USB error - did I fry my box?
Charlie Gibbs
I just tried plugging an external USB hard drive into one of
my Linux boxes. The drive didn't appear, and dmesg showed the
following messages:
hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 3
hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 4
hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 1
hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
Can anyone tell me what these messages mean? (They sound like
the box found a defective USB device, but I'd like confirmation.)
Here's some background:
Recently the power supply in my main Linux box died, and in the
process it took out the motherboard, CPU, and hard drives. I
loaded as much stuff as I had left on CD- and DVD-ROM (about half
the 500GB I lost - please save me the scolding about timely backups)
onto a second box, purchased an external enclosure and drive, and
made a backup. Then, to see whether the original hard drives were
really dead, I tried putting them into the external enclosure.
They wouldn't spin up, and smelled bad, so I guess they are really
and truly dead.
I put the original drive, to which I'd already made a successful
backup, back into the enclosure - and now I'm getting the messages
listed above. My guess is that the fried drives took out the
USB->SATA converter in the external enclosure. Does this sound
reasonable? (If so, I hope the new drive is still OK - not for
the backup so much as the cost of a new drive.)
The enclosure is a Vantec NexStar CX with a USB->SATA converter -
a very nice, sleek little box. The new drive is a Seagate Barracuda
7200.11 500GB SATA drive - which worked quite nicely until now, and
which still spins up and makes satisfying little sounds when I turn
it on in the enclosure. The dead drives are a Western Digital WD2000
(200GB SATA) and Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (320GB SATA).
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Grant
>"Backing up is hard to do." -- Neil Sedaka
>
>I just tried plugging an external USB hard drive into one of
>my Linux boxes. The drive didn't appear, and dmesg showed the
>following messages:
>
>hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
>hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 3
>hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 4
>hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 1
>hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
I'm guessing they saying the USB device is fried and drawing too much
current, USB supplies up to 500mA per port at 5V. Did you plug the
device into all those ports?
>
>Can anyone tell me what these messages mean? (They sound like
>the box found a defective USB device, but I'd like confirmation.)
>
>Here's some background:
>
>Recently the power supply in my main Linux box died, and in the
>process it took out the motherboard, CPU, and hard drives. I
Erk! Yes it may have over-volted everything hooked up to the box.
>loaded as much stuff as I had left on CD- and DVD-ROM (about half
>the 500GB I lost - please save me the scolding about timely backups)
>onto a second box, purchased an external enclosure and drive, and
>made a backup. Then, to see whether the original hard drives were
>really dead, I tried putting them into the external enclosure.
>They wouldn't spin up, and smelled bad, so I guess they are really
>and truly dead.
That smell -- when the magic smoke has escaped electrical constraints :)
>
>I put the original drive, to which I'd already made a successful
>backup, back into the enclosure - and now I'm getting the messages
>listed above. My guess is that the fried drives took out the
>USB->SATA converter in the external enclosure. Does this sound
>reasonable? (If so, I hope the new drive is still OK - not for
>the backup so much as the cost of a new drive.)
Reasonable? Yes, test by substitution?
Grant.
--
http://bugsplatter.id.au/
Charlie Gibbs
g_r_a...@dodo.com.au (Grant) writes:
> On 05 Oct 08 23:36:42 -0800, "Charlie Gibbs" <cgi...@kltpzyxm.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> "Backing up is hard to do." -- Neil Sedaka
>>
>> I just tried plugging an external USB hard drive into one of
>> my Linux boxes. The drive didn't appear, and dmesg showed the
>> following messages:
>>
>> hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
>> hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 3
>> hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 4
>> hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 1
>> hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
>
> I'm guessing they saying the USB device is fried and drawing too much
> current, USB supplies up to 500mA per port at 5V.
That was my guess too.
> Did you plug the device into all those ports?
No, just one; all the messages came out at once.
>> Can anyone tell me what these messages mean? (They sound like
>> the box found a defective USB device, but I'd like confirmation.)
>>
>> Here's some background:
>>
>> Recently the power supply in my main Linux box died, and in the
>> process it took out the motherboard, CPU, and hard drives. I
>
> Erk! Yes it may have over-volted everything hooked up to the box.
The folks at the local repair shop were impressed. Fortunately,
they replaced the motherboard and CPU under warranty, which was
very nice of them considering I had bought the power supply elsewhere.
>> loaded as much stuff as I had left on CD- and DVD-ROM (about half
>> the 500GB I lost - please save me the scolding about timely backups)
>> onto a second box, purchased an external enclosure and drive, and
>> made a backup. Then, to see whether the original hard drives were
>> really dead, I tried putting them into the external enclosure.
>> They wouldn't spin up, and smelled bad, so I guess they are really
>> and truly dead.
>
> That smell -- when the magic smoke has escaped electrical constraints
> :)
Yup. All too familiar...
>> I put the original drive, to which I'd already made a successful
>> backup, back into the enclosure - and now I'm getting the messages
>> listed above. My guess is that the fried drives took out the
>> USB->SATA converter in the external enclosure. Does this sound
>> reasonable? (If so, I hope the new drive is still OK - not for
>> the backup so much as the cost of a new drive.)
>
> Reasonable? Yes, test by substitution?
It's starting to sound like those stories on alt.folklore.computers,
where a disk pack crashes, the operator moves it to another drive,
crashes the other drive, mounts another pack on the original drive
and crashes it, and eventually wipes out the whole installation.
Only here the power supply kills drives, drives kill external
enclosure... I'm getting afraid to do too much more substitution.
I think I'll just get another external enclosure and leave it at that.
Walter Mautner
> "Backing up is hard to do." -- Neil Sedaka
>
> I just tried plugging an external USB hard drive into one of
> my Linux boxes. The drive didn't appear, and dmesg showed the
> following messages:
>
> hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
> hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 3
> hub 6-0:1.0: over-current change on port 4
> hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 1
> hub 2-0:1.0: over-current change on port 2
>
> Can anyone tell me what these messages mean? (They sound like
> the box found a defective USB device, but I'd like confirmation.)
>
Just overcurrent protection. Probably all these usb ports have a common 5v
rail supplying 500 mA max current.
> Here's some background:
>
> Recently the power supply in my main Linux box died, and in the
> process it took out the motherboard, CPU, and hard drives. I
> loaded as much stuff as I had left on CD- and DVD-ROM (about half
> the 500GB I lost - please save me the scolding about timely backups)
> onto a second box, purchased an external enclosure and drive, and
> made a backup. Then, to see whether the original hard drives were
> really dead, I tried putting them into the external enclosure.
> They wouldn't spin up, and smelled bad, so I guess they are really
> and truly dead.
>
Uh. Bad luck, indeed. Usually power supplies don't act up in such a bad way,
but the devil never sleeps. May have been some discharge from high voltage
circuit to secondary side, catalyzed by dust-bunnies or something alike.
> The enclosure is a Vantec NexStar CX with a USB->SATA converter -
> a very nice, sleek little box. The new drive is a Seagate Barracuda
> 7200.11 500GB SATA drive - which worked quite nicely until now, and
> which still spins up and makes satisfying little sounds when I turn
> it on in the enclosure. The dead drives are a Western Digital WD2000
> (200GB SATA) and Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (320GB SATA).
>
The enclosure does have a powerbrick? That one is plugged in and actually
does supply "some" voltage to the Vantec case? Is there a LED signalling
power?
Sometimes, when no power is supplied to a external case, it tries to draw
(too much) from the usb bus ...
I already have a external usb case with paperweight function (removed the
drive already) because the powerbrick which has a proprietary muti-pin
plug, is supplying too little voltage.
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Linux 2.6.24. [LinuxCounter#295241,ICQ#4918962]
Charlie Gibbs
leaf.20.e...@spamgourmet.com (Walter Mautner) writes:
> Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>
>> The enclosure is a Vantec NexStar CX with a USB->SATA converter -
>> a very nice, sleek little box. The new drive is a Seagate Barracuda
>> 7200.11 500GB SATA drive - which worked quite nicely until now, and
>> which still spins up and makes satisfying little sounds when I turn
>> it on in the enclosure. The dead drives are a Western Digital WD2000
>> (200GB SATA) and Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (320GB SATA).
>
> The enclosure does have a powerbrick? That one is plugged in and
> actually does supply "some" voltage to the Vantec case? Is there
> a LED signalling power?
> Sometimes, when no power is supplied to a external case, it tries
> to draw (too much) from the usb bus ...
That's interesting - I'll file it away for future reference.
I don't think that's the case this time - the LED comes on
and I can feel the drive spin up.
> I already have a external usb case with paperweight function (removed
> the drive already) because the powerbrick which has a proprietary
> muti-pin plug, is supplying too little voltage.
I guess I can add mine to the collection now, due to its blown
USB adapter. Maybe we'll eventually accumulate enough parts to
build a working box...