Why would a USB 3.0 drive not work when connected to a USB 3.0 port?

[KublaiKhan]

It's not that the drive doesn't work: It's working when connected to other USB 2.0 ports. I even get the message that it would run faster if connected to a USB 3.0 port.

It's not that the ports aren't working: They are fine when other USB 2.0 drives are connected to them.

But when I connect the 3.0 drive to the 3.0 port, nothing happens. No detection of the drive.

These two ports are built into the motherboard.

Any ideas?

Motherboard: EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 SLI3

Drivers: Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller and Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Root Hub

Drive: Western Digital My Book 3 TB WDBFJK0030HBK-04

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

I'm obviously not the first to have this problem.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, KublaiKhan!

Unfortunately, it's true, you are not the first one to have such connectivity issues! 🙁 However, I think that the first thing you should do is go to your motherboard manufacturer's website and re-install the USB 3.0 hub drivers from there again. If you have another USB 3.0 port on your computer, I'd suggest you to try plugging the WD My Book there.
I'd also check the external on another computer and make sure that it's detected by the USB 3.0 port there. If you have a spare USB cable, I'd recommend you to swap them and see if that will get the HDD recognized. Here's an article from our KB that might be useful as well: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=WhTTiG

Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[KublaiKhan]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that when EVGA added this feature on the motherboard, it wasn't ready for prime time. Either port at the back of the PC is touchy. The drive works. The cable works.

I uninstalled the devices via Device Manager and allowed Windows to reinstall during a reboot. I did not actually delete the device drivers. But it started working. A power hit caused it to stop working, which I remedied by reconnecting the USB 3.0 cable.

While it "worked," it is slow. It's probably slower than when connected to USB 2.0.

Eventually, I removed the new drive and added it to my router, WNDR4500, which is only USB 2.0 compatible, anyway. But I'd like to figure this out for the next drive I buy.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hi again, KublaiKhan!

I'm concerned about that speed, though. Do you have a spare USB cable to test the external with? I'd also recommend you to run the QUICK and EXTENDED diagnostic tests using WD's Data LifeGuard utility. Here's a link to it: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=U0z653
It will help us determine the health and SMART status of the drive.

As for your motherboard's USB 3.0 port issues, I'd recommend you to get in touch with their customer support and ask them for assistance.

Keep me posted though.
SuperSoph_WD