Problem with USB Disk

Please report issues such as screen artifacts, portions of intended display are not readable and similar clearly-wrong behavior, but focused on the presentation of results rather than the numerical nature.
HPMike
Posts: 439
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:01 pm
Location: DFW, Texas

Problem with USB Disk

Post by HPMike »

When I first connected my DM32 via USB disk to my PC, there was no problem. I then disconnected it first at the PC end where it verified that it was safe to remove the device, and then at the DM32 (C ENTER). However, when I reconnected, the PC made a sound acknowledging that something had happened, but the DM32 failed to appear as a drive, and in fact the PC did not recognize it as any kind of device which had been connected to it. I turned the DM32 OFF and ON and also tried reconnecting the cable to no avail. I then RESET the DM32, and it again connected properly. This situation repeats itself every time I attempt to disconnect and reconnect.

But before we jump to any conclusions, let me add that I have a file manager named Total Commander, which normally does not need to be closed before an external drive can be removed. It is simply necessary to log the file manager window to a different drive such as the internal hard drive C: in order for Windows to be able to disconnect the external drive. I have done this countless times with the DM42 and DM41X without any problems reconnecting as I've experienced with the DM32. In this case, I have to close the file manager first before disconnecting from the PC for the DM32 to disconnect properly it seems, since when I do this the problem I have described to longer occurs.
DM15L, S/N 00548. DM42, SN: 00159. DM41X, SN: 00973. DM32, SN 00054.
rprosperi
Posts: 1703
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:48 pm
Location: New York

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by rprosperi »

HPMike wrote:
Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:28 pm
When I first connected my DM32 via USB disk to my PC, there was no problem. I then disconnected it first at the PC end where it verified that it was safe to remove the device, and then at the DM32 (C ENTER). However, when I reconnected, the PC made a sound acknowledging that something had happened, but the DM32 failed to appear as a drive, and in fact the PC did not recognize it as any kind of device which had been connected to it. I turned the DM32 OFF and ON and also tried reconnecting the cable to no avail. I then RESET the DM32, and it again connected properly. This situation repeats itself every time I attempt to disconnect and reconnect.

But before we jump to any conclusions, let me add that I have a file manager named Total Commander, which normally does not need to be closed before an external drive can be removed. It is simply necessary to log the file manager window to a different drive such as the internal hard drive C: in order for Windows to be able to disconnect the external drive. I have done this countless times with the DM42 and DM41X without any problems reconnecting as I've experienced with the DM32. In this case, I have to close the file manager first before disconnecting from the PC for the DM32 to disconnect properly it seems, since when I do this the problem I have described to longer occurs.
Does this problem occur if you unplug the USB cable after disconnecting both ends, and then plugging back in and starting USB-DIsk mode?
--bob p

DM42: β00071 & 00282, DM41X: β00071 & 00656, DM10L: 071/100
HPMike
Posts: 439
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:01 pm
Location: DFW, Texas

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by HPMike »

rprosperi wrote:
Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:33 pm
HPMike wrote:
Wed Jun 07, 2023 11:28 pm
When I first connected my DM32 via USB disk to my PC, there was no problem. I then disconnected it first at the PC end where it verified that it was safe to remove the device, and then at the DM32 (C ENTER). However, when I reconnected, the PC made a sound acknowledging that something had happened, but the DM32 failed to appear as a drive, and in fact the PC did not recognize it as any kind of device which had been connected to it. I turned the DM32 OFF and ON and also tried reconnecting the cable to no avail. I then RESET the DM32, and it again connected properly. This situation repeats itself every time I attempt to disconnect and reconnect.

But before we jump to any conclusions, let me add that I have a file manager named Total Commander, which normally does not need to be closed before an external drive can be removed. It is simply necessary to log the file manager window to a different drive such as the internal hard drive C: in order for Windows to be able to disconnect the external drive. I have done this countless times with the DM42 and DM41X without any problems reconnecting as I've experienced with the DM32. In this case, I have to close the file manager first before disconnecting from the PC for the DM32 to disconnect properly it seems, since when I do this the problem I have described to longer occurs.
Does this problem occur if you unplug the USB cable after disconnecting both ends, and then plugging back in and starting USB-DIsk mode?
Yes. That's what I just said. The only apparent way to fix this is to hard RESET the calculator.
DM15L, S/N 00548. DM42, SN: 00159. DM41X, SN: 00973. DM32, SN 00054.
BruceH
Posts: 82
Joined: Sat May 06, 2017 2:39 am

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by BruceH »

Mike,

Are you still able to use Windows File Explorer even though Total Commander is installed? Switching over to it temporarily just to test that the USB hardware and cable are both working correctly would exclude a possible source of issues.

FWIW, I plug the cable into the computer first, then choose Setup->File->Activate USB on the calc, then plug the cable into the calc.

To unplug, I software eject from the computer first and only disconnect the cable from the calc once the display on the calc has returned to the File menu.
HPMike
Posts: 439
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:01 pm
Location: DFW, Texas

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by HPMike »

BruceH wrote:
Thu Jun 08, 2023 12:25 am
Mike,

Are you still able to use Windows File Explorer even though Total Commander is installed? Switching over to it temporarily just to test that the USB hardware and cable are both working correctly would exclude a possible source of issues.

