External Drive issues

[Ethosik]

Every time I try to do a direct copy from one external drive to another, both my external drives keep ejecting and connecting. And causes my computer to lock up. I have been dealing with this since High Sierra and it’s still present in Catalina. I have been dealing with this since my 2017 iMac and now with my maxed out 2019 iMac.

I do not have enough USB ports so I am using a USB hub. Could this be the reason?

Also, now my 2TB Samsung T5 is read only and when I connect it I get a message that it cannot repair the disk. Does anyone know how to fix it?

 

[DeltaMac]

Is your USB hub self-powered (with its own power cord or "wall wart"), or bus-powered (no power connection on the hub itself)?
Click on the Samsung T5 volume, and Get Info on that drive. What format does the drive show in that info window?

Disconnect your USB hub temporarily, so you can plug the T5 directly into a built-in USB port.
Can you then repair the drive in Disk Utility?

 

[Ethosik]

Is your USB hub self-powered (with its own power cord or "wall wart"), or bus-powered (no power connection on the hub itself)?
Click on the Samsung T5 volume, and Get Info on that drive. What format does the drive show in that info window?

Disconnect your USB hub temporarily, so you can plug the T5 directly into a built-in USB port.
Can you then repair the drive in Disk Utility?

It is self powered. Running disk utility did not repair the volume even when directly connected to the USB port

 

[DeltaMac]

Is "Did not repair the volume" mean that you get a report in Disk Utility that it "cannot repair the disk"?
Or, do you mean that a "First Aid" repair completed, but did not help your problem?

Either choice - Disk Warrior might be a good suggestion. If you don't want to do that, then backup your files from that T5, if possible, then erase the drive completely. Try First Aid again, to see that passes after erasing the T5.
(If there is a problem with the T5, then you may get a failure even if you attempt an erase)

 

[Ethosik]

Is "Did not repair the volume" mean that you get a report in Disk Utility that it "cannot repair the disk"?
Or, do you mean that a "First Aid" repair completed, but did not help your problem?

Either choice - Disk Warrior might be a good suggestion. If you don't want to do that, then backup your files from that T5, if possible, then erase the drive completely. Try First Aid again, to see that passes after erasing the T5.
(If there is a problem with the T5, then you may get a failure even if you attempt an erase)

Right sorry. It said it repaired but it did not solve the issue. I actually freed up two USB ports by moving some of my USB 2.0 stuff to my Razer Core X Chroma’s USB ports. Hopefully that should help.

I am guessing copying from external drive to external drive should work? Does my hub just not provide enough power to have both External SSD and External HDD (both bus powered) operating at full power?

 

[DeltaMac]

That would be a good guess about (maybe) not enough power from your hub to copy drive to drive, with both being bus-powered.

What hub do you have?

I found a (cheap) 4-port at BestBuy. I was a bit surprised when it would handle anything that I would plug in, such as what you are doing (drive-to-drive copy, both bus-powered.) I did test that hub by leaving the power disconnected, so it worked on bus-power, too, even with the copying. I don't use it that way, but it's nice to know that will work, too.
This hub: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-4-port-usb-3-0-hub-black/5631038.p?skuId=5631038
(I was looking for a small hub, just needing a couple of more ports, and it turned out to be above my expectations. I don't always expect that result from BestBuy. Sometimes, I get surprised in a good way!)
Maybe 4 ports won't be enough for you, but I don't have experience with larger hubs...

 

[Ethosik]

That is the only thing I can think of. Not only did my T5 disconnect and reconnect like once a second, my other external HDD did too. I have this hub: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075NMVGP7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now that I connected some stuff to my eGPU USB ports, I don’t need a new hub right away.

 

[DeltaMac]

I like the plugable-brand stuff - but it still sounds like a power issue, or maybe something else, like a flaky interface on one of your drives. I do suspect your T5 drive - but try a different USB cable on that one - the cables sometimes will deteriorate, and would be cheaper to try a different cable;

maybe you could be interested - I noticed this hub on Amazon - just in case you need more ports!

How long have you had the T5? Did your USB troubles start AFTER you got the T5?

 

[Ethosik]

I like the plugable-brand stuff - but it still sounds like a power issue, or maybe something else, like a flaky interface on one of your drives. I do suspect your T5 drive - but try a different USB cable on that one - the cables sometimes will deteriorate, and would be cheaper to try a different cable;

maybe you could be interested - I noticed this hub on Amazon - just in case you need more ports!

How long have you had the T5? Did your USB troubles start AFTER you got the T5?

I only had my T5 for like 2 months. Never had any issues until today. I think I do remember this happening with this hub with two external HDDs bus powered a year ago with my 2017 iMac.

 

[DeltaMac]

Ah, OK...
I seemed to understand that your issue with drive-to-drive copying has been an ongoing issue.
But, now you say it only began today, or it is maybe a year since you had something similar to today...?

What drive format is your T5? How much free space on the T5?

 

[Ethosik]

Ah, OK...
I seemed to understand that your issue with drive-to-drive copying has been an ongoing issue.
But, now you say it only began today, or it is maybe a year since you had something similar to today...?

What drive format is your T5? How much free space on the T5?

it was an ongoing issue but with different drives. I thought it was macOS having issues.
500GB is free on my 2TB T5. It’s APFS.

 

[IowaLynn]

That is the only thing I can think of. Not only did my T5 disconnect and reconnect like once a second, my other external HDD did too. I have this hub: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075NMVGP7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now that I connected some stuff to my eGPU USB ports, I don’t need a new hub right away.

I had to replace a 3.5 yr old docking station and opted for Anker. Somehow 10.15 didn't like the old one. I suspect something with a two-year old hub can be an issue.

 

[me55]

From my experience, running 1 external drive on a USB hub is sketchy when plugging in other things. But 2(!) external drives on one hub, surprised that they even worked at all. Use the power supply that came with the hub to make sure that both drives get enough power.

 

[Ethosik]

From my experience, running 1 external drive on a USB hub is sketchy when plugging in other things. But 2(!) external drives on one hub, surprised that they even worked at all. Use the power supply that came with the hub to make sure that both drives get enough power.

My hub is not bus powered. I can’t use it without the power supply.