External harddrives disconnecting randomly

abactuon · Feb 27, 2024

egozi44 said:
powershell command

Win+X
Terminal (Admin) (PowerShell)
Copy Paste

hdmi · Feb 28, 2024

Winuser said:
If you are running too many USB devices at the same time and they are using power from the computer than I guess that could be your problem. If not I'm suspecting the keyboard and/or mouse because the way I understand it is that they were used on both computers.

It's been almost 3 weeks since I posted my reply about replacing the keyboard/mouse. As for the power, a typical PCIe expansion card that adds four USB 3.0 ports may not always be the best solution, as it takes up space inside the PC, and often times this also means it restricts airflow in such a particular way that if a discrete GPU card is present, there can be a noticeable sacrifice as for the temperature level under load. So, it just clutters up the interior of the PC so it looks less clean, and dust also builds up on the card that adds the USB ports which has an impact on regular maintenance and to clean out the dust, but on some motherboards, depending on the design it can happen that it also limits bandwidth on other ports like one or more SATA ports or on other stuff like the main PCIe slot thereby reducing the GPU from x16 speed to only x8, for example. That's why going for a decent powered USB 3.0 hub can often be a better choice (but certainly not always). Another possible benefit is that a powered USB hub can usually be placed in a spot where it is more comfortable to reach, and can also help to avoid other annoyances like cables being too short and breaking the USB ports on the back of the motherboard due to accidental pulling the cables etc.. not to mention the fact that powered USB hubs with a power-status-LED-and-power-switch next to each port to let you turn on/off the ports individuallly can tend to be a lot more than just a little bit handy sometimes.

Winuser · Feb 28, 2024

hdmi said:
That's why going for a decent powered USB 3.0 hub can often be a better choice

Both of my desktops have powered USB hubs with switches. When I'm done with the drive I click on the Safley Remove Hardware and select it. Then I can remove it or just turn off the one port. I wanted a small USB C hub but couldn't find one that filled my needs. Most of them had short cords and a few were to expensive. I decide to go with a SSB C male to USB C female cable instead. I only connect my Samsung 2 TB T7 drive in when I make or restore an image. Now I can plug the short cable connected to the drive into the extension cable. I was worried that in time the socket on the drive would get wore and become loose.

hdmi · Feb 29, 2024

Winuser said:
I wanted a small USB C hub but couldn't find one that filled my needs. Most of them had short cords and a few were to expensive.

Here: https://www.amazon.com/Rosonway-Individual-Switches-Aluminum-RSH-A107C/dp/B0BXRY4QZ5

Winuser · Feb 29, 2024

hdmi said:
Here: Amazon.com

Nice but more than I want to spend. I only have three drives that use USB C. Two Samsung SSDs and one NVMe drive in an external case. I did add it to my Amazon list though.

hdmi · Feb 29, 2024

Winuser said:
Nice but more than I want to spend. I only have three drives that use USB C. Two Samsung SSDs and one NVMe drive in an external case. I did add it to my Amazon list though.

How much you or anyone else wants to spend is not for me to decide. But I know from experience that the cheaper ones automatically translate to the traditional-old "buy cheap = buy twice" conclusion a lot more often than not. The aluminum housing also helps to protect the more sensitive intestines against electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI), and the fact that the walwart delivers 12V power output also helps to keep it stable so it doesn't suddenly lose the connection during the transferring of your folders and files that would otherwise make your hair stand up straight with typical frustration a lot.

Winuser · Feb 29, 2024

hdmi said:
Here: https://www.amazon.com/Rosonway-Individual-Switches-Aluminum-RSH-A107C/dp/B0BXRY4QZ5

Looks like I'm going have to buy a USB C Hub after all. Macrium won't create an Image on the drive when it's connected thru the extension cable. I tried three times and the imaging failed. I had to connect the drive directly to the computer.

hdmi · Feb 29, 2024

Winuser said:
Looks like I'm going have to buy a USB C Hub after all. Macrium won't create an Image on the drive when it's connected thru the extension cable. I tried three times and the imaging failed. I had to connect the drive directly to the computer.

With the 10% coupon on Amazon right now it's less than $30. I have the 16-port USB 3.0 version with the 100W power supply plugged into my laptop 24/7. (The actual laptop itself only has a 90W power supply.

)

Winuser · Feb 29, 2024

hdmi said:
With the 10% coupon on Amazon right now it's less than $30. I have the 16-port USB 3.0 version with the 100W power supply plugged into my laptop 24/7. (The actual laptop itself only has a 90W power supply. )

If it doesn't get delayed I'll have it tomorrow. I am puzzled about not being able to make an image when the drive was connected to the extension cable. The drive was recognized and I could access my files on it.

archfoto · Feb 29, 2024

Hi egozi44 -
I will throw in my 2-cents worth. I have a SSD main drive in the computer. I run 3, and at one time, 4 external powered large Seagate USB drives from my computer. I purchased a USB 3.1 & 3.2 expansion card with 4-USB-A and 3-USB-C connectors to hook the USB drives to. No electrical power comes from any of those ports, only data. So far, all seem happy. I frequently put the computer to sleep, and the drives follow suit, but awaken with the computer.
I have always found that the more simple the setup, the less chance for problems to manifest themselves.
There were not enough USB 3.0 ports on my new computer for my needs, but there was an expansion slot. I hope you solve your problem.

hdmi · Feb 29, 2024

Winuser said:
If it doesn't get delayed I'll have it tomorrow. I am puzzled about not being able to make an image when the drive was connected to the extension cable. The drive was recognized and I could access my files on it.

USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 operating at 10 Gb/s has a maximum cable length of 3 meters (9 feet and 10 inches), albeit that limitation can be bypassed by using an active USB extension cable (or, alternatively, by using a specialized converter solution that transforms the connection from USB to Ethernet, then back to USB again). But even if the total length of the passive cable connection you use doesn't exceed the aforementioned maximum limit, shorter and/or better-insulated, larger gauge USB cables can still help to reduce the potential risk of falling victim to too much signal degradation. How to Beat the Maximum USB Cable Length Limit

Winuser · Feb 29, 2024

hdmi said:
USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 operating at 10 Gb/s has a maximum cable length of 3 meters (9 feet and 10 inches), albeit that limitation can be bypassed by using an active USB extension cable (or, alternatively, by using a specialized converter solution that transforms the connection from USB to Ethernet, then back to USB again). But even if the total length of the passive cable connection you use doesn't exceed the aforementioned maximum limit, shorter and/or better-insulated, larger gauge USB cables can still help to reduce the potential risk of falling victim to too much signal degradation. How to Beat the Maximum USB Cable Length Limit

Not sure what gen the USB C port is but the total length of the cables is 3' 6". For what ever the reason Macrium wouldn't make the image. On the plus side I'll have another USB hub. What I was worried about was by plugging and unplugging the USB C cable from the drive it was going to wear out the socket.

hdmi · Feb 29, 2024

Winuser said:
Not sure what gen the USB C port is

Winuser · Mar 2, 2024

@hdmi The USB hub is setup and as a test I made a Macrium image to my USB SSD and it worked. The computer uses USB 3.1.

Berton · Mar 2, 2024

This is what I use, not USB-C but the switches are convenient at times with not having to work with cables.

Amazon.com

Winuser · Mar 2, 2024

Berton said:
This is what I use, not USB-C but the switches are convenient at times with not having to work with cables.

Amazon.com

I have two Atolla 7 port USB 3.0 hubs. One for each of my desktops. Now my main desktop has the Atolla and the Rosonway USB C Hub that @hdmi linked to. I use the charging port on the Atolla for my hearing aid charger. Amazon.com

hdmi · Mar 2, 2024

Winuser said:
I have two Atolla 7 port USB 3.0 hubs. One for each of my desktops. Now my main desktop has the Atolla and the Rosonway USB C Hub that @hdmi linked to. I use the charging port on the Atolla for my hearing aid charger. Amazon.com

The Rosonway also supports the BC 1.2 charging protocol (with a maximum charging current of 2.4A). As a result, you should be able to use the Rosonway to charge at the same charging rate as that of the Atolla's charging port, no matter which port you choose on the Rosonway to do the charging with.

egozi44 · Mar 4, 2024

What I think about doing is trying this card and hope it will solve my issue

Amazon.com

Unlike with other cards reviews this one don't seem to have the common issues all of the reviewers talked about
(Sudden death, drivers not working on win11 or outdated, ports not working sometimes, card not work unless its in the PCIe x8 slot, etc.)

And it seem to work fine with the PCIE X1 slot which shouldn't take my GPU speed slot down to x8,
My case got some space and many fans and should be good location wise so I don't think it will affect the airflow much and I clean the pc from dust every year,

I rather won't add things to the mobo but I'm desperate as is,
from what some people assuming, some of these power issues tend to come from how some brands handles the last USB 3.1 gens slots but who knows if it's really the case or relate to my issue, but that card is a usb 3 and a bit slower but hopefullt won't have the suggested issues even if it's just some random speculations~

I already have a decent self powered USB hub (as I've mentioed few times before) and confirmed the issue keep happing when it's not connected to the PC, and I'm not using the hub to connect any other decivces aside from hard drives,

Even assumingly the keyboard and mouse are at fault (which I don't think is the case) I'm not going to change them any time soon and rather try to reduce the load off the mobo controllers if possible, unlike with hubs (which if you consider my keyboard and monitors additonal usb slots which may not be self powered but does the same thing) USB card shouldn't add more burden to controllers consider how they're separated and don't requires a USB cable to be plugged-in ~~(unlike the hubs which may be self powered but still relies on the mobo controllers)~~ but rather conncet directly via the PCIe slot.

abactuon said:
Win+X
Terminal (Admin) (PowerShell)
Copy Paste

View attachment 88500

So I need to open the terminal,

Use this comment

# USB selective suspend setting (Default on; 0 - "Off")
powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 2a737441-1930-4402-8d77-b2bebba308a3 48e6b7a6-50f5-4782-a5d4-53bb8f07e226 0
powercfg /SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT

And it should open this menu you've posted? : o

abactuon · Mar 4, 2024

After making changes to the Windows registry, you should check, in this case
powercfg -energy

Analyze the system for the most common problems related to power efficiency and battery life.
The ENERGY command should be used when the computer is idle and no programs or documents are open.
The ENERGY command command creates an HTML report file in the current directory.
The ENERGY command supports the following optional parameters:

Usage: POWERCFG -ENERGY [-OUTPUT < file_name >] [-XML] [-DURATION < seconds >]

POWERCFG -ENERGY -TRACE [-D: < PATH_TO_FILE_PATH >] [-DURATION < SECONDS >]

-OUTPUT < file_name > - the path and name of the HTML file that will store the energy consumption report.
-XML - Create a report file in XML format.
-TRACE - Record computer behavior without performing analysis. Trace files will be created in the current directory if the -D parameter is not specified
-D < PATH_to_FILE > - directory where trace data will be stored.
Can be used only with the -TRACE parameter.
-DURATION < SECONDS > - the number of seconds for which the computer behavior will be monitored.
The default value is 60 seconds.

External harddrives disconnecting randomly

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