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HP Recommended
Pavillion pc
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

Two powered external hard drives are connected to a pc using their own usb cables but although the pc sees both drives it is only intermittantly and is always followed by an error box saying drive incorrectly loaded. Irrelevant which ports are used it always happens.

However if both drives are connected using a M to F extension lead fitted between the drivers own cables and the usb ports, both drives work perfectly.

 

Incidentally this applies if only one drive is plugged in directly, so its not a problem with having two drives plugged in.

1 REPLY 1
HP Recommended

@Andy-M62,

The only thing that comes to mind is a fault within the connection caused by excessive wear on the contacts. The use of an extension cable added a different contact "force/contact surface".  In such cases, I have left a short 6" stubby extension permanently inline, rather than wear out the motherboard USB socket.  One insertion versus 100.

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