[Q] usb drive vs sdhc for storage - Eee Pad Transformer Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So assuming I ever get my hands on a dock, is there much difference between using an sdhc card vs a usb drive for storing and watching movies? Obviously a con of the usb drive is that it sticks out, but beyond that, any major reasons to go with one or the other?

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[Q] G Tablet Reboot with External HDD

Hello,
I thought I'd try and see if anyone else is having a similar issue.
I recently picked up a western digital 500GB passport external hard drive.
I formatted the hard drive to fat32 and double checked there are no extra partitions on the drive.
I'm mostly running CyanogenMod 7 with stock kernal lately and I've found when I hook up the hard drive, the tablet stutters a bit and then reboots.
On bootup it gets to the unlock screen, and when it starts scanning the sd card, the scanning message starts to cycle quickly and the tablet reboots again.
I restored to a backup of vegan5.1 to test on it. Same thing, on insert the tablet starts to hang and reboots.
On vegan though, on the next reboot, it would start normally, but for some reason its not mounting the drive. I search under usbdrive and don't see the folder and file i put on it for testing.
Anyone else having issues like this? Could the problem be its a 2.5" drive and no external power? I know when its hooked up, the light comes on and I can feel the drive spin up and vibrating, so not sure whats going on.
Thanks for the help
That (not enough power) sounds exactly like what's happening, I.e., the drive is drawing so much current from USB that it's either causing voltage to the gtab internals to drop to the point that it resets.
Jim
If this is the case, does anyone know what 2.5" external hdd's will work with the power requirements? (Someone who has one that does work?)
You could always get a powered USB hub, provided that isn't too inconvenient to carry around.'
Edit - Most 2.5" external drives that didn't require external bricks that I have seen have a 2 prong USB adapter. One for data and power and the other for more power only, since each port maxes out at around 500mW I think. Obviously we have only one port, so a powered hub or a jury rig.
lordgodgeneral said:
If this is the case, does anyone know what 2.5" external hdd's will work with the power requirements? (Someone who has one that does work?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think others have gotten some drives to work, but not sure if they were 500gb. Also, even w a specific model, if the current draw or voltage are just 'on the edge's of working/not working, you may or may not get lucky.
BTW, have you tried w a thicker/heavier USB cable? Thinner/smaller gauge wire has more resistance, so voltage drop would be less over a shorter, heavier gauge cable than over a longer, smaller gauge cable. I have actually had drives not work, then switched to a thicker USB cable then it worked.
Jim
On a similar note, just yesterday I purchased an external USB DVD+/-RW for use with my netbook and tablet and it would not work without a powered hub between the tab and the DVD.
My 160GB ipod classic works fine, but my 1TB external drive that has an external power source doesn't work with any of the ROMs.
Does anybody know the maximum current supplied by the GTab's USB host port?
My 2.5" 500 GB External came with only a short (single) usb A to usb mini cable.
And it gets powered up fine from every laptop/netbook I have tried. They have always displayed 500 mA max current for each port.(when I look in Windows Device Manager, USB Root Hub).
Can the G-Tab supply up to 500 mA from it's USB host port??
I want to make sure it will work on a GTab before I buy it.
confirmed working external HD on g tablet
Using tnt lite 4.2.4, i personally have a 500gb formatted in fat32 working
model 500gb free agen go flex.
I've tried the latest WD passport SE, spun up and didnt detect in astro, ES file explore or stock file viewer
i have over 100gigs on this drive, about 80 of music and some Tosh.0 and everything pops up instantly and runs all the music fine out of MORTY music player... plays perfectly. Must have for your powerhouse. Hope this answers all the unanswered questions about external HD's on g tablet.
I have not tried stock rom or any other roms.
If you are looking for different external hard drives... make sure they are LOW POWER and NOT 3.0. 3.0 seems to require a driver to work. So its kinda hard to walk into a store and buy 2.0 only devices now.
Goodluck all.... i was using a patriot xt 64gb rage flash drive before this but 130 bucks is outrageous vs 75 i paid for the 500gb seagate.

