USB 3.0 Problem

[jikirga]

So as the title says, I'm having some issues connecting over USB 3.0 with my Seagate External 3TB HD. For some reason this particular HD connects fine over USB 2.0, but almost never connects over USB 3.0 (on very rare occasions it will connect). I know it's not a driver issue since I am able to connect other External HDs over the USB 3.0 ports without any problems and I've also tried connecting this particular HD to my laptop and it results in the same problem regarding the USB 3.0 connectivity issue, so it's definitely a problem with HD itself.

I can see that the HD spins up and the light turns on when I connect it over USB 3.0, but it doesn't get recognized by my PC, and doesn't show up in the Disk Management either. Does anyone have any idea what can be causing this and if there is anything I can do to fix this issue? I have nearly filled up this HD and want to copy the data from it over to a bigger one, and I shudder at the time it would take to transfer 3TBs worth of data over USB 2.0 as opposed to 3.0.

 

[Geekwad]

I would start with this:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

 

[jikirga]

I would start with this:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

I did the Short Drive Test and the HD passed.

 

[Geekwad]

Have you tried it with a different cable?

 

[jikirga]

Have you tried it with a different cable?

Yes, I've tried using the cable from the 2 other HDs I have which definitely work with my USB 3.0 ports. I am certain that the issue is with the HD itself; just not sure what it could be since it does connect over USB 2.0 and it does connect over USB 3.0 like 2% of the time.

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there jikirga,

Given the facts that the HDD sometimes connects to USB 3.0 ports and that you've tried attaching the drive with a different cable, I would say that there is something wrong with the enclosure(USB port).
In case the drive is under warranty, you can contact the place where you got it from.
It will not hurt to test the drive with some brand specific tool after you back up your data as well.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[jikirga]

Hi there jikirga,

Given the facts that the HDD sometimes connects to USB 3.0 ports and that you've tried attaching the drive with a different cable, I would say that there is something wrong with the enclosure(USB port).
In case the drive is under warranty, you can contact the place where you got it from.
It will not hurt to test the drive with some brand specific tool after you back up your data as well.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

If there was a problem with the enclosure, wouldn't it have trouble connecting over USB 2.0 as well?

 

[D_Know_WD]

Not really. If there is something wrong with the port, the drive may work just fine when attached to USB 2.0 but not 3.0.
Check this thread out: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2824943/external-hard-drive-work-usb.html

D_Know_WD

 

[jikirga]

Not really. If there is something wrong with the port, the drive may work just fine when attached to USB 2.0 but not 3.0.
Check this thread out: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2824943/external-hard-drive-work-usb.html

D_Know_WD

I suppose if that's the case then it really might boil down to there being a problem with enclosure. The warranty is already void on the HD so I guess my only option is to transfer all the data over USB 2.0 speeds, which is a bummer.

Thanks for the help.

 

[D_Know_WD]

In case you really need that USB 3.0 connection, you can consider what the guy in the thread has done: got a third party enclosure.
Yet, this may not work in case the drive has proprietary connectors or some sort of hardware encryption.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD