W520 hangs on boot when a WD SES USB drive is connected [ Edited ]

[jeantremblay44]

Hi,

Computer: W520

Hard drive: Western Digital - My Passport (SES Drive - encrypted)

When I boot with the usb hard drive connected to any usb port on the computer, the computer hangs forever at boot time. If I unplug the drive and reboot, everything is fine. I was able to fix the problem by disabling the USB support in the bios but then, none of the USB ports work in Windows.

I believe this is due to the SES function of the WD usb hard drive (see: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3701/~/computer-freezes-when-it-restarts-with-a-wd-m... 

Also, a previous post with a similar problem was written on this board but provided no working solution (see: http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W520-won-t-boot-with-SES-device-connected-to-U...

Thanks in advance for your help.

[tanujhanda Retired Partner]

Hello jeantremblay44,

As I understand the laptop cannot boot if the external USB drive is connected.

Kindly try the following troubleshooting step

You can make the USB boot disable from BIOS and make the first boot device as Hard Disk

Best Regards,

Tanuj

[jeantremblay44]

Hi Tanuj,

I cannot boot with that specific drive that's right. As for your solution, I tried it again (as stated in my original post, I had tried disabling the USB UEFI SUPPORT in BIOS) and it still hangs on the Lenovo logo.

Regards,

J

[tanujhanda Retired Partner]

Hi jeantremblay44

Please update the WD hard drive firmware and also check another USB cable

Best Regards,

Tanuj

[jeantremblay44]

Hi again,

I just tried updating the firmware and I am already using the latest version. Tried anoter usb cable as well. Same problem.

[tanujhanda Retired Partner]

Hi

Kindly have the updated BIOS and check if you have the option of USB legacy mode in BIOS, make it disable.

Best Regards,

Tanuj

[jeantremblay44]

Hi Tanuj,

The BIOS of the W520 is at the latest version. I do not see a "legacy mode" in BIOS, are you sure it is available on that perticular model's BIOS?

Regards,

J

[ThorsHammer]

Let me guess, the drive is plugged into a blue USB 3.0 port.

[jeantremblay44]

Hi ThorsHammer,

The device is USB 3.0 indeed. However, the problem is the same no matter port I use (usb 2 or 3)

Regards,

[ThorsHammer]

I have seen the problem you describe, but only when using the USB 3.0 ports.

However, given there appears to be a design defect in the W520 and how it handles electrical grounding, this may be related.  I really don't know.

I am referring to the recent posts in the thread at http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W520-shuts-off-intermittently-no-BSOD-or-shut-...

Apparently the RAM cover on the bottom is causing issues with static electricity, discharges, and may be the possible culprit in the year long search to understand sudden shutoff syndrome.