Windows disconnects on USBC-NVMe drive enclosure heavy read/write activity

USB Drive Docks and Card Readers USBC-NVME
1

Hi,

I have had this drive enclosure since April 2019 and I find the drive sometimes disconnects and freezes windows. I have only just been able to narrow it down to this drive enclosure and originally thought it was a pci bottle neck. Now I am convinced that it is something to do with the enclosure disconnecting during heavy read or write activity. Any suggestions to help me stop it disconnecting please?

Thanks in advance.

2

Hi,

Thank you for contacting us, I am sorry this is not working as expected and I am happy to help!

Are you able to reliably reproduce the disconnections, for example by copying large amounts of data to the drive, or is it only occasionally occurring during large file transfers?

The enclosure included three adhesive-backed thermal pads, are these attached to the installed NVMe SSD ( we recommend installing these on the top-facing side of the NVMe SSD to improve heat transfer from the SSD to the aluminum cover )?

Is the USBC-NVME enclosure connected directly to a USB-A or USB-C port on the computer using one of the original USB data cables included with the enclosure? Or is it connected to a USB hub, or for a desktop computer connected to a front-panel USB port ( front panel ports may be less reliable than directly on the mainboard due to the USB 3 extension cable within the case ).

Thank you for these additional details, I look forward to your reply and we can go from here.

Pat
Plugable Technology
support@plugable.com

3

Hi Pat,

Yes I can reproduce it. It is something to do with the 3.1 gen 2 mode as when I run crystaldiskmark in the gen 2 port it fails and freezes my os. If I run in a gen 1 port I get 300MB/s but it doesn’t fail.

So I don’t remember the enclosure coming with thermal pads so they are not installed. I am supprimés if it came with these I didn’t install them. I don’t have them so if that is likely to be an issue I’ll have to try a different enclosure.

And yes it is connected to a usb 3.1 gen 2 port when it fails.

Thanks again for your help.

5

Hi,

Thank you for the additional details, may I ask the manufacturer name and model of this computer if a notebook, or if the USB 3 Gen 2 port is built into the computer, or if a desktop computer with a PCIe USB 3 Gen 2 card, please let me know the manufacturer name and model of the PCIe expansion card.

For Windows:

  1. Open the Start Menu and search for “msinfo32” and launch the first search result
  2. Please let me know the values from the following entries ( on the right column ):
    2a) “System Model”
    2b) “System SKU”
  3. Please feel free to attach a screenshot of this window to your reply email if you prefer by using the Windows Snipping Tool ( from the Start Menu search for “Snipping” ) and I can get the details from there

For macOS:

  1. Open the Apple Menu > About this mac…
  2. Please let know the system model details and macOS version from this page
  3. Please feel free to attach a screenshot of this window to your reply email if you prefer by using the macOS screenshot hotkey combination [Command ⌘]+[Shift ⇧]+[4] then dragging a selection box around the window, the screenshot will be saved to the desktop and can then be attached to your reply email.

Some early USB 3 Gen 2 ( now simply “USB 10Gbps” per the latest USB naming standards ) are not entirely reliable with modern operating systems and don’t, while others were never entirely stable to begin with.

Regarding the thermal pads, these are not generally required for normal operation, however some SSDs may run hotter than others and the thermal pads can help to dissipate heat faster. While testing the SSD you may be able to monitor the temperature with CrystalDiskInfo ( from the maker of CrystalDiskMark ) to see if the SSD exceeds 80 degrees C where most will start to thermal throttle, most drives will continue to function but at reduced performance until about 95 degrees C where they will shut off.

Thank you,

Pat
Plugable Technology
support@plugable.com

6

Hi Pat,

It’s a custom buils and the mother board is an ASUS Tuf gaming x570-plus so should be perfectly adequate. The drive works okay in the 3.2 gen 1 port but not the 3.2 gen 2 port. Whenever I try to run crystaldiskmark in those ports, the drive disconnects and crashes the os forcing a hard reset.

I have attached an image of the back panel. It works in ports 2 but not ports 7.

image
image1668×1751 150 KB

7

Hi,

Thank you for the additional details, the USB 3 Gen 2 10Gpbs ports are controlled by the x570 chipset and I in my testing generally the x570 USB ports are reliable for our USBC-NVME enclosure. Do the disconnections occur when using the USB-C to USB-C cable as well as when using the USB-A to USB-C cable?

Based on your description of the behavior, our first step is to get some additional information from your system, with the USBC-NVME enclosure connected to the 10Gpbs port with the original USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A.

If you would, please keep the enclosure connected to the computer and then download and run our diagnostic utility PlugDebug ( http://plugable.com/support/plugdebug ) and attach the output to an email to ‘support@plugable.com’ with the subject line ‘Ticket #396622 - Attention Pat’ as this will allow us to examine some log files from your system to help determine the next steps.

Additionally, please let me know the serial number from the aluminum cover of the USBC-NVME enclosure ( in the format ####-A##### ) in the body of the email.

Thank you,

Pat
Plugable Technology
support@plugable.com

8

Hi Pat,

Yes I can do that. In the mean time I have been experimenting and it occurs on the read but not the write and generates the error:

The IO operation at logical block address xxxxxx for disk x was retried.

I am guessing that means it disconnects for some reason or read activity.

Thanks.

9

Hi Pat,

To confirm my suspicions it was the enclosure, I bought a new enclosure from a different brand and now it all works fine. My understanding is that the Plugable usbc-NVMe comes with a 2 year warranty so I could not be bothered to go through all that fault finding with you only to be told it was a faulty enclosure and I would need to get another one. Rather frustratingly this was going on since I bought it but I thought at the time it was a pci bus bandwidth problem so didn’t think to contact you for your support. Thanks for your help though.

Thanks again,
Major.

10

Hi,

I am very sorry to hear this is an adapter issue, we do provide a 2-year warranty on all of our products. If you would like to contact me directly via email with the original order details I can see if there is anything I can do to extend the warranty.

Please send an email to ‘support@plugable.com’ with the subject line ‘Ticket #396622 - Attention Pat’ and include in the body of the email the original Amazon Order ID ( available from Amazon.com/orders, in the format ###-#######-####### ) and the serial number from the USBC-NVME enclosure’s aluminum cover.

Thank you, and I apologize for this inconvenience.

Pat
Plugable Technology
support@plugable.com

11

Thanks Pat,

One thing I will say is your support has been great and I have really appreciated you trying to help me.

Whilst this Plugable product hasn’t worked for me it’s nice to know the support behind Plugable is there and helping.

Thanks again,
Major.