usb connect issue

Hi,
I got a macbook pro 15". I never had any problems with my usb ports. But I now have a Toshiba portable external hard drive. Sometimes it will recognize it, mostly it will not. And it is the same on both ports. The funny thing is that it powers the hard drive (the light comes on and you feel the stuff working), but the light on the cable does not come on. Also, after I try it on a port, it somehow disables it for other things (mainly my remote mouse/keyboard) until I restart it a few times. And it seems if one of the ports reads, the other will not. And it is like that for either side. Is there something I am to do with disc utility to get this all working?
Thanks---george

Sounds like the drive is drawing more power than a single USB port can provide.

Did the drive come with a "Y" cable to allow you to plug in to two ports?

No it didn't. I could get one...do you think I could go into a hub on one of the sides? I only have 2 usbs.

If you use a powered-hub, you might find it working most consistently. There is a limit on the amount of power that is available on the USB ports per USB standards and a lot of devices require more power than is available to operate..

Regards

The powered hub could be a solution but if you want to maintain as much portability as possible the "Y" cable might be a better solution.

USB, even USB2, on Macs is just so so for performance. Firewire will work better and faster.