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My machine operating Windows 8 is dropping and reconnecting USB drives just after about every second startup. It happens if I have more than 1 connected. It does not happen out of the blue when using the system, only after startup, but renders me unable to use the PC until I gat to the USB port and manually reconnect both drives.

After I log into the system, Windows starts flashing File Explorer windows for both (or three, four...) new found USB drives but closes them instantly, because the drives are dropped and forgotten. This repeats ad infinitum, resulting in flashy screen discotheque of madness.

My primary drives are 750 GB MyBook (quite an elder, but with own power adapter and good performance record so far, NTFS formatted) and 500 GB MyBook Passport (without adapter, also NTFS). The problem persists even if I replace them with two USB flash drives of any capacity.

I thought this strange problem might be caused by insufficient power in the system as I tend to have about 10 - 15 USB peripherials connected (including sound cards, wireless desktop peripherials and printers), but after some experimenting, it does not seem likely as it happens even with minimal configuration (eg. mouse, keyboard, soundcard only).

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  • Have you tried to use an external USB powered Hub?
    – Ramhound
    Oct 2, 2013 at 17:21
  • I unfortunately do not have one. It might be a good idea to buy one. but as I have said before, I have tried disconnecting all the things except for those drives and mouse + keyboard and replacing diskas with USB flash disks. To no avail. Thank you for your reply. I will invest in the powered USB hub and let you know the result;-)
    – Whitewall
    Oct 2, 2013 at 17:25
  • If it happens with just the mouse and keyboard there is another cause. This a recent problem or has it always existed? I know you said it been around awhile trying to determine the likely sources.
    – Ramhound
    Oct 2, 2013 at 17:34
  • Yup, it has been present for about a year. I have not been using the computer regularly so I trated it as a minor nuisance but now I have to turn it on couple of times a day, it has grown to MAJOR obstruction. I have searched far and wide in Windows forums but nobody seems to have the same problem. + I have forgotten to point out that those disks are always connected DIRECTLY into to the computer, not via any USB hub. My other peripherials are connected through USB hub.
    – Whitewall
    Oct 2, 2013 at 17:40
  • I would try the powered hub. Its a small investment. I would go with a quality product with some good reviews and an external power supply. Its entirely possible you might have a bad internal HUB. By chance do you know how many your system has? In most cases your looking at 4x1 and 2x1 in Sandybridge systems and later. 4 ports -> 1 connnection and 2 ports -> connection. Haswell introduces some additional concerns but that doesn't concern your system.
    – Ramhound
    Oct 2, 2013 at 17:57

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That must be a hardware problem. Please check whether your camera is working, (if you have one.) if it is not working, I advice you to look for a technician because there must be a connection problem.

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