Problem with my Samsung 3TB D3 Station

[Omiros]

I have a problem with my external hard drive and i thought i'd join this forum in hope somebody is able to help me.

About a month ago i bought a Samsung 3TB D3 Station and it has been working perfectly until the past few days.

For some reason, whenever i try to connect it, it connects for a minute or so and then diconnects. The external is still powered on (which is only possible when it is connected to the laptop) but the computer makes the "disconnect sound" and the external doesn't appear anywhere.

Can anyone please help me?

P.S. The external has it's own power supply and 3rd party software (Samsung Drive Manager).

 

[Barman58]

First off this is not hardware that I am familiar with so can only give general pointers.

First thing I would check is the power options - if you right click the driver entry in the Device Manager you should have a tab for power - ensure that this is not set to allow the system to switch off the device.

You may have to check the actual connection route / USB/ Network, as these can also have power control options

Hopefully this will be of use, but I'm sure we'll have someone along shortly with more direct experience

 

[Omiros]

I tried your suggestion but unfortunatley it didn't work. Thank you for your time though!

 

[jumanji]

1. Try your external HDD on different USB ports on your machine. ( Both USB 3 and USB 2 with the same USB 3 cable.)

2. Try your external HDD on a different working machine. Replicate the same conditions. That is, if you had connected the station into a USB 3 port connect it to a USB 3 port on the working machine. This will enable one to segregate whether the problem is with the drive or your machine.

If you are convinced that the problem is with the drive, get a replacement under warranty.

 

[Omiros]

Tried both of your suggestions and the problem is still the same.

 

[jumanji]

If it does not work in another working machine also, then the problem is surely with your Samsung station.

Since it is only a month old, you should return it to the vendor and ask him to replace it or exercise your warranty through RMA.

If the vendor will replace your drive go for another model. Though what is inside your enclosure is a Seagate drive, the limited reviews I had seen do not speak well of this drive.

There is also a thread on EightForums where a user got stuck with it since it wouldn't work with Windows 8 or 8.1 for want of an updated driver. The support by the OEM has been flaky for this drive as I understand from that thread.

 

[Omiros]

But what about all the things i put on the external? Is there no solution to the problem?

 

[jumanji]

I am just copying and pasting a latest user review on it (Newegg) "Other Thoughts: I tell people to do multiple storage for backups and did not follow my own advice this time ( I was in a hurry and meant to get back to later)
Now I suffer the consequences, Lost Data!!!"

Anyway that is as far as how a multiple backup of any data can make life easy

Now as far as I can analyse your situation,

1. Check the power adaptor is OK

2. Check the USB cable is OK.(From the reviews I understand that the USB cable that comes with it is most fragile and finicky. Even if you blow air onto it it disconnects says another user). Better try a new cable.

3. Does the drive show-up in Disk Management? Most probably not. Anyway If you had installed the Samsung Drive Manager try to do the simple diagnostics in it.

4. Try running Seagate Seatools for Windows to check/repair the drive.

5. If nothing works, you have take out the Seagate HDD from inside, hook it up as a second drive in a desktop and check whether you are able to access it. In this case you will lose the warranty and there is no guarantee you will be able to access the drive. If the drive has physically crashed nothing will help.

I have only listed out my thoughts.

Wait to see if some other more experienced and knowledgeable mates here have some suggestions/solutions.

I shall now have my coffee and go to sleep.