[Q] Transformer storage related questions

Originally Posted by Matchstick View Post
I currenly have a Class 6 (I think) Sandisk 8GB micro-SDHC card in it that I was using in my HTC Desire so micro-SDHC cards should definitely work.
I have heard reports that you can't use a card > 16Gb in the tablet but that's unconfirmed AFAIK.
I've also heard rumours that the keyboard's full-size SD card slot will take SDXC format cards which supports >32Gb capacity but again I've seen no confirmation of that.
I am snapping this up as soon as it's released here.
Questions on the storage:
1-As mentioned above, is this confirmed that the tablet microSD won't accept anything larger than 8GB?
2- If i get the dock and say I have a 16gb microsd card in the tablet and 32gb sd card in the dock, i should be able to access BOTH of these from the tablet (while docked) correct? So theoretically, I would have 16GB-built in flash on tablet + 16GB microsd card on tablet + 32GB SD card in dock = 64GB?
3-I just want to find out if by docking the tablet, the tablet storage just acts like another drive?
Thanks
KG
1- Even though I have the original manual here as a pdf, there's no info on what is the maximum size of SD card in the tablet slot.
2- I'm 99% sure that it's like that. Everything else would be stupid because many android applications store data on the (tablet) sd card.
3- yes, quite sure it does.
As a plus, you can use the USB 2.0 ports to add external hard drives.
Quote from manual:
USB Port (2.0)
The USB (Universal Serial Bus) is compatible with USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 devices such as keyboards, pointing devices, flash disk drive and hard disk drives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope I could help.
Regards,
qwer23
There's a way to use USB host without the dock? I don't want to buy the keyboard because i've already got a 13" notebook for mobility, i just need a tablet but the USB host is necessary for me.
qwer23 said:
1- Even though I have the original manual here as a pdf, there's no info on what is the maximum size of SD card in the tablet slot.
2- I'm 99% sure that it's like that. Everything else would be stupid because many android applications store data on the (tablet) sd card.
3- yes, quite sure it does.
As a plus, you can use the USB 2.0 ports to add external hard drives.
Quote from manual:
Hope I could help.
Regards,
qwer23
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
In that case, I can't wait to get this tablet what a great concept, best of both worlds. No need to buy a case, just shut the lid and you can carry it on travel without worrying too much just like a laptop, with all the various expandability options, no need to worry about HDD space either.
When combined with dock, it actually has 2 3.5mm sockets, which means I can use 1 device and myself and my wife can watch the same thing with 2 headphones and not worry about viewing angles thanks to the IPS screen...
So long as the 16GB tablet+dock comes in at around $500 or less, I am good...!
KG
Any answer on maximum capacity?
qwer23 said:
1- Even though I have the original manual here as a pdf, there's no info on what is the maximum size of SD card in the tablet slot.
2- I'm 99% sure that it's like that. Everything else would be stupid because many android applications store data on the (tablet) sd card.
3- yes, quite sure it does.
As a plus, you can use the USB 2.0 ports to add external hard drives.
Quote from manual:
Hope I could help.
Regards,
qwer23
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you by any chance find out what is the maximum capacity of the microSD card that can be used in the tablet?
I have a 16Gb class 10 installed and working perfect. I'm just thinking to purchase one of 64Gb and I'm not sure it will work.
There is no rated max capacity, I've see people who put 128GB cards in there (NTFS formatted) that work fine.
That's great news. I'll try to find a good deal on a 64Gb card and use it with my Transformer
Does anyone know if we can connect an external USB drive to the TF101 without the dock? Thanks.
junks2010 said:
Does anyone know if we can connect an external USB drive to the TF101 without the dock? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you can but you need to mod your charging cord or buy the asus proprietary port/usb dongle

[Q] Hard Drives Compatible With USB ?

