External Hard Drive keeps disconnecting in Windows via Boot Camp

Question

Level 1

8 points

External Hard Drive keeps disconnecting in Windows via Boot Camp

Hello all,

I have used boot camp and partitioned my drive to run Windows 10 from it. I am trying to use an external hard drive for storage purposes but when the drive is connected in Windows, it just disconnects within a second, then reconnects and disconnects constantly. When in MacOS the drive is visible and useable so I think there's an issue in Windows somewhere. Does anyone have a solution for this?

I have tried the following:

Re-formatted the external hard drive in both exFAT and FAT32, same issue arises.
completed NVRAM and SMC resets completed.
Disabled/Enabled driver in Device Manager (Windows).
Uninstalled/Installed driver in Device Manager (Windows).
Checked Hard Drive in another Windows machine (all works as expected).

Any help here would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Jan 21, 2021 4:18 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

LieLow89 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 22, 2021 6:21 PM in response to Loner T

Hi Loner,

I've managed to resolve this now. Thanks for your help though.

I managed to resolve it by:

Starting MacOS in "Safe Boot" mode by holding the shift key down on startup until the login page appears.

Plugged the external hard drive in, then unplugged it.

Restarted the device, checked that it was still visible in MacOS.

Then I loaded Windows 10 via boot camp (holding option key on startup).

Hard disk was then working as expected.

Once again Loner, thanks for all your help in trying to resolve it.

Aaron

Reply

Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 21, 2021 5:11 PM in response to LieLow89

When booted in macOS, with the external drive connected, post the output of

diskutil list

What is the connection type?

What is the year/model of your Mac (do not post the serial number)?

What is the brand/model of the external disk?

Does Windows notify you with an audible alarm on drive ejection?

Reply

Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 22, 2021 3:35 PM in response to LieLow89

Can you post the output of

diskutil info disk2

diskutil repairDisk disk2

Reply

Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 22, 2021 6:02 AM in response to LieLow89

LieLow89 wrote:

It's connected via an Apple USB adapter through my type C port. I'm fairly certain that the connection is USB 2.0.

Can you post a link to the exact adapter you are using?

Yes, constant warnings as the drive connects and disconnects constantly. I turned off notifications but still get the audible alarm.

We should check Windows Event Viewer for any USB-related events.

Reply

Answer 5

LieLow89 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 22, 2021 6:45 AM in response to Loner T

This is the link to the exact adapter: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/MJ1M2ZM/A/usb-c-to-usb-adapter?fnode=1bc374d2f15b7d4103bad1e50fa8c281f22884a9cb79d8b72efa8a167b00ddc0e0ca6bd1ececc49a3694635f6316b696e1cf933264a3c0cb7313f5aaec5fefb27df6ed223363413ea5a591e4aca509bcc8a3161852a1047314fdbd07a43f6c21

Screenshot of it here as well:

I checked Event Viewer and the error message is put down as a warning and is as follows:

an error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk1\DR71 during a paging operation.

Event ID - 51

Reply

Answer 6

LieLow89 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 22, 2021 3:48 AM in response to Loner T

Hi Loner,

Please find the screenshot below of diskutil:

It's connected via an Apple USB adapter through my type C port. I'm fairly certain that the connection is USB 2.0.

2020 MacBook Air, i7 Intel processor.

Western Digital external hard drive.

Yes, constant warnings as the drive connects and disconnects constantly. I turned off notifications but still get the audible alarm.

Thanks,

Aaron

Reply

Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 22, 2021 6:56 PM in response to LieLow89

Excellent!

Reply

External Hard Drive keeps disconnecting in Windows via Boot Camp

Similar questions