Solved USB3 ext drive -- Weird error

jimbo45

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Hi there
Anybody else had this error.

USB3 external drive (Samsung 1 TB self powered) connected to a USB3 Hub connected to a USB3 card on a desktop computer now no longer recognised -- not even visible and the led on the USB3 Hub fails to light up.

Connect to standard USB2 slot (note USB2) slot disk is fine and works normally although at USB2 transfer rates.

Now if I connect this disk to the USB3 port on my laptop it works fine (and at USB3 speeds).

I've re-formatted -- FULL -- the drive but same problems.

Other USB3 drives plugged in to the USB3 Hub work normally. I've swapped the USB3 hub between the two ports on the computer and also tried using different slots on the hub -- same problem --disk just not recognized or even visible.

Is it possible for a USB3 drive to "Partially downgrade" itself to USB2 or should I just cut my losses on this drive -- backup the data and just bin the drive.

Seems a shame to bin a 1 TB drive that seems still to work - although I could be buying trouble.

I've never seen an error like this before -- disks IMO either work or become defective --they don't "Downgrade".

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Only thing you might try is to go to device manager, right click on one of the devices and perform a "scan for hardware changes". I have had problem like this with a USB flash and this got it to recognize.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    AMD X4 9850
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4A785 M
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD 4200
Only thing you might try is to go to device manager, right click on one of the devices and perform a "scan for hardware changes". I have had problem like this with a USB flash and this got it to recognize.

Hi there
Thanks

What seemed to fix problem was I removed the USB3 card from the desktop pci express type of card, and inserted it back into the other pci express slot.

Got "Installing hardware" icon - and it's fine.

Tested on laptop as well -- also got "Installing hardware" and also working -- so something must have jigged the firmware I guess.

Problem solved -- disk drive now working properly at normal USB3 speeds.

Can't understand though why the other two USB3 drives worked normally -- these were the 2TB pocket sized self powered WD My passport types -- they are much more robust than the usual WD devices -- I've even dropped one a couple of times -- don't do that as a mechanical stress test though.

Normally I rate Samsung stuff as pretty well "Battleship build" standard.

Cheers
jimbo.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I had the same thing, where my 1TB WD Passport stopped working with my USB3 card for no apparent reason and it made no difference whether I used the Windows drivers or the Renesas drivers. Windows showed the fault as a 'Video Hardware Error' in Action Centre and logged the problem as a LiveKernelEvent.

I cured it the same way you did by disconnecting the power cable and removing the USB3 card from the PCI slot, then reinserted it (although I used the same slot). That was over three months ago and it's been OK since. Strange.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 64-bit
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