Issues with External HDD as boot device

[Stingerxxx]

Hello all,

For about 1-2 months now I have been using a Toshiba 500gb Portable HDD as my primary drive, using this guide as my means of installing and running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit on this drive. After installation I have had to manually edit the registry using Hirens Boot CD to make this device bootable (under Local Machine -> Control Set there is an option to change the boot drivers that are loaded when Windows is initialized, changing the value to 4 tells windows to load USB drivers). Following this, Windows boots as if it was installed on an internal drive, and all is well. For about one week after installation, all is well. Then comes some problems. Load times increase on boot as well as when opening programs, the computer starts experiencing mini-freezes, then the "click of death" begins emanating from the HDD. After running a chkdsk /f this problem goes away, but only for a day or so. Then it begins again. After going through this gauntlet several times, chkdsk is no longer able to provide a solution, and the installation begins to fail. A reinstallation of the OS fixes all issues, and off I go again.

This problem happens EVERY time, however. So far, I have tried minimizing the drivers/services loaded at boot, no dice. I have tried limiting data put on the drive to only the things that I require on my computer - a few games (DC Universe and DOTA 2, both totaling about 30gb) and tools (SpeedFan, CCleaner, Utorrent). No dice there either. At this point I am not sure what could be causing this.. I thought that it may be the HDD, as the "click of death" is the primary symptom of a Head failure, whether it be the arm or the head itself. However, I have successfully ran Crunchbang Linux and Ubuntu for several weeks each in an attempt to replicate the issue, and neither did so. In fact, both performed just as well as if they were installed on an internal drive, with no other issues appearing whatsoever. This tells me that the "click of death" is not in fact being caused by a hardware malfunction, but rather by a software issue.

Pertinent Information
My computer specs are as follows:
Intel i5 2410M
6gbs Ram
500GB PORTABLE Toshiba HDD
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit SP1
Asus K54C - Laptop

I ensure that I do not pull the plug on the computer, but rather shut the computer down properly.

I have enabled Write Caching at one point, this only hastened the symptoms appearance. I have since kept Write Caching disabled, and on the current installation it has never been enabled.

All chipset, graphics, audio and device drivers are directly from the manufacturers website and up to date. I have updated the graphics driver to the most recent from the Intel website and not from Asus's website, I have ran with it not updated before. Although I would not think this would lead to any issue, I did try it to rule it out. No difference.

The HDD is running off of a USB 2.0 port, for reasons unknown it will not boot off of my 3.0 port. I am using a 3.0 cable and the drive does support 3.0. The port it is plugged into is connected directly to the motherboard, and I am not using a hub or other device in conjunction with the HDD. It has direct access.

I have previously updated Windows using the built-in updater, no difference. Currently sitting at SP1 with no updates.

The only registry edits that I have done are to enable USB boot drivers, and extended the Pollbootpartitiontimeout setting to be about 10x longer then normal to ensure that no errors arise when loading the USB drivers.

I am on my 4th reinstall at the moment. Reinstall completed 6 days ago. First symptoms appeared yesterday, getting mildly worse today. I was forced to run chkdsk on this boot, errors were revealed and resolved at all 3 steps, showing dozens of issues between file data, indexes and security descriptors. Chkdsk also reported there were errors with the volume bitmap, and resolved those.

If there is any further information that I can provide to assist with tracking down the source of this issue, you have only to ask.

Also, if this issue has been reported and resolved previously, or reported and found to be unfix-able, I apologize for another post, I searched for topics that would be in-line with what I am experiencing, both here and across other forums that I usually browse, but for the first time in a very long time I was unable to locate another who had experienced what I have here.

 

[USAFRet]

Could be a dying drive. "then the "click of death" begins emanating from the HDD"

But why don't you take the drive out of the external enclosure and mount it as an internal? Completely bypassing the 'boot Windows from an external drive' problems.

"I am on my 4th reinstall at the moment."
Screw that. Why go through that much hassle?

 

[Stingerxxx]

"Could be a dying drive" I had thought that was a possible cause, but the steps that I took to rule that out, as listed above, indicated that it is not indeed the case. I could be wrong there, however.

"But why don't you take the drive out of the external enclosure and mount it as an internal? Completely bypassing the 'boot Windows from an external drive' problems."

To the best of my knowledge, an external drive is merely a typical HDD with the disk, head assembly, circuit board and all other components enclosed in a shock-proof plastic case with a USB connector built into it. I have no reason to believe that if I break the case open I'll find a convenient laptop HDD inside with a mini-sata port on it. If I had reason to believe this was inside, I would have done so long ago. If this is indeed the case, this would be a reasonable solution to my issue.

"Screw that. Why go through that much hassle?"

I work part time and have trouble paying all of my bills and ensuring that I will be able to make it through the month. I go through the hassle because I wish to use Windows and have no other option, save spending money on a proper drive. If I had the money to spend, I would not be here asking for help. Asking for this help is motivated directly by the hassle that I have gone through. I am not one to give up and throw the drive away, believing that I cannot find a solution. One does not make it far in life by believing that the mountain they are on is too difficult to climb.

 

[USAFRet]

I have no reason to believe that if I break the case open I'll find a convenient laptop HDD inside with a mini-sata port on it. If I had reason to believe this was inside, I would have done so long ago. If this is indeed the case, this would be a reasonable solution to my issue.

Almost all (but not all) "external drives" are merely regular drives in a USB capable enclosure.
Some few have issues like encryption capabilities existing on the PCB in the enclosure.
But the majority are simple drives, just inside an external enclosure. With regular SATA connections.

I have done that multiple times.

Open the case. See what is actually in there.

 

[Stingerxxx]

I just watched a video of a similar model to my HDD being taken apart, and indeed it did show what you described. I do not have my tools with me, nor do I have my collection of rescue CD's should something go wrong as I would have to edit the registry to boot from it should I change how it is mounted, but I do appreciate the speedy response and the information. When I am with my tools again I will see about removing it from its' enclosure and mounting it internally. Should all go well I will be back to change the topic to solved. Should all not go well, I will be back with more questions.

Thank you.

 

[Stingerxxx]

Earlier today I cracked the casing open and did indeed find a HDD that is identical in shape and size to the previous one I had in my computer. Sadly, the only connector available was the USB one that is accessible from the outside, soldered directly onto the circuit board. So, as it stands until I am able to procure a proper internal HDD, I am still seeking a solution for the current issue - whether it be to track down and solve the cause of the inevitable malfunctions, or possibly discover why I cannot run the HDD off of the 3.0 port and pursue that route.

The most logical cause of these error, in my mind, is errors themselves. Being on a 2.0 port and having reduced speed, it may be possible that this is causing I/O errors from constant use as the OS and other applications are constantly accessing the HDD for one reason or another. It may be that moving the drive to the 3.0 port, and therefore increasing the speed as well as using the port the HDD is designed for, will be a solution here. I personally cannot think of a reason this is happening, save the 3.0 drivers not being loaded by windows and therefore not being present at the boot sequence when they are required. If this is the case, I don't know how to solve this, and am back at square one.

Can a more experienced/knowledgeable person then myself shed some light on this?