USB cable for my external harddrive?

purplecow1977

Hi,

I have a WD 'My passport' Ultra external.

I really like it EXCEPT when I am working on my laptop, the cable is very fickle and often disconnects.

Is there another cable I can purchase for this that might be a bit 'tighter'?

Thanks.

(This is it http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1948563.htm

Alanstrainor

Is it the USB port? Or the cable itself....it's rare enough for a cable like that to go bad...worth checking.

You can buy USB cables cheap on Ebay, 2 quid is all it should cost. I just don't know if it'll fix your issue.

purplecow1977

Its the usb part that inserts into laptop that is loose.

Overheal

Not much cure for a bad port but to fix it

Sometimes you can open up the laptop and get to the motherboard; going at the port with some needle nose pliers you can bend the port and tabs back to a snug fit

purplecow1977

Other usbs are not loose though. Just this one! Will try somethin later and see

Tokyo

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Is it the USB port? Or the cable itself....it's rare enough for a cable like that to go bad...worth checking.

You can buy USB cables cheap on Ebay, 2 quid is all it should cost. I just don't know if it'll fix your issue.

Before last week I'd have said that it's more than likely the port itself too, but I happen to have the same hard drive, and have had the same issue with the cable this past couple of weeks. I assumed too that it was the port, but it turns out that the metal USB prong had become loose in the plastic moulding of the cable, and was making an intermittent connection (move the cable and it would disconnect).

Tested it with another cable and drive seems to be fine, picked up a new cable from eBay about 5 minutes before spotting this thread.

purplecow1977

Oh thanks Mike,do you have a link to the cable?All USBs are different and this one is quite long.

Thanks.

Tokyo

You're looking for a USB 3.0 Male-A to Micro-B cable such as this one - they come in pretty much every length you could want. I bought a foot long one to replace the one form my drive, and a longer one because I have a habit of leaving the drive further away from the laptop.

purplecow1977

Thank you :-)

purplecow1977

Can I ask, is this the same?http://http://www.ebay.ie/itm/USB-2-0-Extension-Cable-Wire-Type-A-Male-to-A-Female-Coupler-3ft-0-8m-1m-164-/281162957191?pt=UK_Computing_USB_Cables&hash=item41769e4187

What's the difference between 2.0 and 3.0??

Tokyo

Nope - the cable you have linked to above is simply a USB cable extender.

USB 2.0 and 3.0 refer to the USB protocols used by your device - USB 3.0 is the newest and the fastest (up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0)



USB 3.0 has this shaped connector at one end of the cable:




USB 2.0 will have one of these connectors at one end of the cable: