WS X570-ACE freezes when an external HDD is connected

Hello,
I have recently built a new PC around an Asus Pro WS X570-ACE motherboard and a Ryzen 3900X. It’s mostly been a smooth experience, but one thing is kind of crazy:

Whenever I attempt to connect my Seagate Backup Plus 2TB USB drive, the PC instantly freezes up, the screen goes blank and all the fans spin up to the max speed.

It happens as soon as the edge of the USB plug touches the edge of any USB port in the machine, and at any time the computer is on - i.e. even if I try it before the operating system begins to boot. So it might be some electrical problem.

I tried to connect the drive via a powered USB 3 hub, but the same thing happened.

The drive works perfectly well with other computers in the house, including a Macbook Pro and a Thinkpad X240.

Any clues? ASUS support has so far recommended to update the BIOS and reset CMOS, but as you can guess it changed nothing.

Does the same thing happen when you plug other usb devices into the same ports ?

No, it only happens with this particular drive. I even tried two different power supplies for the drive, but it didn’t make any difference.

I’ve successfully used a card reader, webcam, various memory sticks, a powered USB hub, USB microphone with the board, everything works without a hitch.

Have you tried another usb cable?
It seems unlikely, since the external hdd works with other computers, but it could be worth a try?

2 Likes

Took me a while to find another cable, but you were right - the other one works fine!
Thanks so much for the idea!

The whole situation is still a bit of a mystery, but I can live with it. Thanks again!

2 Likes

Happy to help :slight_smile: