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For help setting up and using your Seagate drive, review the frequently asked questions below. For additional support resources, go to Seagate customer support.
Q: What type of USB-C port is the device connected to?
A: Device performance is limited by the port's speed. See the following knowledge base article: How fast should an external drive be?.
Q: Are there other USB devices connected to the same port or hub?
A: Disconnect other USB devices and see if the drive’s performance improves.
Q: Can I use my drive with a USB hub?
A: Yes, the drive can be connected to a USB hub. If you use a hub and encounter detection problems, slower than normal transfer rates, random disconnection from your computer or other unusual issues, try connecting the drive directly to the computer’s USB-C port.
Some USB hubs are less than efficient with power management, which can be problematic for connected devices. In such a case, consider trying a powered USB hub that includes a power cable.
Q: Did you get an “Error -50” message while copying to a FAT32 volume?
A: When copying files or folders from a computer to a FAT32 volume, certain characters in the names cannot be copied. These characters include, but are not limited to: ? < > / \ :
Check your files and folders to ensure that these characters are not in the names.
If this is a recurring problem or you cannot find files with incompatible characters, consider reformatting the drive to NTFS (Windows users) or either APFS or HFS+ (Mac users). See Optional Formatting.
Q: Is the drive listed in Device Manager?
A: All drives appear in at least one place in Device Manager.
Type Device Manager in Search to launch it. Look in the Disk Drives section and, if necessary, click the Plus (+) icon to view the full list of devices. If you’re uncertain that your drive is listed, safely unplug it and then reconnect it. The entry that changes is your drive.
Q: Is your drive listed next to an unusual icon?
A: Windows Device Manager usually provides information about failures with peripherals. While the Device Manager can assist with troubleshooting most problems, it may not display the exact cause or provide a precise solution.
An unusual icon next to the drive can reveal a problem. For example, instead of the normal icon based on the type of device, it has an exclamation point, question mark, or an X. Right click this icon and then choose Properties. The General tab provides a potential reason why the device is not working as expected.
Q: Is your Finder configured to hide drives on the desktop?
A: Go to Finder and then check Preferences | General tab | Show these items on the desktop. Confirm that Hard Disks is selected.
Q: Is your drive mounting in the operating system?
A: Open Disk Utility at Go | Utilities | Disk Utility. If the drive is listed in the left-hand column, check your Finder preferences to see why it is not displayed on the desktop (review the question above).
Q: Does your computer’s configuration meet the minimum system requirements for use with this drive?
A: Go to the following link for a list of supported operating systems: www.seagate.com/os.
Q: Did you follow the correct installation steps for your operating system?
A: Review the installation steps in Getting Started.
Q: Can I use Ultra Compact SSD with Time Machine?
A: Yes. The drive is preformatted exFAT for use with both PC and Mac. For Time Machine, it must be reformatted to Mac. Reformatting will delete all data previously stored on the drive. Go to www.seagate.com/time-machine for more details.