Nitro AN515-45 when I connect the external disk(s) these are not correctly detected by the system

Hello,

I have several external disks (both SSD and HDD) with different enclosures which I would like to use to move data between my Desktop and my Laptop.

However, when I connect the disks these are not correctly detected by the system. I can hear the proper sound of an external device being connected to Windows (10), but the drives won't work. The disk management utility doesn't even open.

I have tried all combinations of enclosures and drives and they do not work, but they all work when I connect them to my Desktop, so drives and enclosures are not the issue here.

Additionally, I did try to connect the drives through a live Linux distro, and they are detected correctly, I can access files and everything works as expected.

Even though the problem seems to be Windows with some driver incompatibility or something like that, I have another problem that makes me think there is something wrong also with the PC. One of the disks is an SSD which contains a Debian OS, I have tried to use that SSD as boot drive and it won't work. But if I connect the drive to the internal connector of the PC, it works flawlessly.

Does anybody have any idea about what is wrong with my PC? Is it a sign of some components not working correctly?

Thanks in advance

[ Title edited to add topic issue]

Accepted answers

All comments

JackE

>>>>One of the disks is an SSD which contains a Debian OS, I have tried to use that SSD as boot drive and it won't work. But if I connect the drive to the internal connector of the PC, it works flawlessly.>>>

This is normally expected when you try to boot an internal drive from a USB port via an intermediary USB adapter. Usually won't work.

Do you see any red or yellow warnings when you first open Device Manager?

Commodore_1995#

I would also try to update the chipset driver. It is this driver that controls the hard drives.

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1148773#Comment_1148773

Well, the fact is that booting that drive on desktop from that USB adapter just works.

No red/yellow warnings in device manager, actually the device seems to be recognised even though it keeps connecting and disconnecting and explorer.exe becomes very slow

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1148775#Comment_1148775

The PC is fully updated, both Windows 10 and all PC drivers are updated using Driver Booster from IOBit

I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling the driver of the disks but no luck

William_mk2

@xsolinsx

Try windows + x

go to device manager

go to usb

expand usb

Remove all the entries below the usb

Restart the computer. Please connect the external hdd and check

If it is still not working , try to connect usb flash drives or any other external hdd directly to usb ports and check. Try to avoid hdd enclosures and connect the external hdd or usb flash drives directly to the usb port and check whether it shows up in "This PC". Try to use alternative usb ports and check.

If it is still not working then we have to do a refresh and reset

click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started

or

on start - type here to search - type reset this pc - click on reset this pc on the top - click on get started

It will show you keep my files and remove everything

chose keep my files

chose the account - type the password - click on local reinstall - click on reset

It will be in progress..

login to computer and start using the computer.

If it is still not working

click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started

chose remove everything

click on local reinstall - just remove my files - click on reset

It will be in progress

Note:

If you do refresh ( keep my files ) - all your personal files like pictures, music , documents , videos will still be intact. Only the applications will be lost

If you do reset ( remove everything ) - you are doing a factory default. It will become like a day one computer. It will wipe out everything and take your computer to day one like a new computer.

You can also do the recovery in an alternative way..

There are two alt keys on the keyboard. If you look at the bottom row of keyboard you can see the one on the left side of space bar and the other on the right side of space bar. The alt key on the right side will be looking like alt, alt gr or alt car. Turn off the computer. Hold the alt key on the left and tap f10 continuously. It will go to repair mode. It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot. If it is not going to repair mode, turn off the computer. Turn on the computer. Hold the right alt key ( alt gr or alt car or alt ) and then tap f10 continuously. It will go to chose an option continue and troubleshoot..

It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot

Go to troubleshoot - click on reset this pc

click on keep my files ( only applications will be lost ) chose your account and type your password - click on local reinstall - click on reset

It will be in progress

If the keep my files option is not working

Go to troubleshoot - click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – just remove my files – click on reset

It will reinstall windows.

If the just remove my files is not working..

Go to troubleshoot - click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – Fully clean the drive – click on reset

It will reinstall windows.

Note: You can also go to chose an option , continue , troubleshoot by holding the alt key + tapping f10 or alt gr + tapping f10 on the keyboard while turning on the computer. Once you see the troubleshoot option, you can stop tapping the f10 and stop holding the alt key. Then you can try the keep my files and remove everything ( just remove by files and fully clean the drive ) by following the steps which was mentioned above.

After reinstalling the windows try to connect the external hdd and check. It should work fine.

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1148796#Comment_1148796

Removing USB devices from the device manager did not solve the problem, so I tried to reset the whole operating system but had no luck. Out of curiosity I had also installed Windows 11 (which I did not want) to check if it was something the new OS could solve. Now I'm back with Windows 10.

Nothing worked so far

JackE

>>>The disk management utility doesn't even open.>>>

Does diskmgmt.msc open with the empty USB-to-HDD/SSD adapter plugged in?
What's the current draw of the drives?

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1148883#Comment_1148883

yes it does
about 500mAh, they get connected to the USB-A port, should I try to use an adapter and connect them through the USB-C?

JackE

>>>about 500mAh,>>>connect them through the USB-C?

If you mean 500mA (without h for hour), probably a nominal rating with peaks higher (eg 2.5" HDD spinup). Many SSDs run hotter and peak up to 1500mA. So yeah, the USB-C should handle them OK.

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1148944#Comment_1148944

Hello,

Sorry for the late response but I was out of town and could not test this.

You are right, it is 500mA.

I tried connecting the drives through the USB-C port with an adapter but that still doesn't work. Also, the port should not be a problem as drives are correctlly detected using Linux.

JackE

>>>I tried connecting the drives through the USB-C port with an adapter but that still doesn't work. Also, the port should not be a problem as drives are correctlly detected using Linux.>>>

Do you mean Linux can access the drives through the USB-C port adapter but Windows can't?

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1150011#Comment_1150011

No, I mean that Linux can access the drives also through USB-A ports, while Windows cannot.

JackE

>>>while Windows cannot.>>>

Windows Disk Manager? DiskPart? Assign a drive letter for FileMgr?

xsolinsx

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1150032#Comment_1150032

"Sconosciuto" means "Unknown"

Opening the disk properties I get this:

"unità disco standard" means "standard disk unit"

and the drives keeps getting connected and disconnected as I can hear the Windows sound of connection and disconnection. this happens no matter what enclosure I use, while on another PC the drive gets detected correctly