Can't use USB Hard Drives

[JimmyW]

Since installing Service Pack 2 on my XP 64 system, I can't attach USB hard drives. The USB removal tool recognizes the device and then hangs. The drive is not recognized in Windows Explorer, and I cannot open Device Manager. I also can't stop the device or close the removal window. None of my applications will open, although their processes may start. Removing the USB device does nothing to resolve the issue. I have, however, been able to use a USB thumb drive, which is recognized as a mass storage device. The only way out is a forced power down. Any ideas? Thanks!

[cluberti]

From http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=90244:

Memory dump of the entire system:

1. Create or set the following registry value:
Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
Value: CrashOnCtrlScroll
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 1

2. Right-Click on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and select "Properties", then click the "Advanced tab. On the "Advanced" tab, click "Settings" under the "Performance" header. Click the "Advanced" tab, then click "Change" under "Virtual Memory". Set the pagefile to be located on the partition where the OS is installed, and set it to be equal to Physical RAM + 50 MB.

3. Also in the "System Properties" window on the "Advanced" tab, click the "Settings" buttun under the "Startup and Recovery" header. Make sure "Complete Memory Dump" is selected (see 3a if this is not in the list). You can change the location of the memory dump file to a different local partition if you do not have enough room on the partition where the OS is installed.

3a. If the "Complete Memory Dump" option in step 3 is not available, you will need to manually set this registry value:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl
Value: CrashDumpEnabled
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

4. You will need to reboot for these changes to take effect.

5. The next time that the system is hanging with a USB device attached, hold down the RIGHT CTRL key and press the SCROLL LOCK key twice to cause the machine to bugcheck and create a memory dump. After the box comes back up, you'll find the resulting memory dump file in %systemroot%\memory.dmp that can be analyzed.

I'd like to look at that dump, btw.

[JimmyW]

Thanks very much. I'd like to give that a try and would be happy to send the dump file to you. Now, my page file is on another physical drive, but I can change that. I have 8GB physical RAM in the box, although XP is seeing less. Before I begin, is that going to be an issue?

[cluberti]

Whatever XP sees, make a page file of that size + 64MB or so on the boot volume, and you should be set (obviously a reboot is required, but you should be good to go once you've done that). Once we have a good, working memory dump, you can set everything back to the way it was.

[JimmyW]

I still need to do the dump, but I found that the same freeze up occurs if I plug in a portable drive through a 1394b card. So, it's not only USB. There is no problem on the XP32 side of the machine, so I don't think it's hardware. I have no problem with USB dongles/keyboard/mouse. It seems to come down to an issue where XP64 won't handle a mass storage device.

Edited April 14, 2007 by JimmyW

[bluescreens]

From http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=90244:

Memory dump of the entire system:

1. Create or set the following registry value:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters

Value: CrashOnCtrlScroll

Type: REG_DWORD

Data: 1

What do you do with an E2 dump to find the problem? !analyze -v tells essentially nothing with a dump created like that, so then what's the next step?

[cluberti]

What do you do with an E2 dump to find the problem? !analyze -v tells essentially nothing with a dump created like that, so then what's the next step?

- !analyze -v isn't debugging, it's just a jumping-off point. PM me, and I'll give you a location to upload the dump to so I can take a good look at it.