USB external HD spooks boot

Hi. I have a brand new Acer Aspire with Windows 8 installed. Every time I booted up, after about 1 or 2 seconds it repeated the beep and booted again, in an endless cycle. After a while, through a sheer coincidence, I discovered that if I disconnect the USB external HD, the PC will boot normally, and I then need to plug in the USB cable again.
Apart from this minor annoyance, I'm worried that a USB cable isn't designed or robust enough to take unplugging and plugging back in a couple of times a day.
Since the reboot cycle kicks in so early, I'm assuming it's something in the POST routine or the BIOS which is causing it. But I've been through all the setup options and can't find anything which looks as though I could reset it to recognise an external HD.
Grateful for any advice.

 

Hi Steve and thanks for swift reply. No, it's not hard wired, so I guess I'll just have to live with the inconvenience, unless someone comes up with a solution for both of us.

Obviously a new USB cable costs only peanuts, but I was also hoping to avoid the wear and tear on the socket it plugs in to.

I'll mark this "resolved" in a couple of days if there are no further suggestions.

 

Did you try plugging the external Hard drive in to another USB port or uninstalling and reinstalling the drive.

 

Hi LJ and thanks. Yes, I tried all available USB ports. No, no way I would want to uninstall and reinstall it - too much archive material and backups on board! Anyway, as I said, it appears to be a hardware recognition problem, since the bootup loop restarts within seconds of switching on.

 

Hi Tony - thanks for advice.

I thought I had the boot order set right (1: HD; 2: CD-ROM; no others), but I printed your post off and checked it all out again to be sure. It was in fact all OK, and nothing I tried there had any effect. Luckily I have a USB socket on the front side, so it's not an enormous hassle to unplug and re-plug. But, as I said, it's an annoyance and can't be doing the plugs and sockets any good.

Thanks anyway - it was worth trying.

 

I should have been more specific. I meant uninstalling, restarting the computer, and then reinstalling the driver in the Device Manager. Does the manufacturer have any updates for your product.

 

Yes! It was indeeed the USB legacy support - many thanks, Tony. Spin-off advantage: I can now plug the drive semi-permanently into a USB socket on the back plate, freeing up the one on the front for temporary stuff like headphones.

 

That's helpful, Tony - thanks again.