Front usb wont recognise hdd

SemperFitz · 22 May 2020 at 14:17

Hi All,

My front usb ports 2.0 are doing something odd, one doesnt work or recognise anything while the other will detect my xb1 controller and network adapter but wont detect hard drives. i can plug those hdd's in the back ports and everything is detected. as soon as i try the front ports, nothing, but as i say one of them detects usb controllers etc.

Any ideas?

TIA

OldKitMan · 22 May 2020 at 14:26

What MB and case is it?

frustin · 22 May 2020 at 14:34

power is usually the problem. the drive might not be getting enough power from that port.

SemperFitz · 22 May 2020 at 15:51

frustin said:
power is usually the problem. the drive might not be getting enough power from that port.

Whats the resolution to this issue please?

frustin · 22 May 2020 at 19:07

SemperFitz said:
Whats the resolution to this issue please?

There's no resolution i'm afraid. If the drive has a separate power supply that would work. If you've confirmed those ports work with other devices, then there's just not enough power driving the HDD.

Dave Burton · 23 May 2020 at 00:21

SemperFitz said:
Hi All,

My front usb ports 2.0 are doing something odd, one doesnt work or recognise anything while the other will detect my xb1 controller and network adapter but wont detect hard drives. i can plug those hdd's in the back ports and everything is detected. as soon as i try the front ports, nothing, but as i say one of them detects usb controllers etc.

Any ideas?

TIA

I had something similar a while back, but on a USB3.0 port, turned out the cable itself was the issue and had to seek a replacement from Fractal Design (the case maker) which once installed cured ALL issues.

SemperFitz · 23 May 2020 at 11:11

Thanks everyone, it seems it's a cable issue, i managed to find another and this seems to work, although it doesn't seem that stable

frustin · 24 May 2020 at 11:42

SemperFitz said:
managed to find another and this seems to work, although it doesn't seem that stable

Loose connection on the hdd/usb port or just another duff cable?

t31os · 25 May 2020 at 23:03

Specifics about what you added / changed would probably help. What are you specifically plugging into a front port that specifically needs a front port connection? Is it not possible to use a USB extension cable(of reasonable quality) from a back port? (same level of convenience).

Justintime · 26 May 2020 at 15:18

One way i fix usb power issues on front ports is to tap into the 5v supply of the psu and then splice into the usb front port cable's power wires. This works 99% of the time as it seems usb 3.0 is rife with power issues from the headers, never had nearly as much issues with 2.0. Now i'm not sure how this works in conjuction with shutting down of ports due to issues like shorts or water etc.. as i've been careful over the years but i'm assuming the whole system would shut down as long as the psu had the adequate measures. I've found since at least haswell with the onchip native usb 3.0 things have become more reliable but front ports still have amperage issues. Best bet if i was you is to use the back ports or a powered hub.
Since its usb 2 and one port seems dead it looks like either a bad cable or port.