Connected a cheap USB HDD Caddy, Blue Screen, system would not turn off - got very hot

I had heard about this blue screen "of death" but never personally had it.
Said it was doing a full core memory dump and turning itself off to prevent damage to the Laptop!

The cooling fan on the Laptop went ballistic! TBH it took me a few minutes to turn it off. The exhaust grill was pumping out very hot air!
Fortunately it was on Laptop cooler with 3 fans ( that normally keep the laptop very cool)!

In Vaio care I tested the hardware ,memory , usb, processor all passed ok ! And I rebooted in safe mode OK, shut it down and rebooted. Ran up OK and now runs like normal. Will the heat have damaged it?

Where can I look to see like a report on the fault on Win 7 Home Premium?

Very unhappy as I was so delighted with the results of the SSD drive.

I have ordered a different Sata USB caddy, but dare I try it to see if the old 500 Gb HDD is still OK?

I was using a Y splitter cable attached to a 5v 1.3 amp USB charger when I got the Blue Screen. Hence my concern as there was more power ( amps) available than the normal USB port. I checked the charger was a stable 5v before using it.
But I had lots of problems before with the single USB 3.0 cable supplied withthe HDD enclosure. Hence I bought the Y cable , to rule out inadequate power supply issues. In hindsight that wouldnt have helped if it shorted out.
It was Constantly stopping , saying I needed , Administrator powers,constantly starting autoplay etc.

The old disc specs says in read and write it uses 2.3 watts max ( this is 460 Ma so OK ) but in Power up it can use 1.1 amps - I think USB 3.0 is up to 900 ma - but I did read somewhere it can be up to 1.5amps. Hence my reason for using the Y splitter.

Am I right that a device ie the HDD caddy,bwont be hurt by having more amps available?
Any advice most welcome.

I wouldn't try using some kind of Y splitter on a USB port....EVER....if this enclosure doesn't have an external power jack, then I wouldn't use it for hard drives. It's not that expensive to get a proper enclosure (or heck, a portable USB3 HD...I've bought several 2 TB drives now and they all work well).

USB ports are meant to operate at a certain power: and if the device requires more, then it will have a seperate power connection as well. You may or may not have burned out components in the USB controller: best to plug in a proper USB3 device and see if the USB port still functions. I think the caddy is OK: your computer's port may or may not be. Usually, a device only draws what amps it needs. But there can be components that overheat and burn out if the rest of the circuit draws in more power then what it was designed for.

davesrose wrote in post #17643680
I wouldn't try using some kind of Y splitter on a USB port....EVER....if this enclosure doesn't have an external power jack, then I wouldn't use it for hard drives. It's not that expensive to get a proper enclosure (or heck, a portable USB3 HD...I've bought several 2 TB drives now and they all work well).

USB ports are meant to operate at a certain power: and if the device requires more, then it will have a seperate power connection as well. You may or may not have burned out components in the USB controller: best to plug in a proper USB3 device and see if the USB port still functions.

Totally take your point the money would be much better spent putting towards the WD Passport range of external USB drives. 2 TB for £60!
I only did it as I wanted to get to my data, on 2 discs from 2 old laptops that died ( broken srceen hinges).
I tried the USB 3.0 port as suggested on a MS wireless mouse and a WD 2 TB drive and all works well, plus it passed the Sony hardware USB diagnostics and shows as working correctly in Decpvice Manager . So I am hoping its OK.
Lesso n learnt eh!
I have ordered an endlosure with a seperate power jack, but am having difficulty sourcing a 3.5mm barrel power connector with a 1.25mm pin ( well thats the manufacturers spec - strangley they dont sell the leads! As they say its not really necessary with a USB 3.0 port! - go figure that logic ?
Once I have got my data off it, I will not be using it ! Other than to format the drive and sell it. Assuming its working perfectly.

OK, sounds like you didn't permenantly damage anything. But don't tempt the fates again

I don't have any USB3 caddies, but years ago, I did get a 2.5 SATA to USB2 enclosure. Still works OK for trying to retrieve data off old drives. For regular use external drives, hard to beat those portable USB3 HDs now!

Quick update the new caddy works fine its by Inateck, and it works fine but still cant find a power barrel connector 3.5 OD 1.25 ID.

So the iHarbort enclosure is definitely faulty - avoid those ones.
No plans to use this a permenant feature , just migration toy.

You can force any processor -- even while one is apparently 'stuck' -- to turn off simply by holding down the Power button for 8 seconds (or thereabouts).

