My Passport 1TB unseen on USB 2, works fine on USB 3. Expert advise required

WD External Drives WD Portable Drives
1

I have a frustrating issue with a brand new WD My Passport 1TB drive. If connected to a USB 3 port, it works as expected. However, connect it to a USB 2 port and it is never recognised by any system. Is need this drive to function on USB 2, no way around it.

What have I tried? Connected to:

  • Windows Server 2012 Datacenter x64 via USB 3 > Works fine, however safe removal always says drive is in use;

  • Windows 8 Pro x64 via USB 3 > Works fine, no issues;

  • Windows 8 Pro x64 via USB 2 > Drive unseen, even by BIOS. LED stays on after spinup, so inactive;

  • Windows 7 Ultimate x64 via USB 2 > Same as above;

  • Windows 7 Ultimate x86 via USB 2 > Same as above;

  • Windows 7 Ultimate x86 via USB 2 (other system) > Same as above;

  • Windows XP x86 via USB 2 > Same as above;

  • PartedMagic LiveCD via USB 2 > Same as above;

  • Firmware updated, went right, no change in behaviour.

  • SMART data is OK, no strange values.

  • WD SES driver installed.

  • I have written over 900GB to it without a singe error. Mostly in one go with active cooling provided, drive temperature ~37C.

  • When not connected to USB 3 drive remains unseen to BIOS, Disk Management, Storage Management (Disk Mananagement sucsessor, WD utilities)

What haven’t I tried?

  • Use another USB 3 cable, becouse I don’t have one available.

Relative drive data, collected with AIDA64 Extreme edition 2.85.2400, whilst connected to Windows 8 Pro x64 via USB 3:

Storage > ATA:

Model ID                                         WDC WD10JMVW-11S5XS1

Revision                                         01.01A01

Device Type                                   SATA-II @ Oxford

Max. PIO Transfer Mode              PIO 4

Max. MWDMA Transfer Mode      MWDMA 2

Active MWDMA Transfer Mode   MWDMA 0

Max. UDMA Transfer Mode         UDMA 6

ATA Standard                                 ATA8-ACS

Devices > USB Devices:

Device Description         USB Mass Storage Device

Device ID            1058-07A8

Device Class       08 / 06 (Mass Storage)

Device Protocol                       50

Supported USB Version               3.00

Current Speed               High  (USB 2.0)

The only telling thing here seems to be the last two lines. Stating that the supported USB version is only USB 3, still current speed is USB 2.

Possibly the problem could be power draw on USB 2 ports. However, the drive spins up just as it does on USB 3. That should at least get it to be seen by a system, if not support succesfull read/write actions.

Who can tell me what my options are?

RMA is allways a possibility, but I’d rather have this drive working and learn something along the way.

2

Hi, it is possible that the Passport is not getting enough energy to fully power on. Avoid using any USB extension cables or USB hubs, the longer the cable the less energy the Passport will get. Just to be sure you can test the Passport using the DLG tool. Check the link below for the steps. 

How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows

3

As I expected, the WD DLG tool fails to see the drive on USB 2. Why would it, if even the BIOS can’t see the drive on USB 2?

On USB 3 the DLG tools sees the drive and it passes the tests.

On the cabling; I haven’t used extensions or hubs. The cable used is the one provided with the disk, labeled “USB 3.0 compatible with USB 2.0.” Part Number  4064-705107-000, Lot Number JEMSHE038130JW.

I know low budget cabling can cause issues because of low conductivity materials or insufficient cable thickness.

So, unless it is a USB adapter firmware issue blocking USB 2.0 communication, it seems the bundled cable is of the wrong type for this drive.

4

Thats not common problem. Are you sure your USB 2.0 cable is working? I found your model  WD10JMVW-11S5XS1 . Manufacturer date starting Feb 2012, so you should still have warranty on it. By the way why you even need to use usb 2.0 when you have so much faster usb 3.0. Good luck

5

Thanks for your effort in finding the drive. But I know I still have warranty; the drive’s brand new.  My troubles in determining the issue are beacause of not wanting to void warranty, and not having a USB 3 micro to USB 3 + USB 2 “booster” cable available.

I’m confident I can take the drive housing apart and test the drive in a USB 2 housing. I can almost build PC’s with my eyes closed. Though, it would take a decent while longer to do it :stuck_out_tongue:

About using USB 2; this drive is for a friend who doesn’t have any USB 3 capable systems (yet).

I was hoping for some expert advise or knowledge on firmware bugs. Sadly, still no luck there…

UPDATE

I have received a 2x USB 2 to Micro USB 2 cable from WD support, thanks for that, but it wasn’t the solution. I gave up on the drive and RMA’d it. The tech support at the store said they had never experienced or even heard of this issue with any kind of drive.

I received a new drive of the same type, went home, connected the drive with the USB 3 cable to a 1m USB 2 cable that was connected to a powered USB 2 hub. And…it worked flawlessly. So the problem with this drive type clealy isn’t power. I guess the USB bridge in the faulty device was damaged or defective.

6

I have 3 usb 3.0 hd and finally bought a macbook with usb 3.0 ports.  I used the usb 3.0 cables with the WD drives and the mac does not recognise the disk.  I read about the power thing and bought a y cable but does not work.  I finally bought  another usb 3.0 cable from amazon (with reviews that it works with usb 3.).  And guess what, the new cable works like a charm.  

I filed cases withe WD support to get the cable replace.  the drives works well in usb 2.0 and just does not work in usb 3.0 environment.  one could argue it’s the os,…etc but with new cable, it was true PnP.