up vote 3 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I have a Box running xpsp3, Intel board, 3.2gb P4*2. I recently purchased a 1TB Seagate external Drive, The box will not boot XP when the HD is plugged in, it will sit on the Intel boot screen indefinitely and I am unable to enter the Bios. Once I have started the box without the HD and plug it in it functions fine.

Are there any thoughts as to why this would be happening?

link|improve this question
feedback

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

The usual culprit is either boot device priority, or USB legacy support. Sometimes a combination of both.

Go into your BIOS and change the boot device priority so that your hard disk is above the external drive, then save and exit. If that does not solve the problem, look for an option to disable USB legacy support.

link|improve this answer
1  
+1 Also believe boot priority. – Scott McClenning Jan 11 '10 at 2:59
Pretty sure it’s not even in the boot priority but will double check tonight. Given other usb hd and peripherals are not causing problems at start-up I would have guessed legacy support was enabled...?.. again I will double check. Thanks John. – user23907 Jan 11 '10 at 3:00
Just thinking out loud.... But if i cant access bios whilst drive is running then how would i remove from boot priority...? – user23907 Jan 11 '10 at 3:01
You should be able to access the BIOS first, but you can unplug the drive if needed. – John T Jan 11 '10 at 3:05
1  
I go for the USB legacy support explanation. It reminds me of the problem I have booting Ubuntu 9.04 when the USB printer is turned on. – pavium Jan 11 '10 at 3:24
feedback
up vote 0 down vote accepted

I checked last night the Hard Drive in Question was not listed in the boot priority and USB legacy support was enabled. There was however an additional option full speed /Hi speed Legacy support. Full speed was set which runs at 12mb/s as opposed to the 480mb/s 2.0 hi speed. After setting to high speed in the BIOS and rebooting, problem solved, Thanks for your nudges in the right direction.

link|improve this answer
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.