I have a DELL Inspiron 17R SE laptop, which I use with a Microsoft wireless desktop set.
On occasion I connect a WD 2TB Elements external hard disk
When I do that, I notice the sometimes the mouse acts sluggish and the keyboard "drops" characters. When I type something, not all characters reach the laptop. The Laptop keyboard and touchpad work fine.
Disconnecting the hard disk fixes this issue,
Is this a known issue?, if so, is there a workaround?
This is a known potential issue with USB 3.0 and 2.4GHz wireless devices (which your wireless desktop set is very likely to be).
If you can connect the keyboard wireless adapter to the opposite site of the laptop from the external HDD you might get better results, or perhaps you can use a USB extension cable for the wireless adapter to reduce/eliminate the problem.
Those suggestions are from Using USB3.0 and 2.4Ghz USB wireless device on a notebook at the same time may experience radio frequency interference.. The phenomenon is acknowledged by Intel at USB 3.0* Radio Frequency Interference on 2.4 GHz Devices.
Shielded USB 3.0 cables are available, but the few reviews I looked at on Amazon seem to have mixed results.
I solved this by using some shielding tape that blocks the unwanted radio signal leaking from the cable of my external HDD.
I bought Titan RF shielding tape. - the description from amazon was
TitanRF Faraday Tape - High-Shielding Conductive Adhesive Tape
Used to Connect TitanRF Fabric Sheets or Seal RF Enclosures
1" W x 120" L (2.54cm)
Sold by: MOS Equipment Europe
And covered up the cable as below.
