USB 3 External HDD Problems when connecting to USB 2 Port

Theokondak · Feb 24, 2016

I am a photographer, and i need a lot of storage space in order to store and backup my images, so i got three USB 3 External HDD devices but only 2 USB 3 Ports in my motherboard.

When i put my WD My Book 2tb external HDD into a usb port it works fine. When i restart my PC though, i get an error message " Unknown USB Device" for this HDD. If i unplug the electricity plug and then put it back, windows recognise my drive properly, but after a computer restart i get the same error again.

I did some research and found that the problem might be that i plug a USB 3 HDD to a USB 2 port.

The device can be seen in the Device Management but its stated as,
Unknown USB device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)
In Properties-> general I get this error message which is very generic:

Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)

A request for the USB device descriptor failed.
In Order to fix the issue, I uninstalled the drivers of the device and let windows reinstall it.
I tried to change USB port but again didn't help.

WD My Book 1140 USB Device
Manufacturer Western Digital
Form Factor GB/2.5-inch
Heads 16
Cylinders 243,197
Tracks 62,015,235
Sectors 3,906,959,805
SATA type SATA-III 6.0Gb/s
Device type Fixed
ATA Standard ACS3
Serial Number CVTR5205040B240CGN
Firmware Version Number RG20
LBA Size 48-bit LBA
Power On Count 273 times
Power On Time 23.3 days
Speed Not used (SSD Drive)
Features S.M.A.R.T., APM, NCQ, TRIM, SSD
Max. Transfer Mode SATA III 6.0Gb/s
Used Transfer Mode SATA III 6.0Gb/s
Interface USB (SATA)
Capacity 1862 GB
Real size 2,000,365,289,472 bytes
RAID Type None
S.M.A.R.T
Status Good
Temperature 31 °C
Temperature Range OK (less than 50 °C)
S.M.A.R.T attributes

Phillip Corcoran · Feb 24, 2016

Make sure external hard drives are unplugged from either mains supply or USB (either will do, no need to disconnect both) before you boot up or restart your PC.

Reconnect them when required, only when Windows is up and running.

Boogieman_WD · Feb 24, 2016

Hey there, Theokondak.

Really sorry to hear about the issues you're experiencing with your drive.

Does this happen just with this HDD? I'd recommend that you try it with a different computer as well, to see if the same thing happens. Basically there shouldn't be an issue with a USB 3.0 drive when connected to a USB 2.0 port as the interface is backwards compatible. You could also try reinstalling or updating the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller's driver, to see if it fixes things up.
If you have any suspicions whatsoever that there might be something wrong with the HDD, please backup all files as soon as possible and test the drive with DLG (Data Lifeguard), to see if there's anything out of the ordinary: How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

Theokondak · Feb 24, 2016

Phillip Corcoran :

That's what i am currently doing in order to make it work, but this is not a solution to the problem. I am trying to find a proper solution to this problem.

Boogieman_WD :

Yes. This happens with this particular HDD only. I updated the firmware to the latest just couple of days ago to see if that fixes the problem. The problem got fixed for some days (not sure what fixed it though), but now I get it again. I ran several tests on the HDD but none returned any kind of problem.

About USB Controller: I tried every possible setting available. I tried to reinstal, update, disable/enable, change the drive to another USB 2 Port but nothing helped.

Paperdoc · Feb 24, 2016

Your story is familiar, and I would bet the trouble is power.

Background: USB2 ports can supply 5VDC power up to 0.5 amps per port to connected devices. Portable hard drives are designed with HDD units inside that require less power than desktop units. BUT very few of them can run on only 0.5 amps. That is why so many USB2 Portable Hard Drives came with a special cable with TWO USB2 connectors on one end. You have to plug BOTH of them into different USB ports to get enough power to run that drive.

Now USB3 comes along and, among other improvements, it can supply up to 0.9 amps per port. That IS enough to power a decent Portable Hard Drive, so now the new USB3 units come only with a USB3 cable with a single connector on each end. And it works just fine - IF you plug into a USB3 port! BUT if you plug into a USB2 port, even using the USB3 cable, the unit can't get enough power - it is limited to the 0.5 amps available on the older port. Often the result is a HDD that partially works but not quite right, and it can get confusing.

