Windows 10 external HDD disconnect and reconnect randomly please help!!

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

AussiePCgamer

Commendable
Sep 12, 2016
5
0
1,510
Hello toms hardware community,
I have a big problem which I need fixed asap. I am a YouTuber and to keep space free on my Internal HDD I put all my channel's stuff onto an External 1TB HDD. I have had Windows 10 since release and have fixed many problems with it. Within the last few weeks my external HDD has started to disconnect and reconnect randomly when I am accessing footage on it from my video editor and when the system is Idle doing absolutely nothing. I have changed all the USB power management settings as my ports used to shutdown and then not restart since then I have had no problems until now. I have looked it up online and I have already made all the recommended changes. I am fairly certain it is not the drive it's self as SMART has not detected anything and Crystal Disk Info says there are no problems with it. I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me. System info is as follows:

HDD = Seagate Backup Plus 1TB
Video editor: Adobe Premiere Elements 13
OS: Windows 10 Pro x64
Motherboard: AsRock 970 Extreme 3
Port being used: Rear USB 3.0 after using front USB 3.0
Note: This drive is running in better performance mode as video transfer took way too long without it. Also I have tried the drive in an Windows 8.1 machine and I have not noticed this problem.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
J

Joshua French

Reputable
Mar 26, 2014
73
0
4,660
First of all, either its: A) a bad usb port on the HDD, B) a bad usb port on the computer, C) a bad usb cable that connects the two, or D) a bad hard drive all together. If I had to guess, I'd say it's the cable b/c that happened to me before and I thought it was a hard drive when it was actually the Usb 3 cord that was loosing connection randomly.

Diagnosing: First, plug into different USB port and see if it acts up. If it doesn't, then try to wiggle the cable while it it running, if it connects and disconnects, then you know it it the cord or the HDD port. Else, if that doesn't work, then try to benchmark or stress the drive via something like crystal disk mark. If it disconnects then, then you know it's the HDD and you should replace it. Also, software the Defragger can map the HDD and see if it has bad sectors and I think crystal disk info can read the smart data on the HDD to see if it's erroring. Else, Seagate Dashboard can definitely do that.
Also, what you-tube channel if you don't mind me asking?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

AussiePCgamer

Commendable
Sep 12, 2016
5
0
1,510


Wow thanks for the fast reply :) I did think it may be the cable but as I said it works fine in my windows 8.1 machine. I will try your solution anyway and report back.
I have two YouTube channels, Brute Cast and Brute Gaming. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6kiRwZygy8GuCriiBXA_PA
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdUIG7El5Fnu03PHkhDx6bQ I haven't been at it too long but I really enjoy it :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

AussiePCgamer

Commendable
Sep 12, 2016
5
0
1,510
Ok so I have checked some things with the drive as you suggested. I wiggled the cable while the drive was running and nothing happened. I tested the drive with Crystal Disk mark and it did disconnect then reconnect once before the final read test however the test continued as if nothing happened so idk. I then checked it with Defraggler and found a 68% fragmentation. After attempting to fix this the drive disconnected and then reconnected. I will try again and if it works I will run another benchmark. However at this point I am thinking it may be best to move my files to my internal drive and format the external.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

AussiePCgamer

Commendable
Sep 12, 2016
5
0
1,510
Alright so after trying to repair the drive multiple times it became completely unusable. It was only when I plugged it into my windows 8.1 laptop that I was able to use it again however the laptop has hardly any space so luckily I was able to transfer my files to my win 10 pc via google drive. Sadly tho I was not able to transfer my videos as they were way too big so they have been deleted. This isn't a huge problem however as they are all on YouTube channels and I wasn't planning on keeping them forever anyway. All my important files are safely on my internal drive and are in perfect condition. I have learned my lesson and I will leave this post up for anyone to read and hopefully learn from. Do not rely completely on an external drive to store your files. Always keep a master copy on your internal drive and use the external one for backup purposes only. If you have a lot of video content like I do I highly recommend making a backup to a server pc just to be safe. I will be building one when I have the money not just for this but to host applications as well. I still believe the problem was not the drive itself but with Windows 10. I have had problems with USB devices before and as I said the drive was working completely fine on my 8.1 laptop. Anyway I have completely formatted the drive and will look at stress testing it later to make sure. At least I got some great Hard drive software out of this :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom