External HD problem - Western Digital My Passport Ultra for Mac [5TB]

[rocky_om]

I have a question about a drive that I have a problem with. Hopefully some of you who are more knowledgable than me can shed some light on it. Apologies if it has been asked before.

I have a Western Digital My Passport Ultra for Mac [5TB] which works fine when first connected, but over 15-20 minutes the write/read speeds decrease to a standstill. At this point I eject the disk (sometimes having to relaunch finder to unmount it properly without force ejecting).

Once I plug it back in and remount it, it works fine again for another 15-20 minutes, before the same issue reoccurs.

The disk is formatted to Mac OS Extended.

Running first aid using Disk Utility says the disk appears to be ok.

This is the second WD disk I have had with the same problem [I returned the first] and would really like to know what is going on!

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

[Bigwaff]

You don't say what Mac model + year you are using w/ the WD HDD. Looks like the drive is USB bus powered and may not be getting consistent power from your Mac's USB port. Disconnect all other USB devices and see if the issue persists.

 

[rocky_om]

Thank you! I have been using it with both a 2014 MacBook Pro and a 2023 Mac Studio. It is USB/Bus powered, and works marginally better on the Mac Studio [USB-C] but the problem still persists….

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Even though the drive is USB bus powered, does it have an additional "input" for an external power supply block?

If it does, and if you know the voltage/amperage requirements, you might still hunt down a power block and try that.

 

[rocky_om]

Thank you!

Unfortunately it does not - could a possible workaround be putting the disk in a new enclosure that is mains powered?

 

[Fishrrman]

Is this a 2.5" drive or a 3.5" drive?

Platter-based spinning hard drive, or SSD?

 

[rocky_om]

Hi!

2.5” / platter-based…

WD My Passport Ultra for Mac