Dell Studio XPS M1640 can't use USB3.0 portable harddrives

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Dell Studio XPS M1640 can't use USB3.0 portable harddrives

panda123

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# 175687 8-Jul-2015 17:15

I have a Dell Studio XPS M1640 laptop and I'm having issues connecting USB3.0 portable hard drives to it. My friends have given 2 of his a while back for me to copy some stuff for him but my laptop won't recognize it/access it. I was planning buying a WD my passport ultra 1 TB but I'm having send thoughts now as I'm not too sure if it will experience the same problem. Can anyone help me? Are my USB2.0 slots not giving enough power to power the hard drives?

richms

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# 1339388 8-Jul-2015 17:24

Quite possibly. USB3.0 allows for more current to be drawn, and laptops are often quite frugal with their ports power allocations to start with. You might have better luck if you get a powered hub to put between the 2 devices.

Richard rich.ms

gzt

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# 1339404 8-Jul-2015 17:33

USB y cable is an alternative.

Sometimes different groups of ports have different capability so try another port group also.

panda123

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# 1339409 8-Jul-2015 17:41

Don't really wanting to buy a powered USB hub to connect my portable hard drives to my laptop. What is a USB y cable and port group?

richms

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# 1339416 8-Jul-2015 17:58

Depending on the design of the computer, you might find that some ports are connected together and share a single polyfuse, so a 1A one for 2 ports, if one of those ports is empty then the other can deliver an amp instead of only a half amp. Often if there are 2 ports right beside each other they will share a fuse, and if there is a single one on the other side of the laptop it will have its own fuse.

If they are individually fused then a Y cable has 2 USB A plugs on it connected together so that it takes power from 2 ports to the device. Means that the drive can draw more power without the fuses tripping.

Richard rich.ms

gzt

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# 1339425 8-Jul-2015 18:05

I always assumed USB y could be used with an external power supply as well. Pretty sure one of my drives has that tho I never needed it.

nathan

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# 1339427 8-Jul-2015 18:07

gzt: I always assumed USB y could be used with an external power supply as well. Pretty sure one of my drives has that tho I never needed it.

yes indeed it can

richms

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# 1339437 8-Jul-2015 18:33

Only if you want to backfeed into the PC as well. Not ideal.

Richard rich.ms

panda123

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# 1339444 8-Jul-2015 18:59

not too sure about my ports. on the left i have 2 USB2.0 next to each other and on the right I have a eSATA port. i remembered trying to plud the portable HDD into each port but it didnt work.

What kind of Y cable do I need and where can I get them from?

richms

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# 1339450 8-Jul-2015 19:04

depends on what connector is on the other end, there are USB Y cables for pretty much all of them. As its a USB 3 drive I would assume its micro USB so http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Two-USB3-0-A-Male-to-Micro-USB-3-Y-Cable-for-Mobile-HDD/880966114.html should do it. Probably something local on trademe if you can deal with their craphouse search.

Richard rich.ms