USB constant dropouts

[MidnightDistort]

Got an external drive that consistently drops out on USB. Doesn't typically do this but for some reason or another it is doing it every 3-10 minutes and it's driving me nuts, what can i do to fix this or what is causing this?

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there MidnightDistort,

This sounds a lot like a loose connection/faulty cable issue.

This is why, you can start with something simple as just connecting the drive with a different USB cable.
As there may be something wrong with the USB port as well, it may be a good idea to connect the drive to another port as well. You can try the port on the back of the casing.
The best thing you can do is to just connect the drive to another system. This way, you will be sure whether the issue is system related or there's something wrong with the drive itself.

Let me know how this goes,
D_Know_WD

 

[MidnightDistort]

Interestingly enough the problem hasn't happened since i unplugged/re-plugged the power for the external hard drive.

Edit: Upon looking further the USB cord did seem a bit loose, i think playing with the power cord had intervertanly fixed the USB cord. Don't know how that got loose in the first place though considering i haven't touched any of that stuff in a month. It's automatically turned on when my PC is turned on and when my PC is turned off, i turn everything else off with a surge protector (that is connected to it) which is in a different spot and the only way to move the USB cord is to actually move the cord or the PC which again is strange that the USB cord to the external drive (not the PC) would be loose.

That was a simple fix though i was a bit annoyed when waking up and hearing my music go out every 3-10 minutes and was thinking it was something serious. I feel silly for asking something so basic...

I was thinking it had something to do with the computer, what would it be if the actual USB would go bad? I have had some weird USB issues with this PC in the past, if i plug something into the USB another device would stop working and i recently had a USB bluetooth device installed which was 4 days ago. Another strange thing that normally does happen, when i turn off the monitor it sounds like a USB device is being unplugged which is strange. Nothing really happens whenever that occurs but i thought that might be a bigger issue down the road.

 

[D_Know_WD]

Most of the times the ports are just fine and the issue is either driver or cable/HDD enclosure related one. Generally, external HDD tend to be less reliable than internals, so it is always a good idea to keep your data stored on at least two place.
Also, the USB ports on the back are directly attached to the MOBO. So, when you think that a certain USB port is going bad, you can just attach the device to these ports.

Apart from all this, I guess you can go to the MOBO's website and update your USB drivers. This could sort some of the USB related issues out.
Regarding the monitor sound, I guess you could update its drivers as well. If this doesn't solve the problem, you can just contact its manufacturer(e-mail, phone, etc.)

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[MidnightDistort]

As it turns out the problem lies with too many connections. I had to pull out some of the USB peripherals and that was the direct issue, no more problems with random disconnections.