On a smartphone, you might hold both the Power button and the VolumeUP button at the same time, to force it to reboot.

I have a Winstars Communicator D2, docking station. It has two 3.5/2.5 combo ports, that allow you to simply plug a SATA drive directly into it. It's also go a set of memory card slots, as well as a SIM reader and Bluetooth adapter. The nice thing about it is that it will clone a drive for you without the aid of a computer. It's only USB 2, but it also has an eSATA connection, although this only supports a single drive. I got it from Maplin a while ago, I expect that they now have a similar unit that supports the latest interfaces.

I like it because as well as being able to clone a disk, it means that you can use normal SATA disks, without enclosures for backups.

Alan

Wilt wrote in post #17651657
You can force any processor -- even while one is apparently 'stuck' -- to turn off simply by holding down the Power button for 8 seconds (or thereabouts).

On a smartphone, you might hold both the Power button and the VolumeUP button at the same time, to force it to reboot.

Thanks - it was my first ever Blue Screen of death so - panicked as I read through it, and maybe didnt hold the power button long enough as the fan started to roar.

BigAl007 wrote in post #17651859
I have a Winstars Communicator D2, docking station. It has two 3.5/2.5 combo ports, that allow you to simply plug a SATA drive directly into it. It's also go a set of memory card slots, as well as a SIM reader and Bluetooth adapter. The nice thing about it is that it will clone a drive for you without the aid of a computer. It's only USB 2, but it also has an eSATA connection, although this only supports a single drive. I got it from Maplin a while ago, I expect that they now have a similar unit that supports the latest interfaces.

I like it because as well as being able to clone a disk, it means that you can use normal SATA disks, without enclosures for backups.

Alan

Thanks thats an interesting solution.

Submariner wrote in post #17651526
So the iHarbort enclosure is definitely faulty - avoid those ones.
No plans to use this a permenant feature , just migration toy.

Wait, your OP mentioned using a splitter power cable going directly into the USB interface. That was included with the iHarbort??? I can't see how any company, no matter how cheap, would have that: it's just begging for problems. Anyway, glad the new enclosure is working. Yeah, they're good for retrieving data off old drives, but the portable USB3 HDs are practically a dime a dozen now!

davesrose wrote in post #17653095
Wait, your OP mentioned using a splitter power cable going directly into the USB interface. That was included with the iHarbort??? I can't see how any company, no matter how cheap, would have that: it's just begging for problems. Anyway, glad the new enclosure is working. Yeah, they're good for retrieving data off old drives, but the portable USB3 HDs are practically a dime a dozen now!

Thanks Dave
Interested why the splitter cable would be a problem, ( but I agree it seems to be a problem) .
As having more power ( amps) available shouldn't go back down the USB Port should it? I would have thought it would just stop the device drawing more power than the USB port can supply i.e. 1.1 amps on power up verses 900 Ma being the USB standard.
I always though a device would only draw what poer it needed.
Or is there much more to USB than I thought.?

Just to clarify the iHarbort did not come withthe Y cable I only used that as I had loads of problems before trying it. I.e I thought these problems were due to a loack of amps available from the USB 3 port.

I only tried it , as I bought a nother really cheap USB 2.0 caddy for my other old 120 MB IDE Pata HDD, which came with a Y Cable. and strangely that had no problems, when I put one cable into the USB 3 port and the other into very thin ( I assume power only) cable into a 5V Dc Nokia charger ( having checked it was a definite 5Vs ( well 4.99V measured).
So I am puzzled.

Well I think you do risk damaging the USB interface (or controller) adding extra power in that circuit (it's bi-directional after all). External HDs that have large SATA drives come with external power connections: the extra power is staying separate from the USB interface.

davesrose wrote in post #17653472
Well I think you do risk damaging the USB interface (or controller) adding extra power in that circuit (it's bi-directional after all). External HDs that have large SATA drives come with external power connections: the extra power is staying separate from the USB interface.

Thanks seems sensible - i did gomthat route with the replacement Sata enclosure. Only to be stuffed that the supplier cant tell me which 3.5 mm OD power connector to use. They initially said it was an ID of 1.25mm that does not exist. Trying a 3.5mm x 1.3mm connector on its own does not turn the light on !! So I have no way of knowi g if its actually powering the dam thing.
But I am now looking at putting the 500 GB drive intothe Sony ODD bay. ( agsin hitting difficulties finding out relevant power usage of the Blu Ray writer .... God I hate computers).