Does anyone know what the requirements/limits are for using a hard disk drive with the dock USB port ?
I am thinking about getting one of these for general purpose external storage, and it would be nice to get one that works with my transformer too.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hard-Driv...0000003142050&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=15222929
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Toshiba-C...ve-Black-with-White/15529168?findingMethod=rr
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expan...1000102/dp/tech-data/B0056YNA2U/ref=de_a_smtd
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Elements-Portable-External/dp/B003B8PPEY
well there is no usb 3.0 support so those are out unless you get a backwards compatible one. And you also have to check the power consumption i think it hase to be bellow 15volts but im not sure
As far as I know all USB 3.0 drives are backward compatible.
from what i have read most are compatible with highspeed usb 2.0 but allot less are compatible with regular 2.0 hubs
mrevankyle said:
from what i have read most are compatible with highspeed usb 2.0 but allot less are compatible with regular 2.0 hubs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What. There are 4 kinds of USB (not counting on the go, wireless and eventually others) : USB 1.0, USB 1.1, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0
Hi-Speed USB means just USB 2.0, Super Speed is USB 3.0 and the older ones are plain and simply USB.
The theorical top speeds are: 1.5mbps, 12mbps, 480mbps and finally 4000mbps
High speed was briefly and not standardized with USB 1.1 so some device makers had that nonsense on their hubs.
Maybe you misunderstood? Some drives don't like some hubs, but that's a power requirement... If the drive needs x volts and the hub can't offer them because it's already sharing the power with other devices and has no wall plug to get extra power, the drive will just spin up and down without ever starting. 3.5" drives always need their own power adapter, so those always work, 2.5" ones usually draw the power from the USB and as such might be a little hit and miss with hubs, however the Transformer powers them up quite well.
Western Digital makes awesome, reliable, fast and quiet drives, I do have an USB 2.0 My Passport... And several others in various devices
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
shaneledford said:
Does anyone know what the requirements/limits are for using a hard disk drive with the dock USB port ?
I am thinking about getting one of these for general purpose external storage, and it would be nice to get one that works with my transformer too.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hard-Driv...0000003142050&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=15222929
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Toshiba-C...ve-Black-with-White/15529168?findingMethod=rr
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expan...1000102/dp/tech-data/B0056YNA2U/ref=de_a_smtd
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Elements-Portable-External/dp/B003B8PPEY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't recommend any of those drives. I would instead go with something like THIS HDD, THIS external enclosure and THIS retractable USB 2.0 A-Male to Mini 5-Pin. I have this setup and I also have one with an 120gb SSD. Incidentally, if you go with a SSD there is no motor that has to spin the platters because there's no moving parts so it uses less battery power than the first HDD I showed you. Also I know on the Vantec enclosure it says capable for up to 160gb drives but if you look at the details it says up to 750gb HDD's. I can confirm this because mine is a 750gb HDD.
Got a Buffalostation that works well. If it's the best or not, I wouldn't know.
AcIdC0R3 said:
I wouldn't recommend any of those drives. I would instead go with something like THIS HDD, THIS external enclosure and THIS retractable USB 2.0 A-Male to Mini 5-Pin. I have this setup and I also have one with an 120gb SSD. Incidentally, if you go with a SSD there is no motor that has to spin the platters because there's no moving parts so it uses less battery power than the first HDD I showed you. Also I know on the Vantec enclosure it says capable for up to 160gb drives but if you look at the details it says up to 750gb HDD's. I can confirm this because mine is a 750gb HDD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far that's the most expensive and less bang for the buck option XD
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
droidjens said:
Got a Buffalostation that works well. If it's the best or not, I wouldn't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks everyone. So far It looks like this one is a pretty good choice. It has good reviews and if its confirmed working on the Transformer I might go ahead and grab it.
Hope it'll serve you well.
I just remembered that I had to re-format it to NTFS before the Transformer would recognize it. Just thought I'd let you know.
AlexTheStampede said:
So far that's the most expensive and less bang for the buck option XD
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...but extremely dependable, very effective and lower power consuming than any of those Buffalo drives. I have a Buffalo NAS drive and they're good for that but as for using one for a portable drive I would not. If you're going to use a regular HDD I would at least go with a Seagate or Western Digital drive as they tend to be better drives and are far quieter than any other brand on the market today. Yeah it may be a little more expensive but it's worth it. At least it was for me that is.
i have a 350g western digital that ive had forever.
This drive arrived in the mail the other day. So far, so good; it was easily recognized by the TF. Not sure how fast it drains power as I haven't used it for too long yet, but it's silent. I also have an old 320GB Western Digital drive in an enclosure from five years ago that my TF sees, too. So, I have backups of backups. And that's not including the (2) 32gb cards I'll have once the second one shows up next week.
r_nt said:
This drive arrived in the mail the other day. So far, so good; it was easily recognized by the TF. Not sure how fast it drains power as I haven't used it for too long yet, but it's silent. I also have an old 320GB Western Digital drive in an enclosure from five years ago that my TF sees, too. So, I have backups of backups. And that's not including the (2) 32gb cards I'll have once the second one shows up next week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why 2 32g micro sd cards? i find the one 32g in the tab and a 128g in the dock work just fine, and i have my 320g external if i need more. i dont think i coud stand switching out sd cards all the time...
sonami said:
why 2 32g micro sd cards? i find the one 32g in the tab and a 128g in the dock work just fine, and i have my 320g external if i need more. i dont think i coud stand switching out sd cards all the time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only one of the cards is micro; the other is full-sized. No switching necessary.

