External h/d crashes Linux

[Xenon]

I have recently purchased a "Buffalo DriveStation USB2.0 External Hard Drive" and I have found that when some files are copied to the device my Linux system completely locks up, no way to kill the X-server or do anything for that matter. This has also occured when I copy through command line. I have tried this in Windows and no problems but then Plug-and-Pray devices do tend to be a bit funny in Linux due to the software they require although integration is getting better.

[cheetahman]

What File system is it formatted as and how big is the hardrive

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/storage.php

[Xenon]

It is 80GB and currently formatted with FAT32 which is what it came as.

[cheetahman]

Do you plug it in before you turn the computer on

[Xenon]

Normally I do, I makes no difference whether it was plugged in before booting or after, it mounts itself fine both ways but still suffers from the problem.

[cheetahman]

I also have an external hardrive which is a maxtor 120Gb and it works fine in linux and windows and is also fat 32.

[twoHats]

Hi - I put together one of those deals where you buy an external case and put your drive in it. I had problems with (i believe) overheating of the drive if i did large copies - with much the same results - somehow the system is waiting for the drive forever. (this, of course, is a bug

I finally waited for a cool day (trying to make a backup of 40G) and it worked. The drive seemed fine for small copies and normal use, even on a warm day.

Try using a household fan pointing directly at the drive.

HTH -

[Xenon]

I shall attempt that suggestion but seeming as though it accepts large transfers when using Windows on the same machine it seems more like a Linux bug. I will be using SuSE 9.3 soon which will hopefully fix the bug.