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Thread ID: 126243 2012-08-15 22:34:00 Missing USB3 drive (another case) BBCmicro (15761) Press F1
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1294979 2012-08-15 22:34:00 The 1 TB USB3 portable drive (MyPassport 0740) that was the subject of a thread in Nov 2011 came right after I reformatted it but has now reverted to its old ways. It is not recognised on startup if connected to the computer when the start button is pressed. I am reluctant to reformat it again - 1TB is a lot of data!:

pressf1.pcworld.co.nz

I have now contacted WD again but after 2 weeks have received only a holding reply. (But I've received the job-completed satisfaction feedback form!)

My feeling is that USB3 still isn't a totally mature technology. (I have read the Colin Salt thread)

Here is my email to WD:

Hi Raudy - thanks for your prompt reply.

I tried another USB3 cable (that came with a MyPassport 0748 2TB drive that I have): no change, the 1TB MyPassport 0740 is still not recognised on startup

I also tried the 1TB drive on another USB3 port: still no joy

I tried the 2TB drive on both USB3 ports: that drive was recognised OK on both of them

I tried the (faulty) 1TB drive on a USB2 port: was recognised OK

I tried safely-ejecting the drive before shutting the computer down (but leaving the drive connected and AC still on): drive still not recognised on startup

In the BIOS (which is F8, GA-Z68XP-UD3 Rev1.0) both of the MyPassport drives are listed EXCEPT when the 1TB drive is connected to a USB3 port, which causes the 1TB drive to be not listed. In this condition it spins and the light is on continuously.

Rescan in Disk Management does nothing but disconnecting and reconnecting works OK. Everything is OK and up-to-date in Device Manager. I have turned off QuickBoot on the Gigabyte motherboard but that didn't do anything 		BBCmicro (15761)
1294980 2012-08-16 03:50:00 Change the HDD to use USB2 then. pctek (84)
1294981 2012-08-16 04:40:00 yes that would work

But it's a bit like connecting your computer to your TV with a VGA cable, as somebody in another thread was suggesting - quite a step backwards.

Disconnecting and reconnecting would also work. Trouble is, these portable drives are designed for laptops and the cable they supply is only 390mm long. Using it with a desktop means grovelling around on the floor in the gloom and dust 		BBCmicro (15761)
1294982 2012-08-16 20:29:00 I bought a Seagate USB 3.0 External the other day and it did the exact same thing.I eventually un-installed the NEC USB Driver and re-installed from my motherboard disk.It worked.
Weird because the driver said it was working properly before. 		sk69ersnz (13476)
1294983 2012-08-17 23:18:00 When I shut down the computer the motherboard supplies volts to the USB3 ports (presumably as a battery charging facility?) and the attached drive never gets the chance to advertise its presence (which it would normally do on detecting that volts had arrived - well that's my theory)

So all I need to do is switch off the AC power after shutting down the computer. I don't need to do a safe eject before shut-down

[It was all due to our house guests! - the problem appeared when they arrived and disappeared with they departed. While they were here, they were using the internet after we had gone to bed, so I left the power on] 		BBCmicro (15761)
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