External hard drive adapter not recognized after unplugging and plugging back in

marvix97

Hi, I have this problem with a sata to usb adapter that I use.

First of all, some context. I have various hard drives that I use and swap every now and then, as I have different files organized in that way.

The problem is that when I unmount and disconnect a drive from the adapter, and connect another one, or even the same drive, it doesn't get recognized until I reboot the PC. When I reboot, the drive that's plugged in starts working normally

When recognized and working, it gets listed in lsusb as
Bus 004 Device 004: ID 174c:55aa ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1051E SATA 6Gb/s bridge, ASM1053E SATA 6Gb/s bridge, ASM1153 SATA 3Gb/s bridge, ASM1153E SATA 6Gb/s bridge
but when disconnected and reconnected, it doesn't even get listed there.

I don't know what the problem could be, any help is appreciated.

If you need some logs of anything, or any missing information, please tell me how to do it and I will provide them.

brent

Your issue is you want to plug/unplug and have the device recognized and not have to reboot.

Unmounting correctly?
UUID issue?
Maybe you have to manually mount it (I do often) in gnome-disks in the menu after plugin?
All I got.

marvix97

brent I always unmount from the dropdown before unplugging, I haven't mentioned it because I take it for granted.
After plugging it back, it's not shown in the disks app. I have also tried other distros and the problem is still there, so as MattX said, I just think that is the adapter the problem.

MattX

Some cheap-a** USB devices can act weird. I got problems with some USB hubs freezing. They can still be recognized by the system, but they don't work until you unplug them and plug back in. That's why one hub can cost like $5 and other $25... The same for other adapters and interfaces. They have some programmable ICs on PCBs that can be crappy and unstable. Trying them on different PCs and OSs can tell if there's a problem with the device or the OS. Also the PC's USB port controller can be faulty. Trying different ports on the front and the back of the PC may tell you if something is wrong with the machine.

marvix97

MattX as I said in the other post, I have tried other distros, and the problem is still there. Even tried another PC, same problem.
I have noticed that it happens only on Linux, as it works normally in Windows, but I am not switching back because of this, I'd rather reboot to swap the drives until I can afford a better adapter

brent

marvix97 I have also tried other distros and the problem is still there,

Since you omitted this relevant info in your original post (unless you tried it after you posted this on different disros then my apologies) I would not have answered the way I did. I should have known by your first sentence, however, that you had already self-diagnosed yourself and you were correct without knowing you are correct. That's the nature of troubleshooting🙂!
Hardware it is.

marvix97

brent yes, I haven't mentioned trying on other distros because I did it after posting here.
Yes, I am convinced that it is an hardware problem, but I'll still try to fix it every now and then. If I fix it, I will update my post, so if anyone encounters the same problem can fix 🙂

brent

marvix97 I never would of thought hardware because of one stupid assumption I made: a specialty uncommon usb cord like this I thought would run about $20 or more and because it was crafted for a single purpose, also constructed very well. [note to self: what is constructed really well anymore?] 🙂