FIX: Windows 10 external hard drive keeps disconnecting

• External hard drives are an excellent way of expanding your PC’s storage space without actually having to open it up and replacing the internal hard drive.
• These external hard drives don’t necessarily have to be the HDD type, as external SSDs exist as well, and they are just as fast as their internal variants.
• We have an expanded hub for troubleshooting System Errors where you can find even more detailed guides, so consider saving it for future reference.
• However, if you want to read more about troubleshooting various external hard drive issues, take a look at our Peripherals Fix page.

1. Download Restoro PC Repair Tool that comes with Patented Technologies (patent available here).
2. Click Start Scan to find Windows issues that could be causing PC problems.
3. Click Repair All to fix issues affecting your computer’s security and performance

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Annoying Windows 10 issues carry on and now it seems that external hard drive owners are being affected. We report the problems and try to bring some solutions, as well.

We have just finished talking about the WiFi that is getting disconnected frequently in Windows 10, and now users have been reporting problems related to their external hard drives:

So, I installed Windows 8.1 x64 from the Windows Store yesterday and now my QB-35US3 Hard-drives keep randomly disconnecting and connecting again. I had no problems before the upgrade. The bay is connected via USB 3.0.

This is what one frustrated user is saying. Also, the problem seems to be similar with USB hubs – from what I’ve read, the errors are just the same as with external hard drives:

After upgrading from 8 to 8.1 i face the problem where my 4 USB external hard drives get disconnected and reconnected every few minutes. If a drive is idle then windows disconnects it and if i need it then windows takes time to reconnect/wake it up. this is causing me a lot of issues and i already used the power management settings and disabled this feature on 8.1 but still the issue exists. I cannot pause a video for few seconds without having windows disconnecting the drive. I have 16 TB worth of Data and i am worried this stupid feature is going to ruin my drives.

Another hurtful testimony from another affected users. A while ago we shared with you a tutorial on how to Fix Slow USB 3.0 Problems in Windows 10.

You can go there and follow the steps from there and also try this article from the Microsoft Windows USB Core Team Blog.

There are many problems that can occur with your external hard drive and in this article we’re going to address the following issues:

• External hard drive disconnects when transferring, copying
  • Many users reported that external hard drive keeps disconnecting while transferring or copying files.
  • This can be an annoying problem, but you should be able to fix it using one of our solutions.
• Seagate external hard drive disconnects
  • This issue also affects Seagate external drives.
  • We already wrote an article about Seagate hard drive issues, so be sure to check it out.
• External hard drive disconnecting randomly
  • Many users reported that this problem occurs randomly.
  • This can be a big problem since your hard drive can disconnect during the file transfer.
• Verbatim external hard drive disconnecting
  • This issue affects Verbatim hard drives as well.
  • If you have this problem with your Verbatim hard drive, be sure to try one of our solutions.
• External hard drive You don’t currently have permission, You need permission to perform this action, Access denied
  • Sometimes you might get an error message regarding permissions while accessing your external hard drive.
  • We covered Access is denied error message in one of our older articles, so be sure to check it out if you have this problem.
• External hard drive you need to format the disk
  • Sometimes you might get this error message while trying to access your hard drive.
  • In most cases, you’ll need to reformat your hard drive if you want to use it again.
• External hard drive is not accessible, not showing up, not working, not recognized, not accessible, not initialized
  • There are various problems that can occur with your hard drive.
  • Many users reported that their hard drive isn’t accessible, but you can fix this and other problems by using one of our solutions.
• External hard drive keeps loading, freezing
  • Few users reported that their external hard drive just keeps loading or freezing.
  • This is most likely caused by your computer configuration, but it can be easily fixed.
• External hard drive very slow
  • This is another problem that can occur with your hard drive.
  • If your hard drive is slow, be sure to connect it to a USB 3.0 port and update all your drivers.

What can I do if external hard drive keeps disconnecting?

1. Connect your hard drive to a different USB port

Many users reported that external hard drive keeps disconnecting on their Windows 10 PC. However, you might be able to fix this issue simply by connecting your drive to a different USB port.

According to users, this issue occurs only when the drive is connected to a specific USB port. After you connect it to a different USB port, the issue should be resolved.

If you have both USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, you might want to try connecting your hard drive to a USB 2.0 port and see if that helps.

Some devices have issues with USB 3.0, but you can avoid most USB 3.0 problems by connecting your device to a USB 2.0 port. Keep in mind that you’ll experience slower transfer speed while using USB 2.0, but your hard drive shouldn’t disconnect anymore.