FWIW, I plug the cable into the computer first, then choose Setup->File->Activate USB on the calc, then plug the cable into the calc.

To unplug, I software eject from the computer first and only disconnect the cable from the calc once the display on the calc has returned to the File menu.
Yes, it works properly with Windows File Explorer, which automatically closes when Windows disconnects the DM32 USB disk. It also works with another file manager called Powerdesk Pro, which must be closed before Windows will eject the DM32 USB disk. The problem occurs with Total Commander which does not close when Windows ejects the DM32, but does not exhibit this behavior with the DM42 or DM41X or any other USB flash drive. If I close Total Commander first, it works fine. I don't think it's a USB hardware or cable issue, but some weird interaction between Windows and the DM32 firmware, where Windows cannot identify the DM32 when it is reconnected, because it somehow did not previously disconnect properly, even though Windows said it did and that it was safe to physically disconnect.

Edit - Just now it did this even after I had first closed Total Commander before ejecting at the PC side. Total Commander was already open when I connected, so I am now connecting first, then opening Total Commander, then closing Total Commander and then ejecting. This seems to work, such that I don't have to RESET before making another USB connection.
DM15L, S/N 00548. DM42, SN: 00159. DM41X, SN: 00973. DM32, SN 00054.
HPMike
Posts: 439
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:01 pm
Location: DFW, Texas

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by HPMike »

I'm still having intermittent problems with the USB disk connection. Today I copied a file from the USB disk to my PC successfully, but when I attempted to copy a file from the PC to the USB disk, I first got an error from the PC that it couldn't copy the file because the destination disk was copy protected. I aborted the action, and then it lost connection, whereby the PC couldn't see the USB disk anymore. So I closed the file manager (Total Commander) and disconnected, first from the PC and then from the DM32. When I attempted to reconnect, it would not do so at the PC end, and I had to hard RESET the DM32 in order to get things working again.
DM15L, S/N 00548. DM42, SN: 00159. DM41X, SN: 00973. DM32, SN 00054.
rprosperi
Posts: 1703
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:48 pm
Location: New York

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by rprosperi »

Total Commander, though an excellent product, is known to 'grab and not let go' of some drives, even when changing the active windows to other media. I've never seen a clear and reliable explanation of why it does this and under what conditions, but it has been widely reported over the years. In the early days, it conflicted with some 3rd party disk cache utilities, and also with some low-level media (FDD) utilities.

One thing to check - do you have any of the many 3rd-party TC plug-in extensions installed? If so, try uninstalling them and see if it changes.

My overall advice though is to simply not use Total Commander, and stick with boring File Explorer. when using the DMxx products. I've read that you have not seen this behavior with the 41X, and I've no why they react differently, but that's the best way to avoid issues like you reported above.
--bob p

DM42: β00071 & 00282, DM41X: β00071 & 00656, DM10L: 071/100
HPMike
Posts: 439
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:01 pm
Location: DFW, Texas

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by HPMike »

rprosperi wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2023 9:33 pm
Total Commander, though an excellent product, is known to 'grab and not let go' of some drives, even when changing the active windows to other media. I've never seen a clear and reliable explanation of why it does this and under what conditions, but it has been widely reported over the years. In the early days, it conflicted with some 3rd party disk cache utilities, and also with some low-level media (FDD) utilities.

One thing to check - do you have any of the many 3rd-party TC plug-in extensions installed? If so, try uninstalling them and see if it changes.

My overall advice though is to simply not use Total Commander, and stick with boring File Explorer. when using the DMxx products. I've read that you have not seen this behavior with the 41X, and I've no why they react differently, but that's the best way to avoid issues like you reported above.
The thing is that if Total Commander was not releasing a drive, then Windows would refuse to eject it. I've also not had any problems with the DM42, and I've had it for five and a half years. Also, this second problem involved unintended loss of the USB connection as well, so it's more than just a problem with proper disconnection. As to using File Explorer, it totally sucks IMO, and I'll use one of my other files managers (PowerDesk Pro and ZTreeWin) instead. I still think there's some problem at the DM32 end.
DM15L, S/N 00548. DM42, SN: 00159. DM41X, SN: 00973. DM32, SN 00054.
Required
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:09 am

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by Required »

Regarding USB drive functionality.
I can report that it works properly on both macOS as well as iOS.
I’m the Required one.

42S: 3117S03858 | DM42: 08455 | DM32: 00166 | 15C CE: 00085
jimdyu1966
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2022 9:41 pm
Location: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, USA

Re: Problem with USB Disk

Post by jimdyu1966 »

Just received my new DM32 calculator today.

I really like the simplicity of this calculator....fast and simple....does its job nicely.

I also upgraded to the latest firmware - DMCP5_flash_3.50t25_DM32-2.03 without any issues.

I am also having some issues with the USB interface to the PC.....

a) works fine with my Windows 10 laptop

b) does not work with my Windows 11 laptop.......the laptop will recognize the calculator/drive but any file transfer to-from the calculator will hang-up and crash.

I am sure this will be fixed in future updates......thanks SM for a wonderful product and I will report any future findings.

Jim
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