mac - MacBook USB-Hub

12
2013-08
  • schneck

    I bought an active 7-port-USB-Hub to avoid all the cable mess on my desk. The following devices are plugged in:

    • Scanner (which is not being used, actually)
    • Keyboard
    • Mouse
    • Android-Phone

    When I now plug in a hard disk (passive, 2.5') as Time Machine device, it is not recognized. I wonder why this is the case, because it's an active hub. Do I really need to buy a hard disk with its own power supply?

    Another strange thing is, that when I plug the hard disk directly into the MacBook (beside the hub), it does not work either.

    • Answers
  • Arjan

    I believe the key here, is that he stated it's a passive 2.5" hard drive enclosure. That means that it may require two powered ports to have full power. The hard drive just may not be getting enough power.

    1. Is the hub plugged into a power outlet
    2. Does the usb cable have two ports? And are both being plugged into the usb hub?
    3. Does system Profiler see the drive?
    4. Does Disk Utility see the drive?
    5. What's the make & model of the USB Hub?
  • mouviciel

    Looks like the problem is not the hub but the disk.

    If it is visible from Disk Utility, try to format it with an HFS+ filesystem and a GUID partition table.

  • Arjan

    This does not explain why it won't work with the hub, but on the MacBook itself, all USB ports aren't created equal.


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    external hard drive - 2.0 speeds on USB hub?
  • Matthew Robertson

    How capable are USB hubs?

    I have an AirPort Extreme router with a printer attached (it's not powered by USB). I want to extend this and add two hard drives (one for Time Machine and the other for EyeTV recordings).

    Can a 4-port USB hub (I'm considering this one) achieve USB 2.0 speeds and power the hard drives? What difference would a self-powered vs externally-powered hub produce?


    • Related Answers
  • Radruler

    Ive run 3 external hds off a Belkin wall-powered hub and gotten the same speed as a direct connection, however my hard drives were all wall-powered as well. As a rule of thumb, it's definitely better to get powered USB hubs for any hard disk usage or heavy data access (bigger thumb drives, etc), while self/computer powered hubs are usually for mouse/keyboard and generally device inputs. There is no downside as far as I am aware of using a wall-powered hub, so if you have the extra cash, its always a good investment to go with external power. I personally use an old model of Belkin's hubs, and its served me well for almost 3 years now.

    tl;dr: Drawing usb power is bad for lots of data transfer, grab an externally/wall powered hub and you should be fine. Try and get the hard drives themselves powered too -- the less stress on the hub, the better.

  • Stefan Thyberg

    A self-powered USB Hub typically reinforces and repeats the signal so that you may have longer cables. It's definitely to be prefered when running heavy USB appliances such as harddrives.