3.0 usb ports not working properly?

[QuestinMarks]

i don't know if my 3.0 usb port on my laptop are being properly used or not.

why i wonder this is because, if i connect a hdd with a 3.0 usb cable and put it in my laptops 3.0 usb port, i always get a message saying that the hdd will run faster if i connect it to a 3.0 usb port.
which is strange because all my usb ports are 3.0 (it's blue).

is this normal or not?
if not what can i do to fix this?

 

[Stingerxxx]

I've only ran into this personally when drivers are not correctly installed for the device or the ports, or if the device itself is damaged somehow. Used to happen to me all the time, years ago, with USB 2.0. I'd plug in a flash drive I'd had for years, one of the good old 512kb drives, and it'd tell me to use a 2.0 port to increase speed.

Did this just start happening? Have you successfully used that drive/cable with that port/ports previously? Do you remember if/when it changed, and if you changed/installed/uninstalled any software/hardware around that time?

 

[QuestinMarks]

I've only ran into this personally when drivers are not correctly installed for the device or the ports, or if the device itself is damaged somehow. Used to happen to me all the time, years ago, with USB 2.0. I'd plug in a flash drive I'd had for years, one of the good old 512kb drives, and it'd tell me to use a 2.0 port to increase speed.

Did this just start happening? Have you successfully used that drive/cable with that port/ports previously? Do you remember if/when it changed, and if you changed/installed/uninstalled any software/hardware around that time?

i don't know when it changed, but it has been like this for long time(more than a year i think), so i don't i can't remember the installed software, no hardware changes.
i don't have any problems with hdd's or usb, only the message.

 

[Stingerxxx]

Ok, so the best route forward in my opinion is to assume, for simplicity, that it has always been this way. Pretty simple to troubleshoot.

Identify the model of your laptop. Should be on the bottom, somewhere around the battery. Go to the manufacturers website and look for driver support. It should allow you to select your model at that point. Browse for USB drivers, then locate the 3.0 driver. Download, then install. It should contain an .EXE file for easy installation. After install, whether it asks you to or not, I would reboot. The reason for this is that USB drivers are loaded during the boot sequence into windows. Rebooting allows the new driver to fully initialize. Ensure that you do not have any devices other then those necessary plugged in during this time, such as mouse and keyboard. After windows has fully booted, plug in your drive and see if it recognizes the 3.0 plug. Let us know how it works ^.^