GA-Z77-D3H USB 3.0 External HDD Detection Issue

[DarkoL]

Hey guys,

So I built my current PC a few weeks ago and everything was working fine until I decided to test my 3.0 USB front panel in my case (HAF 912 Advanced). To point out first, whenever I connect a 2.0 device into the 3.0 port, the device works fine. However, when I connect a 3.0 device, and considering the external HDD I have is the only USB 3.0 device I have, the ports act weird. I have 2 front panel connectors, the left one would work with the external HDD at times, but disconnects with the slightest nudge on the USB connector, and if I don't touch it it would disconnect after a short time but the HDD would still show signs of activity (lights still on, device vibrating), and sometimes it doesn't work at all when I connect it. But when I connect the HDD to the right USB 3.0 front port it simply doesn't work at all. Mind you, it still shows the same signs of getting powered, but windows doesn't detect it at all.

I have done all I could. I disabled and re-enabled the USB 3.0 controller in the BIOS (which I never flashed/updated). I reinstalled the Intel and Etron USB 3.0 drivers. Reinstalled the drivers for the HDD itself. Nothing worked. And even now, I'm seeing an 'unknown device' in the device manager after all the reinstallations and I have no idea what the problem is. Here is a screenshot of the devices manager:




My specs:
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Advanced
Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel Z77 GA-Z77-D3H
Cooling System: Cooler Master V6GT
PSU: Corsair TX750 V2
CPU: Intel i5 3570K
GPU: Gigabyte HD 7950
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB
HDD: Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200RPM 2 TB
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
External HDD: WD My Passport Essential 500GB

[ysw521]

for unknown device, do you install Intel Management Engine Interface driver?

[DarkoL]

No, you have to figure out what it is yourself. As for me, I realized that I had to install Intel Smart Connect from the gigabyte website.

I'm still suffering from this problem, and to confirm it I have tried my HDD on a friend's USB 3.0 connector and it worked fine so there's no way the problem is not from the motherboard.

I am quite disappointed with this forum though, it seemed dead when I first checked it but I didn't think I wouldn't get a response at all...