Strange problem. I have this MEDION Akoya PC that has a dedicated bay to slide an external HDD sold separately.

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It's very handy indeed cause the slot is providing a fast USB 3 connection and power to the HDD unit, without extra cables. All works fine except this show-stopper behavior to disconnect me from the router once I slide in the unit and it powers up.

The moment I connect the unit the (normally) three-four WiFi connections I see in my neighborhood disappear and my own to the router loses its signal strength (no Internet traffic is possible). After a while it throws me off that one as well, never to connect me again as long as the unit is powered. Once I disconnect the HDD the various signals come back and it automatically reconnects to my own. What takes?

Are we in front of a serious design fault by MEDION here? Does the spinning of the HDD on top of the PC cause electromagnetic interference strong enough to throw off my WiFi connectivity? Is it a simple USB problem? Some kind of strange hardware conflict? Where should I look?

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What OS? Have you tried updating the device drivers for both the wireless NIC and the add-on unit? – P.Brian.Mackey Oct 11 '11 at 17:43
Well, Windows should advise me if new drivers exist for my NIC (it did so a couple of weeks ago). Updating the drivers of the HDD (add-on unit)? Are there drivers for an external USB driver? – Kensai Oct 11 '11 at 17:46
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You should not depend on windows to auto-update drivers. Instead, check the manufacturer's website. As far as the external device requiring drivers, once again I recommend you check the manufacturer's website for driver downloads or call support and ask. Avoid assumptions. – P.Brian.Mackey Oct 11 '11 at 17:56
As @P.Brian.Mackey mentions, don't use windows updates for drivers. Thet are often not the "corect" one. Resulst are sometimes not good. Use manufacturers site. – Dave M Oct 11 '11 at 18:15
Done it. No new drivers exist for the NIC, I have the latest. Is it possible to have a USB/NIC controller conflict of some kind? I will try to connect the drive on another USB port to check this eventuality. – Kensai Oct 11 '11 at 18:23
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