2. Turn off USB selective suspend

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter control panel.
2. Select Control Panel from the list of results.
   
3. When Control Panel opens, go to Power Options.
   
4. Power Options window will now open.
5. Locate your power plan and click on Change plan settings.
   
6. Click on Change advanced power settings.
7. Go to USB settings > USB selective suspend setting and set it to Disabled.
8. Click on Apply and OK to save changes.
   

If your external hard drive keeps disconnecting, the problem might be the power-saving feature. Your PC might be configured to turn off USB devices after a while in order to save power.

After doing that, your PC won’t turn off your USB devices to save power and problems with your external hard drive will be resolved. Many users reported that this solution worked for them, so we strongly suggest that you try it out.

If you can’t open Control Panel, take a look at this step-by-step guide to find a solution.

3. Stop your PC from turning off Mass Storage Device

1. Make sure that your external hard drive is connected to your PC.
2. Open Device Manager.
   • To do that quickly, simply press Windows Key + X to open Win + X menu and choose Device Manager from the list.
     
3. Navigate to Universal Serial Bus Controller section and double click on USB Mass Storage Device.
4. Keep in mind that your external hard drive might have a different name on your PC.
5. Navigate to the Power Management tab and uncheck Allowthe computer to turn off this device to save power checkbox.
6. Now click the OK button to save changes.
   

Run a System Scan to discover potential errors

If your hard drive keeps disconnecting, you can fix the problem simply by preventing the PC from turning off Mass Storage Device. Your PC will automatically turn off various devices in order to save power, and sometimes it can turn off your external hard drive.

To prevent this from happening, you need to change a few settings in Device Manager. After doing that your PC won’t turn off your external hard drive and the problem won’t appear anymore.

4. Disable USB legacy support in BIOS

1. Open Device Manager, locate your external hard drive and double click it.
2. Navigate to Policies tab and check Better performance.
3. Check Enable write caching on this device option.
4. Now click on OK to save changes.
   
5. Lastly, locate Intel USB 3.0 extension driver in Device Manager and uninstall it.

If you have both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports on your PC, you might be able to fix this problem by disabling USB legacy support in BIOS. To see how to do that, we strongly advise you to check your motherboard manual for detailed instructions.

Several users claim that you need to perform few extra steps in order to fix this problem. To fix the issue, you need to make a couple of changes in Device Manager. After doing that, restart your PC and the problem should be completely resolved.

5. Install USB 3.0 controller drivers

If your external hard drive keeps disconnecting, the problem might be related to your drivers. However, you can fix this problem simply by installing new drivers for your USB 3.0 controller.

The best way to do that is to visit your motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the latest chipset drivers for your motherboard. Alternatively, you can update this driver manually.

We also strongly recommend TweakBit’s Driver Updater (approved by Microsoft and Norton) to automatically download all the outdated drivers on your PC. This tool will keep your system safe as you can manually download and install the wrong driver version.

Disclaimer: some features of this tool are not free.

Several users reported issues with Microsoft’s USB 3.0 controller driver, but after using a driver from a different manufacturer the problem was completely resolved.

6. Use KeepAliveHD

Several users reported that their external hard drive keeps disconnecting due to inactivity. This is normal behavior for external hard drives, but if you want to stop this from happening, you might want to try using this tool.

KeepAliveHD is a small and freeware application that will write a small file to your external hard drive and prevent it from going to sleep. The application allows you to set a timer, so it will write a small file to your hard drive periodically.

This is a simple solution, and if you don’t want to change your system’s configuration, be sure to try this tool.

That’s about it from us. Hope that one of our solutions helped you solve the problem. If you have any other questions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below and we’ll be sure to check them out.

USB drive keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on Windows 10? Use this helpful guide!

Dependendless it is new or it is used a flash drive, happens unpleasant thing: USB device keeps connecting and disconnecting often. Annoying, isn’t it?

But don’t throw the pen drive away: it can be fixed! In this article, you will find out:

• methods, how to fix the error

• how DiskInternals software can help you

Ready? Let’s read!

Method 1. Safely eject USB drive and re-connect into another USB port

In order to get rid of the error “USB keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on Windows 10” you should first try simple methods. You may not realize that your USB port is defective or incompatible with a USB flash drive. It may be that the operating system of your computer does not give access to the flash drive.

And of course, it can be a defective computer’s USB port. Are you sure that USB port fine? If yes, then check for dust! This is very helpful advice, especially, if the problem with the laptop’s USB port.

But the main things to try are:

• unplug the USB in a safe way, then reconnect it to the computer via another USB port.

• if you have a chance, try to connect the USB flash drive to the another computer, or even better one with a different operating system.

Did it work? Great!

But if it didn’t, it is a pity if these simple methods did not help you and your USB flash drive keeps disconnecting. But, do not worry, there are a plethora of methods that can help mentioned below!

Method 2. Update drivers, if USB keeps disconnecting

Old, outdated or incorrect set driver is the second of the reason why you facing this issue.

Perhaps you did not have time to install updates for flash drivers. Or you have turned off the notifications and had no idea that you will ever need to update your driver.

Unfortunately, it is often outdated drivers that lead to the problem of USB drives disconnecting. So now is the time when it is necessary to update the driver. If you do not know how to do this, this guide is for you.

Right-click on Start and select Device Manager. In the new window, select Disk Drives. Find and right-click your USB drive. From the list, select Update driver. After that, an automatic search for possible updates and their installation will begin. Wait until the process is complete and restart the computer, then reconnect the USB drive and check if the USB drive keeps disconnecting or not. If all is well, back up the data from the drive just in case. If the problem persists, proceed to the next method.

Method 3. Correct USB controllers

USB controllers — it is an interface, that allows the computer to “communicate” with a flash drive.

To correct them — is helpful and simple method also involves the Device Manager.

Reinstalling correct USB controllers can help you with the problem of USB drives disconnecting and reconnecting on Windows 10.

So, open the Device Manager, as described in method 2; then select the tab “Universal Serial Bus Controllers» with the left mouse button. Find your disk controllers, then right-click on them and select Delete. To automatically reinstall the drivers for USB controllers, you just need to restart the computer. The USB drive should work properly.

If, however, this method did not help, proceed to method 4.

Method 4. Disable USB suspend

This is another method of how to correct the flash drive setting and get rid off the annoying issue.

Not all users are aware of the fact that when the flash drive is connected to a computer in standby mode for a long time, the power saving function is automatically activated. Thus, the USB flash drive keeps disconnecting, and you do not know why. Try disabling this feature at least temporarily to check if this is the cause of a USB drive keeps disconnecting in Windows 10.

So, on the Control Panel, find the Power icon and select the options tab. Then left-click on the tab Change advanced power settings. Now select “USB Settings”, then click on “Custom USB Suspend”. Here you need to select and apply the parameter «Disabled». It is recommended to restart the computer and then check if the error is gone. If not, do not be upset. There are a few more options in stock.

Method 5. Try SFC scan

Have you thought, that all methods are listed already? Of course no!

If you running Windows OS, then this method is pretty helpful. SFC is an excellent built-in tool for scanning and fixing disk errors. If your USB drive keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on Windows 10, try it.

First, you need to open the command line. This can be done by right-clicking Start and selecting “Command Prompt (administrator)”. Then type the following: “sfc / scannow”. Now press the Enter key. The scanning and error correction process starts. After the process is complete, restart the computer. Now check if the flash drive keeps disconnecting.

Method 6. Use DiskInternals Uneraser if some files are lost

If you see that all or some of your important data is missing from the drive, do not panic. You can easily retrieve them using DiskInternals Uneraser. It will easily restore files of any type, and the built-in wizard will help you not get lost in the program if you are doing this for the first time. You can also use the free preview function and make sure the recovery is correct. Plus, a free trial version of this product is available right now.

Diskinternals took care of you and has developed applications for all kinds of data loss. For example, if you have flash drive file system that fails, you can use Partition Recovery to recover the file system and restore files in it. In case you need to restore the specific file system, you can use FAT Recovery [for FAT 12/16/32], NTFS Recovery [for NTFS, NTFS 4/5] or Linux Recovery [Ext 3/4/5], depending on the file system of the flash drive. All these applications have a good built-in Recovery Wizard, so do not be afraid; you will not be left alone with your problem. You only need to choose the most suitable version of the application.

Therefore, do not hesitate; rather, start data recovery, as no one is immune from accidental overwriting of data. The earlier you use DiskInternals Uneraser, the more chances you have to retrieve the maximum number of files.

Method 8. Format the flash drive if it keeps disconnecting

If you have tried all the methods and they did not succeed, you can format the USB flash drive. But pay attention: your data may be lost, so restore it using DiskInternals software before formatting.

To format a USB flash drive, right-click on it and select Format. The duration of the process will depend on the size of the drive. After that, restart the computer and reconnect the USB flash drive.