you probely checked, but is it pluged into a 3.0 usb port on you pc.
if yes, check your CPU & memory are able to cope with these speeds.
I don’t know about Mac’s.
but on a windows pc press ctrl-alt-del, to start task manager.
then at the top, click performance.
it displays your CPU & memory.
now use your My Passport Essential again, while looking at the CPU & memory in the task manager.
if either max out, your PC’s memory or CPU is the problem.
their are tweeks you can do to improve them, depending on your PC.
but you might need an upgrade ?
of course other programs runing may be using your PC’s resourses.
some programs may run automaticaly after a time, if no keyboard or mouse input is detected.
or at certain times etc.
eg. your security software or other programs, that you may find in windows task schedular.
I just found the following & it may help you:
I hope this helps.
ps. I am no expert, so this could be unrelated to the actual problem ?
