Embarrassing question.......

[EcclesCake]

Forgive me for this but......

What function might a black box 6"x6"x1" that has Buffalo imprinted on it serve to do?

It is wired to a desk top which is switched off yet the Buffalo box never stops chuntering!!!

Might it be a separate HD for backing up, if so why does it never stop chuntering when the PC is off????

[Haggisdj]

Buffalo do make external drives amonst other things http://www.buffalo-technology.com/en/

[Nibble]

Almost certainly, EC, as I have a Buffalo external HD sitting next to my desktop, which has perfomed excellently for the past 5 years with no outages.

[EcclesCake]

Ok, so we've confirmed that it is almost certainly an external HD.

Why does it chunter* incessantly when the PC it appears to be attached to is shut down?

*Chunter is a little used technical term for something that doesn't stop making a noise; usually reaching a crescendo at 03.00hrs.

[weecalf]

could it be an ox box only asking

[EcclesCake]

lol Weecalf.

I'm giving serious consideration to having buffalo burgers for supper this evening.......

[ChuckFickens]

A lot of computers keep the USB ports powered up when the computer is off these days, it's useful for charging things like phones/tablets

To stop it you can firstly try plugging the hard drive into a different USB port, as often it's only one or two that provide power when the computer is off (often the front ones, so if it's a desktop computer try plugging the drive into a rear USB port)

If that doesn't work there is normally an option in the computers BIOS to enable/disable power to the ports when off, but without any details of what the make and model of computer is though it's not possible to give any useful advice on how to change this.

[EcclesCake]

Ok, so I've had a poke around in the spaghetti and it seems that the external HD is plugged into the router, which in turn is plugged into the rear USB ports of the PC. So, might it be the various laptops in the house that are making the Buffalo box chunter?

The desktop is a Dell Inspiron, running.....I think Windows 7.....

[ChuckFickens]

If it's plugged into the router it might be a network attached drive rather than a USB drive. (either that or you have a BT home hub, which is the only router I'm aware of you can plug USB drive into)

Surely somebody in the house must have set it up and know what it is?

[EcclesCake]

"Surely somebody in the house must have set it up and know what it is?" Easier said than done, I think I might have to settle on buffalo burgers for supper or suffocating the poor beast, either way I will stop it making a friggin' noise.

[ChuckFickens]

Unplug it and see who shouts :)

[MarkRae]

If you go into Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) how many hard drives does your computer see? Windows will almost certainly be running on the C: drive. If the machine has a second hard disk, that'll probably be D: or, if not, then the CD / DVD drive will probably be the D: drive. Can you see a drive with a drive letter further up the alphabet than D:...?

[EcclesCake]

@ MR, the laptop I use or the DT that the router/Ext HD are connected to?

[EcclesCake]

Doh, read question fully...just a tick....

[EcclesCake]

There are two 'E' & 'F' both identified as 'Removable Disk'.

Only the E drive comes up as actually being there though, insofar as it gives details of space available.