OTG Pen drive 32/64 Gig and form factor?

I am considering buying an Otg pen drive to expand capacity as well as keeping some important wip data off device, but want to know if anybody has tried them in 32 or 64 Gig capacities and how is their form factor as don't want it sticking like sore thumb that could likely damage the USB port. A unit with micro USB on side would likely be better suited, if anyone came across a model that kind?
intelliriffer said:
I am considering buying an Otg pen drive to expand capacity as well as keeping some important wip data off device, but want to know if anybody has tried them in 32 or 64 Gig capacities and how is their form factor as don't want it sticking like sore thumb that could likely damage the USB port. A unit with micro USB on side would likely be better suited, if anyone came across a model that kind?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using 3 USB thumg drives. 128 GB and 64GB. SandDisk and Kingston they work with no problems.
Also Meenova MiniMicroSD card reader with 64GB micro SD that works without the OTG dongle.
All work fine.
Shofar1 said:
I am using 3 USB thumg drives. 128 GB and 64GB. SandDisk and Kingston they work with no problems.
Also Meenova MiniMicroSD card reader with 64GB micro SD that works without the OTG dongle.
All work fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,
Do your thumb drives have internal OTG /,MicroUsb (as i don't want to use a dongle cable).
Just Might as well get that Card Reader anyways as that opens up a lot of possibilities.
Thumb drives require dongle.
Meenova goes direct but as for now only 64GB.

Can anyone recommend a VERY small micro USB flash drive?

See, my phone (Moto X 2013) supports OTG, but does not have a micro SD slot.
It only has 16 GB of storage which has proven to fall short for my needs because I love listening to music on the go, and I have a lot of music.
Another thing is that the USB port of my phone has some short of false contact after years of use, so sometimes a little wiggle can make it disconnect, this is the main reason why I want the USB to be so small, so that when I walk with it on my pocket, it doesn't get disconnected because I touched it 'wrong'.
So that's the question, do you know of any small micro USB device (without the need of a micro USB adapter because it adds length and volume)?
Something like the Sandisk Cruze but on a micro USB form, something that looks more like the USB plug of a wireless keyboard than a USB storage device. Thank you.
As a side note, I was thinking of those phone cases that serve as external batteries, well if there was something like that but that served as a micro SD to micro USB adapter, I could use that. The thing is that I have seen no such thing for sale and even if there was, I doubt I would be able to find one for my exact phone model from 7 years ago.

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