How to Fix External Hard Disk Keep Disconnecting Easily

External Hard Drive Keeps Disconnecting and Reconnecting

Why Does External Hard Disk Keep Disconnecting?

If your external hard disk keeps connecting and disconnecting, you're likely dealing with one of the most frustrating hardware issues that can disrupt your workflow, compromise data integrity, and even lead to potential data loss. This issue can stem from several causes, both physical and logical. Here's a breakdown:

• Faulty, loose, or damaged USB cables: Over time, connectors wear out or get damaged, leading to unstable connections.
• Inadequate power supply: Some drives need more juice than your USB port can provide, especially 3.5-inch external HDDs.
• Faulty USB port: Your computer's port might be worn out or unable to maintain a steady connection.
• Outdated or corrupted drivers: Old or malfunctioning disk drivers can make your drive behave erratically.
• Power management settings: Windows may suspend USB ports to save power, which disconnects your drive.
• Disk errors: Bad sectors or logical errors can lead to freeze-ups or sudden disconnections.

Now that you understand the culprits of external SSD keeps disconnecting and reconnecting, let's get down to how to fix it.

How to Fix External Hard Disk Keep Disconnecting

If your USB drive or Seagate external hard drive keeps disconnecting and reconnecting, don't panic. Here's a step-by-step troubleshooting guide.

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Method 1. Connect with Another USB Port

One of the easiest troubleshooting steps is switching the USB port. Sometimes the problem lies not with the drive, but the port itself. Try connecting your external hard disk to a different USB port on your machine, preferably one directly attached to the motherboard (usually on the back of a desktop tower).

• Use a USB 3.0 port instead of a USB 2.0 if available. USB 3.0 ports offer better power delivery and faster data transfer.
• Avoid connecting through USB hubs, especially unpowered ones, as they often can't supply enough power for hard drives.
• If you're using a laptop, try all available ports. If the drive works consistently on one port and not another, the problem is likely with your USB hardware.

Method 2. Disable USB Power Saving Option

Power-saving settings in Windows can also disable USB devices to conserve power, especially in laptops. This could be why your external drive keeps disconnecting on Windows 10 or NVMe SSD keeps disconnecting.

Step 1. Press Win + X and select Device Manager. Then, expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.

Step 2. Right-click on each USB Root Hub or Generic USB Hub and choose Properties.

Step 3. Go to the Power Management tab, uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Click OK to apply.

Additionally, go to:

• Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.
• Expand USB Settings > USB selective suspend setting.
• Set both On battery and Plugged in to Disabled. Then, restart your PC after making these changes.

This prevents your system from cutting power to your external hard drive during idle time, disabling unwanted disconnections.

Method 3. Reinstall/Update Disk Driver

An outdated or corrupted disk driver can cause poor USB communication, which may lead to your external hard disk keep disconnecting.

Step 1. Open Device Manager to find and expand the Disk Drives section.

Step 2. Locate your external hard drive, right-click it, and select Update driver.

Step 3. Then, choose Search automatically for drivers software to follow the on-screen instructions to update the disk drive.

If updating doesn't work, choose the Uninstall device option, disconnect the drive, and then reconnect it to reinstall the disk driver.

Method 4. Check and Repair Disk

File system errors or bad sectors can also cause your external drive disconnecting randomly, especially if your external hard disk keeps disconnecting during data-intensive operations. In such a case, you can use CHKDSK to check and fix the USB hard drive keeps disconnecting problem:

Step 1. Press Windows + R, type cmd, press Enter, and then select to run as admin.

Step 2. Type chkdsk E: /f /r /x (replace E: with your drive letter), and type Y to confirm disk scan in the next boot.

Step 3. Press Enter and wait for the scan to complete.

Best Way to Replace Your External Hard Drive without Data Loss

If all else fails and your external hard disk keeps disconnecting and reconnecting, it's time to consider replacing the drive before it is completely failed. However, you don't need to risk data loss or start from scratch. With tools like AOMEI Cloner, you can safely clone your data and switch to a new drive seamlessly.

AOMEI Cloner offers a powerful, user-friendly solution for disk migration and backup. Some of its top features include:

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• One-click cloning for only the Windows system, partitions, or entire drives.
• Intelligent sector cloning, which copies only used sectors to save time and space.
• SSD optimization to align partitions for better performance.
• Support for MBR and GPT partition styles, ensuring compatibility with modern systems.
• Hot clone support for cloning data without shutting down your system.
• Wide device support for HDDs and SSDs from all manufacturers, allowing for cloning HDD to SSD, cloning SSD to SSD, cloning external hard drive to HDD/SSD, and so on.

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Here is how to use AOMEI Cloner to clone your external hard drive:

Step 1. Connect both the old external drives and new disk to your computer. Then, download and install AOMEI Cloner on your PC.

Step 2. Launch the software, then click on Clone, and select Disk Clone. For only transferring Windows to new drive, please pick the System Clone option instead.

Step 3. Select your source disk (the old external drive), and choose your destination disk (the new drive).

Step 4. Tick Sector By Sector Clone if you want an exact copy, and enable SSD Alignment if cloning to an SSD.

Step 5. Click Start Clone and wait for the process to complete.

FAQs on External Hard Disk Keeping Disconnecting

#1. How do I tell if my external hard drive is going bad?

Some warning signs when an external hard drive goes bad include or an SSD is failing include:

• Clicking or grinding noises from the drive
• Frequent freezing or long delays during file access
• Corrupted or unreadable files
• The drive fails to show up or disconnects regularly

#2. Why does my external hard drive keep stopping?

It could be due to:

• Power management settings that stop USB devices when idle
• A loose USB connection or bad cable
• Disk overheating or mechanical wear
• System software conflicts

#3. Why does my external hard drive keep freezing my computer?

This might happen if the drive has:

• Failing sectors or logical corruption
• An incompatible or outdated driver
• Excessive power consumption
• Malware or background processes reading the drive nonstop

You can run CHKDSK or clone the drive using AOMEI Cloner can help minimize your data loss.

Conclusion

This post focuses on 4 solutions to the external hard disk keep disconnecting error. After you've successfully resolved the issue, it is highly recommended to replace your disk to avoid data loss. With the AOMEI Cloner software, you are able to clone external hard drive with simple clicks, so you can transfer data from one disk to another without reinstalling Windows or installed apps.