R4 - USB 3.0 problem? Not sure.

Hi all, new here. Did some searches but couldn't find the exact same issue I've been having, so I made a new thread. Apologize for the lengthy thread, I just want to list my problem and tried solutions extensively so it removes any confusion and overlaps.

My R4 is about 2 weeks old, it was a replacement unit for my R3 which Alienware messed up on the GPU.

1. I've had an "issue" with my USB 3.0 ports ever since I got it. I use " "s because it's been confusing me whether it's an internal or external issue.

1a. I have a WD My Passport 1TB external HD that I used perfectly fine with my R3. For the R4 though, several issues came up. For one, the left-hand side ports of the R4 are able to detect the WD HD. It pops up in the Computer section fine, and I can open it. The issue starts when I open video files or move really large files. When I open any video folder, it can't open 6 or more thumbnails. If it does, the drive disconnects and reconnects itself effectively kicking me out of the folder and back to the Computer menu. If I disable thumbnails, I can open all folders fine, but when playing any video, about 30 seconds in it gives me a "Cannot read" error and kicks me out again. I have the same issue when moving game folders (20/25GB), it transfers fine until it disconnects/reconnects again which cuts the transfer. I've been able to move folders (videos inside) of up to 10GB with no issue.

1b. Now for the right-hand side USB 3.0 ports. This is where it gets confusing. Sometimes, it can detect the drive, but not for long. It constantly disconnects/reconnects endlessly, until I remove the drive. Sometimes, it also endlessly brings up the "You must format in order to use this drive" error. Literally closed 20 of these errors at one time.

What I've tried:

1.1 - I've tried updating my drivers, updating my WD firmware. My WD HD worked perfectly fine with the R3. I grabbed an identical WD model (my brother's) and have the same issues. I tried another brand, EagleTec SATA 1TB model, and it works fine - it only uses a USB 2.0 though.

1.2 - I've contacted Dell Support, but I've been told that it's the external HD issue and not an internal issue. Which I can understand, since the ports themselves seem to work (I plug in a mouse and a game pad to the same ports, they work). But it also confuses me since the exact same WD HD worked perfectly fine with my R3, which leads me to believe that it's an R4 issue.

I don't know which to attribute it to - an internal (wiring, USB or R4 problem) or external (my WD HD problem).

I'm in no particular rush, I plugged in my WD HD into the USB 2.0 SATA port of the R4, and it seems to be working fine. I've been able to transfer large files, play videos off it, etc, but I'm just concerned more because I'm not maximising the use of the USB 3.0 ports.

Any help or input would be greatly appreciated, thanks for the time!

 

I have identical issues. I have about 10 USB 3.0 external drives, ranging in age from over a year to very current 2012 production models.

The older 3.0 drives all disconnect with frequency. They drop out of the device list on my file manager, and if any application is running, I get a device not found or device disconnect message.

The newer drives do not have this issue, but I sometimes... but not all times... get the "your device could perform faster if connected to a high speed USB port." However, if I do a task whose duration I know under 2.0 and 3.0 connections, I am getting a 3.0 transfer speed.

I have a Toshiba 2 T external USB 3 made in September of 2011, and it has its own power supply. It randomly breaks connection, so I know that this is not a matter of power on the USB ports. All my other drives are port-powered, though.

All the drives that disconnect on the USB 3.0 ports run fine on the eSata / 2.0 port.

 

I am having the same problem with mine. I made another thread. I cant transfer files without it disconnecting nor can i watch videos on the drives. Is it a 3.0 driver issue or is it a hard ware failure.

 

Same Problem, took awhile to get my 1TB passport to even connect and once it did it is claiming it is hooked into a USB 2.0 port....no clue what the problem is although I have read in a few places that most people are finding it might be a WD problem and not the Alienware problem...I will try to test it on my desktop in the morning and see if it does the same thing...but if I remember correctly it does.

On a slight update, mine was working for about 2 hours, now it is gone again and I can't get it to do anything again unless I plug it into the USB 2.0 port.

 

TRUEfoe is having an identical problem with his My Passport Essentials 1TB USB3.0, however his My Passport Standard 1TB USB3.0 is working fine... They both use the same plug too! Strange. Has anyone found a workaround yet?

 

Tried updating the USB 3.0 drivers again as well as updating the firmware in the drive and still no love.

 

I am also having the same problem, I'm just glad it's not just me. Just bought a 1TB WD My Passport for my new R4, I even updated the firmware and reformatted it to no avail

 

TRUEfoe's drive seems to run fine (albeit at 2.0 speeds) when connected through a USB Hub (Expander) running at 2.0. So if you're fine with the speed drop, then try that out. It's too bad though... Hopefully Alienware or WD can do something for us, cause these little drives are awesome.

