USB trouble with external hard disk

[Volker Wysk]

Am Samstag, dem 22.02.2025 um 12:01 -0800 schrieb MR ZenWiz:
> On Fri, Feb 21, 2025 at 11:23 PM Volker Wysk <post at volker-wysk.de> wrote:
> > 
> > Hi
> > 
> > I've been copying a large file from one external hard disk to another,
> > and
> > rsync reported a "file IO error" (no further information). The keyboard
> > and
> > the mouse froze. I had to log in remotely in order to reboot the system.
> > I've tried two or three times and then it worked.
> > 
> > It looks to me like the USB subsystem died. The culprit seems to be the
> > target hard disk, but I'm not sure. It could also be a problem with USB.
> > 
> > What should I do about it? Should I scrap that hard disk? It's old, but
> > I
> > don't know how old exactly. I haven't had any problems with it
> > previously.
> > 
> > Why can one faulty USB device cause the entire USB subsystem to freeze?
> > And,
> > is there a way to test the integrity of that harddisk?
> > 
> Have you tried switching up USB ports to see if one
> (arrangement/connection) works better than another?

Not yet. Will do.

> I used to have problems with some of my laptops because the USB ports
> were two per controller, and the wrong combination of devices could
> jam up each other or even the whole USB subsystem.
> 
> There are also bad USB ports (for some reason, most likely h/w failure).


That's my second guess about what could be the reason. Is there a way to
test USB ports?

Thanks,
Volker