USB disconnects

[Silvio Demilio]

OK I have a 2012 Mac mini and like many users I get frequent USB disconnects and the obligatory warning. Well I have tried many things software and hardware and at one point thought that heat and fan speed was the issue, it wasn't, sigh.

Well I am beyond annoyed that Apple has not addressed this, leaving users to live with it.

I was lucky enough to get someone to run the Apple Service Diagnostic 3S152, not the crappy one we plebs get access to but the technicians one, the actually useful one.

It found three errors:
Airport (test #41) – wake on Wireless Internal Stimulation test

This test verifies the interconnect between the wireless module and system using an internal simulation mode during sleep/wake.

ERROR – 20 [WakeOnWireless test failed, invalid wake event]

Product: Sleep / Wake 30/60 Test (test #14) – Sleep / Wake 30/60 Test

Verifies that a unit can automatically sleep and wake using the OS sleepx tool with 30/60/1 settings

ERROR – 11 [Invalid wake event]

Memory test #10 – Main Memory Self-refresh test

Tests memory before and after a sleep wake cycle testing the memory's self refresh

ERROR -49018 [Unexpected wake cause.]

So there seems to be a theme here - sleep wake cycle. I can't find anything about these errors, and as usual Apple gives the user nothing.

OK Uber technical geeks - please explain this. Could this issue cause USB instability/disconnects? Why? Can it be fixed? Is it possibly due to a defective Airport module? Did Apple use a bunch of flakey components in various devices?

Oh before you blame software, this software boots outside your normal boot disk on an external USB drive, and 10.9 up to El Capitan are the same.

Well thanks for reading, I look forward to comments.

 

[honestone]

I have a late 2012 Mac Mini model, and have not experienced any issues at all! All my connections, (USB (mouse, USB hub), Firewire 800 (external hard drive), Ethernet/Router, connection for external monitor, connection for external speakers, etc.) work perfectly. And, I have never messed with the sleep/wake business.

The following would be helpful information:

1. What exact Mac OS are you running?

2. Are you making any backups to an external device?

3. Have you done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs?

4. How much free space is left on your internal drive?

5. Do you have either MacKeeper or CleanMyMac installed? If you do, get rid of them IMMEDIATELY! They do way more harm than good.

6. Do you have any anti-virus software installed?

By the way, shortly after I got my Mac Mini, I replaced the slow, 5400 rpm 1 TB internal drive with a fast, 256 gig Samsung 840 Pro SSD. It definitely makes a difference. (I subsequently installed the 1 TB drive inside a nice, compact external case, and it does come in handy when I travel.

 

[Silvio Demilio]

I have a late 2012 Mac Mini model, and have not experienced any issues at all! All my connections, (USB (mouse, USB hub), Firewire 800 (external hard drive), Ethernet/Router, connection for external monitor, connection for external speakers, etc.) work perfectly. And, I have never messed with the sleep/wake business.

The following would be helpful information:

1. What exact Mac OS are you running?

2. Are you making any backups to an external device?

3. Have you done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs?

4. How much free space is left on your internal drive?

5. Do you have either MacKeeper or CleanMyMac installed? If you do, get rid of them IMMEDIATELY! They do way more harm than good.

6. Do you have any anti-virus software installed?

By the way, shortly after I got my Mac Mini, I replaced the slow, 5400 rpm 1 TB internal drive with a fast, 256 gig Samsung 840 Pro SSD. It definitely makes a difference. (I subsequently installed the 1 TB drive inside a nice, compact external case, and it does come in handy when I travel.

Thanks for comments.
El Capitan latest update
I use 3 raid units, but it can issue affect any USB drive, of any brand. The tests are done with only a USB mouse, and keyboard attached, all other peripherals are disconnected. It doesn't matter of they are connected directly or through high quality powered USB 3 HUBS. I make no backs as such as the raids are all Raid 10.
Yes all the drives have been checked with Apple Disk utility and Disk Warrior.
No I have no rubbish software
No anti virus.

This is a hardware problem as far as I am concerned. Tehre is a vast number of people affected, with different types of macs, different drives, manufacturers etc. The errors found are suggestive of a hardware issue and need inout from a technician really. Does the Airport card for example make use of the USB in anyway? It really annoys me how secretive Apple is re there errors it is almost impossible to work out what the hell is going on. I also had the issue when I connected USB drives via a USB to thunderbolt connection which is when I realised it had to be something else interfering with how USB functions.