NUC - External USB Enclosure Incompatibility

[SteveFP]

Hello all,

I have an 8th gen Intel NUC(i7-8559u). I have tried connecting the StarTech 2.5" USB hdd enclosure to either the front or rear USB A ports or the rear USB C port. When on the USB A ports the enclosure faults in Windows 10 and I literally have to turn off/turn on the enclosure. When connected to the USB C port I am able to keep the enclosure connected for some time but the drives run at 100%. After about 15 minutes the enclosure faults again.

I have tried the same enclosure on a 9th gen Intel based laptop and I have no issues, so it sounds like there is an incompatibility with the enclosure and the NUC. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve

[Alberto_Sykes]

SteveFP, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

In reference to this scenario, we will do further research to try to confirm if there might be a compatibility problem between the HDD Enclosure and the Intel® NUC. For us to be able to do that, please attach the SSU report so we can verify further details about the components in your platform, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-?product=91600

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[SteveFP]

Alberto,

Here are two versions of the output. The first output is just when I connected the StarTech enclosure. The second version is after the StarTech enclosure failed. Let me know if you need anything additional.

Thanks,

Steve

[Alberto_Sykes]

SteveFP, Thank you very much for providing that information and the SSU report.

In the following link, you will find the list of compatible products for the Intel® NUC Kit NUC8i7BEH, as you can see there are no External USB Enclosure devices listed:

https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Intel%C2%AE%20NUC

So, we will do further research on this matter, as soon as I get any updates I will post all the details on this thread.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[SteveFP]

I am happy to ship the enclosure for any testing you would like to do. 

[Alberto_Sykes]

SteveFP, Thank you very much for letting us know about that option.

Just to confirm, what is the specific model of the StarTech 2.5" USB HDD enclosure?

If you use the same enclosure but you replace the HDD, is the problem the same? 

Do you have the chance to test a different HDD with that same enclosure?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[SteveFP]

Its the StarTech S252BU313R with dual 256 gig SSDs. I have also tried the Sabrent EC-UASP with a 1TB SATA drive and this seems to work. I am going to move the 1TB SATA drive into the StarTech and see if it works. I am also going to move the 256 SSD into the Sabrent and see if it works.

Staty tuned!

[SteveFP]

Ok moving the 1TB drive into the StarTech enclosure yields a failure whereas the 256 gig SSD in the Sabrent enclosure yields success. It seems the StarTech enclosure is the issue.

As mentioned I am happy to ship the enclosure to you. I am not really using it yet.

[Alberto_Sykes]

SteveFP, Thank you very much for sharing those details.

Yes, if the problem does not happen when using a different hard drive, that indicates as you mentioned, that the issue is either the HDD itself or the enclosure, it could be a compatibility matter between the parts as well.

"I am also going to move the 256 SSD into the Sabrent and see if it works", did it work?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[SteveFP]

Tested both 256 gig SSDs in the Sabrent enclosure and they work fine.

[n_scott_pearson]

I didn't see any mention: Have you tried replacing this StarTech enclosure? Are you sure it isn't a dud?

...S

[SteveFP]

This enclosure works fine with a 9th gen laptop, running USB-A or USC-C.

[SteveFP · Accepted solution]

So the enclosure was not a dud...but the USB cable with the enclosure seems to be the culprit. I swapped out cables and it works fine!

[David_G_Intel]

We are glad to know you found a solution, thank you for taking the time to share this fix, and hopefully, it may help other community members experiencing similar behavior. Since the thread is now solved, we will proceed to close it. 

 If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored. 

Best regards, 

David G 

Intel Customer Support Technician