So, what to do about that?
1. Always use USB3 Portable Hard drives ONLY on a USB3 port, and using a USB3 cable.
2. If you have to use a USB3 drive on USB2 ports, get one of those old USB2 cables with 2 connectors on one end. Use it to connect to TWO USBB2 ports on the host computer so that it can get enough power. Data transfer will be slower becasue of the old port's design.
3. Another alternative that DOES work - I've done it. Get a powered USB3 hub - one that comes with its own power brick sufficient to ensure that all of the hub's ports can supply the proper 0.9 amps each, without drawing any power from the host computer. Now plug that into any USB2 or USB3 port on your host computer. If you use a USB3 port, it will all work very well. Even if you are using a USB2 port on the host computer, all the items plugged into the hub will have enough power to work properly; it's just that the data transfer speed will be the slower speed of the old USB2 port.

inhaliburton · Feb 24, 2016

Very comprehensive and understandable information, Paperdoc. I found it very useful.
Regards, Paul.

Theokondak · Feb 25, 2016

Paperdoc :

Your story is familiar, and I would bet the trouble is power.

Background: USB2 ports can supply 5VDC power up to 0.5 amps per port to connected devices. Portable hard drives are designed with HDD units inside that require less power than desktop units. BUT very few of them can run on only 0.5 amps. That is why so many USB2 Portable Hard Drives came with a special cable with TWO USB2 connectors on one end. You have to plug BOTH of them into different USB ports to get enough power to run that drive.

Now USB3 comes along and, among other improvements, it can supply up to 0.9 amps per port. That IS enough to power a decent Portable Hard Drive, so now the new USB3 units come only with a USB3 cable with a single connector on each end. And it works just fine - IF you plug into a USB3 port! BUT if you plug into a USB2 port, even using the USB3 cable, the unit can't get enough power - it is limited to the 0.5 amps available on the older port. Often the result is a HDD that partially works but not quite right, and it can get confusing.

So, what to do about that?
1. Always use USB3 Portable Hard drives ONLY on a USB3 port, and using a USB3 cable.
2. If you have to use a USB3 drive on USB2 ports, get one of those old USB2 cables with 2 connectors on one end. Use it to connect to TWO USBB2 ports on the host computer so that it can get enough power. Data transfer will be slower because of the old port's design.
3. Another alternative that DOES work - I've done it. Get a powered USB3 hub - one that comes with its own power brick sufficient to ensure that all of the hub's ports can supply the proper 0.9 amps each, without drawing any power from the host computer. Now plug that into any USB2 or USB3 port on your host computer. If you use a USB3 port, it will all work very well. Even if you are using a USB2 port on the host computer, all the items plugged into the hub will have enough power to work properly; it's just that the data transfer speed will be the slower speed of the old USB2 port.

Thanks for your thorough reply. My HDD is a 3.5'' HDD with external supply. Do you think that the USB 0.5 amps can cause a problem nevertheless? Unfortunately I have only 1 USB 2 cable with double connectors and this one is not functioning alright. I will buy a USB 3 Expansion PCI Express Card.

Boogieman_WD · Feb 25, 2016

That's what I was about to say (about My Book being a desktop drive - externally powered). Other than that @Paperdoc's info is quite useful and should be remembered.
Have you tried the drive with a different computer's USB port to see if the same thing happens? Getting a different cable might help as well in case this one has become faulty somehow.

Paperdoc · Feb 25, 2016

OK, since the MyBook drive is externally powered, power should not be your problem. I don't know if there is any way to verify that the external power supply module actually is supplying power fully to the MyBook unit. Upon looking further I realize now that this unit never was designed to work using solely power from a USB port; it MUST have its external power supply module attached and working. The module supplies 12 VDC at 1.5 amps, or 18 Watts, much more than any USB port can do.

I agree with Boogieman_WD (I'm sure he / she knows) that an external drive with its own power supply should have no trouble working with either a USB2 or USB3 port. (Of course, on a USB2 port it would be a bit slower, but it will work.) So if you do have trouble, the only sources can be the connecting cable, the power supply module, or the computer's USB port or driver. As Boogieman suggested, trying it with a different computer can address the ports and drivers issue; trying a new cable is a different troubleshooting test. Verifying sufficient function of the power supply module is a little more difficult.

ArtPog · Feb 25, 2016

I've never personally encountered the problem you've detailed but I thought (assuming you haven't done so previously) you might be interested in perusing the following links that appear to be relevant re the issue you're experiencing...
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=unknown+usb+device+(device+descriptor+request+failed)+code+43

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USB 3 External HDD Problems when connecting to USB 2 Port

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inhaliburton

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