 

I have found that plugging into the esata/usb 2.0 port usually works just fine and while it kinda sucks at least i can use the drive that way if need be. All my other peripherals are working just fine in the USB 3.0 ports, as far as I can tell it just seems to be the external drives.

Re-installed drivers, changed bios settings, Updated firmware, Tried installing WD SES drivers and WD smartware all made no difference.

 

Its not the hard drive, mine is having the same problem with the Seagate and the WD.

 

I have identical issues too.

 

Hmm....that sucks haha....I guess we must be looking at glitchy driver issues then maybe? The USB 3.0 driver is an intel thing so maybe they will release an updated version at some point. Has anyone tried a clean install of windows? does it make any difference? I have only had mine a few days and I just made a backup and restored to that once I put my SSD in so technically I am running a factory image.

I will poke around on the Intel site and see what i can find.

 

Mine is on a fresh install, I even wiped it an installed it again to make sure it wasnt an error in installing the drivers. I plugged the hard drive into the esata port and it still does it. I will watch a video on the hard drive and VLC will glitch up ever minute or so. Sad thing is my mouse and keyboard are plugged into the left ports and I haven't had the problem with them yet. (knock on wood)

 

I'm having this issue. Bought a brand new 2TB Western Digital drive and I'm getting the "destination does not exist" error as the hdd disconnects.

Are we assuming driver issue?

 

Im pretty sure its the driver issue. My hard drives work correctly on the M14x. I believe it might be the new controller or whatever it is they integrated in with the new motherboards with ivy bridge. Hopefully its just a driver update or a bios flash. I have bad luck with bios flashes lately. I bricked two for two on HP's recovered one with phoenix recovery and the other is dead in the water.

 

The weird part is my Esata port works flawlessly....also if i plug my Coolermaster U3 into the USB port and then plug the HDD into that ( it has an extension on it so it is not taking up a USB port ) then the drive is recognized and it works fine, but I assume that is because the plug that I am using that is plugged into the USB port is USB 2.0 not USB 3.0 so it is probably still not connecting at USB 3.0 speeds. But yeah mine will stay connected through the esata port all day without a glitch so far from what I have seen.

 

The eSATA port is only USB 2.0 though, so for those of us that have bought USB 3.0 devices to utilise the USB 3.0 ports its a small constellation. My new portable hdd disconnects from any of the USB 3.0 ports once a file transfer is initiated and the eSATA port is the only one that maintains the connection, but only at USB 2.0 speeds. Massive pain.

Hopefully Intel or Dell release new drivers or a new bios soon :-(

 

The odd part is that when mine does connect which isn't very often it works fine until I unplug it or restart the laptop.

 

TRUEfoe bought a USB 3.0 Hub (Extender) today and plugged his Passport SE into it and it seems to have alleviated the disconnecting issue. So if you need a temporary workaround, this is a good way to get to your content.

 

I installed the USB 3.0 driver update from the Intel site, 1-0.5.235, and the problem appears to have disappeared. I also set the power manager to turn off the USB selective Suspend. The readme for the driver update mentions fixing the "You need to format your disk" error, but not the disconnect error... however, since they were related in my experience (I got a disconnect followed by the format error popup). I am going to test several 2.0 and 3.0 drives on different USB ports and see if the problems are truly gone.

 

Which driver did you get? I looked on the intel site and didn't see anything...I guess I missed it.

 

Go to the intel support website. In the 3 boxes click Chipset>Chipset software>Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible controller driver. It had an error the first time I installed it, but I restarted it and reinstalled again and the drivers took. So far so good, I am watching some movies on the hard drive right now to see if will do the disconnect. +rep @radiodavid.

Sadly right now, I am still having the glitches.

 

I found and installed it, and it is at least picking up the drive now a little bit more reliably though still saying that it is USB 2.0 speeds and not USB 3.0

 

Me too. The issue is still alive with the newest intel driver.

 

Yeah I guess I was just getting lucky, I plugged it in a few times last night and i had it show up albeit at USB 2.0 speeds. Today it is not showing up at all.

 

Nearly the same problems with m14x r2. The intel usb 3.0 driver causes bsods and other errors when trying to use external devices on the usb 2.0 port. When i uninstall this extensible usb 3.0 driver i can use external devices but only have usb 2.0 speed on all ports. Intel still dont know about this issue so a fix seems not to come in the near future.

I guess its an incompatibilty in every system with different/mixed ports such as usb 2.0 usb 3.0 and esata. The intel driver doesnt correspondent correctly and maybe treat all ports as usb 3.0 which causes data interrupts of all kind.

 

can you please point in intels website? i downloaded but it says my sys does not meet min req to install.. i have alienware m17x i7 4800, 16 gig ram..

it really sucks to know that usb 3.0 doesnt works properly