Hi everyone,
Please help me solve the problem with USB 3.0 3TB HDD unrecognized in Windows 10. Your responses/suggestions are appreciated.
Core Issue
My external 3TB USB 3.0 Hitachi Desk Pro is recognized by Windows 10 device manager but is not recognized by Disk Management. To be more precise, it is unknown in Disk Management thereby incapable of being initialized. See image below.
Background Info
I have had this issue since I first upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and now on the latest Windows 10 (v.1703) (OS Build 15063.138). It works flawlessly on Windows 7, Linux and on Apple OSX.
What I have Learned & Tried
I have pretty much spent a lot of time gathering information about this, trying everything to find a solution. I have tired Microsoft hardware troubleshoot guides that Microsoft online support recommends, which have been completely ineffective.
I have tested the HDD on three different computers: two laptops with Windows 7, 8/8.1 & 10, Linux GParted and on one Apple MacBook Pro OSX with brand new USB3 cables plugged directly into the computers. The HDD works perfectly on the computers except with Windows 8/8.1 & 10 OS installed.
The closest thing to a solution that I have tried has been to install modified driver by Fernando (win-raid.com). The drivers actually work making the HDD recognizable. Even though many people have had success with Fernando’s drivers, they may not be perfect. After a few minutes after installing Fernando’s drivers, the HDD begins to disconnect when I attempt to use it. It gets worse whenever I unplug and plug it back in or restart the computer. From there onward, as I attempt to copy a file etc., after a second or more later, it disconnects then reconnects, interrupting the read/write process.
There many threads online that have somewhat targeted the issue on the power saving functions implemented in Windows 8/10. Even though I have exhausted pretty much every registry tweak I could find on USB power management, this has not solved the problem for my Hitachi Touro Desk Pro nevertheless it still might be connected to core issue in Windows 8/10.
Fernando’s team have accomplished something that Microsoft’s team hasn’t been able to fix since the launch of Windows 8. This is absolutely unacceptable and unsatisfactory product/customer support. Try Fernando’s Modified Drivers here: [Outdated] USB 3.0/3.1 Drivers (original and modded) - General: Storage Drivers (AHCI/RAID, NVMe and USB) - Win-Raid Forum
Many people have bought additional PCI cards/USB Hubs and, or have reverted back to Windows XP/7, or believe that their Touro Desk Pro is faulty.
Suggestions
Does anyone out there have any suggestions? Should an online petition be set up to get Microsoft and Hitachi to fix this problem now?
I have made a screen capture video of exactly what happens here:
Hitachi Touro Desk Pro (3TB) Unrecognized in Windows 10