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  • Have you confirmed the drive works as it should in another computer and preferably with a different OS (e.g. Windows)? And which file system is in the drive? Commented Feb 13, 2023 at 21:14
  • My "my passport" is older than yours but I too had this problem. Linux and Windows. Also would spin down completely after no use and the whole machine would hang when attempting to spin back up. These problems were related to the internal power management on the drive's board (by design, not an error with my model or hardware). I myself got around it by writing myself a service that pinged the drive every 5 or so seconds but checking the directory at the root of the file system. Just for fun, try writing a cron job that does an ls on it every X seconds and see if it solves it. Commented Feb 13, 2023 at 23:01
  • @ChanganAuto Every computer I tested (even with Windows) has this problem. Commented Feb 14, 2023 at 0:37
  • Then it's likely a problem with the drive itself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor Commented Feb 14, 2023 at 0:38
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    A few possibilities: 1. If there are many files, with a long pause between each, the disk spins down. 3. If there is one large file, the drive could overheat -- but then would take some time to cool and reconnect. 3. The USB ports tried might be just slightly underpowered -- test by using a powered hub (though a USB 3.0 port should have ample power, some may not be up to specs. Commented Feb 14, 2023 at 1:05