ALL your computers...have you tried a new USB cable on the drive? Seems to me the only other option...