Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

justanothergeordie

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 29, 2021
27
10
I have an M1 Mac Mini connected to an ASD. I have 4 external hard drives, 3 of which are powered and one which is portable so USB powered. All 4 are USB 3. Before the Mini, I had an iMac so had enough USB 3 ports. I bought a powered USB hub when I got the Mini and plugged all the external hard drives in there and connected it to the Mini via USB C. All was well for almost a year when one day the Mini just shut down for no reason. It happened a couple more times and after troubleshooting, I realised it was the hub, so am not using it any more.

My question is, would I be able to plug 2 or even 3 external powered hard drives into my ASD using USB C to USB A adapters/converters? I have heard of lots of people doing this but also read about the odd person who has damaged either their USB C port or their computer/display entirely – possibly because of the adapter or the drives drawing too much power, I'm not sure.

I also have a non-powered USB hub which I could use with just 1 USB C port from the ASD but again am concerned about damaging anything. Any help appreciated as these are my backup drives and I have to connect them manually each evening to back up the other external drive which is plugged directly into one of the Mini's USB 3 ports.

Thanks for any help...
 

brerlappin

macrumors 6502
Oct 14, 2012
265
112
I have several portable drives connected to the ASD with the USB-C to USB adapter and they work fine.
 

justanothergeordie

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 29, 2021
27
10
Thanks again. I think its as the powered external hard drives which were causing the problem. They're fine when plugged into the Mini directly so it's not them. I'm worried if both are plugged into the ASD even using Apple adapters then something may fry.... does anyone else have experience of using powered external hard drives plugged directly into the ASD?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.