USB Hub connection cutting out

[greenlotad]

I was running out of USB ports, so I bought this USB hub the other day. I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, an external hard drive, and a webcam connected to it. A short while ago, I tried to install some games from Steam onto the ext. hard drive (while the webcam was powered off), but Steam froze up and my audio interface cut out for a few seconds. I went into File Explorer and the hard drive had disappeared completely. It showed up again after several minutes, so I tried again, but the same thing happened. I moved the hard drive to a usb port on my motherboard where I used to have it and things have been fine since, so clearly this has to do with the USB hub. The store page shows an optional AC power brick, so does anyone know if that would solve the issue I'm having? Alternatively, could someone recommend a higher quality hub? Thanks.

[RGProductions]

Is this external hard drive USB powered or externally powered? The USB connector can only provide so much power and if it’s powered by USB there’s a good chance you’re over the limit 

[greenlotad]

4 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

Is this external hard drive USB powered or externally powered? The USB connector can only provide so much power and if it’s powered by USB there’s a good chance you’re over the limit 

USB powered

[RGProductions]

Just now, greenlotad said:

USB powered

Then that’s probably your issue. Move a different device to the hub and move the drive to one of the ports on the motherboard. Pretty much anything that isn’t charging something or spinning a motor shouldn’t draw much power these days

[greenlotad]

3 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

Then that’s probably your issue. Move a different device to the hub and move the drive to one of the ports on the motherboard. Pretty much anything that isn’t charging something or spinning a motor shouldn’t draw much power these days

Do you think powering the hub with an ac adaptor would provide enough power for the hard drive? If possible, I'd like to do that. This is only a minor problem, but the usb cable on  the ext. hard drive is very short, so placement is a bit inconvenient if it's plugged into the motherboard. 

[RGProductions]

Just now, greenlotad said:

Do you think powering the hub with an ac adaptor would provide enough power for the hard drive? If possible, I'd like to do that. This is only a minor problem, but the usb cable on  the ext. hard drive is very short, so placement is a bit inconvenient if it's plugged into the motherboard. 

It should probably work (depending on the specific hub) but it would likely be cheaper to get a longer cable for your external hard drive 

[greenlotad]

1 minute ago, RGProductions said:

It should probably work (depending on the specific hub) but it would likely be cheaper to get a longer cable for your external hard drive 

Alright, thanks so much for your help!