Why does my Mac mini M2 Pro disconnect NVMe drives (Above 2TB)?

I also had the disconnection problem with NVMe drives above 2TB connected via external enclosure on my Mac Mini M2 Pro. After trying several configurations and methods the problem seems to occur when using NVMe drives greater than 2TB connected via standard external enclosure. Standard meaning no additional hardware other than simple connection via Thunderbolt port on the Mac and USB 3.1, Gen2 external enclosure. This provides a 10Gbit speed connection that translates to 1GB per second in real world rating.

SO, the problem occurs on Thunderbolt 4 or USB 3.1, Gen2 external enclosures. I used a 4TB NVMe drive in a USB 3.1, Gen2 enclosure and this is what I discovered. While transferring large amounts of data (50GB or more) the drive heated up big time. I tried using a different brand 4TB drive and got the same results.

Anyway, I connected the same 4TB external enclosure to the 2nd port on an OWC Thunderbay 4 mini drive that was connected to the Mac Mini M2 Pro and it worked great. This tells me the Mac mini requires more than just direct connection of standard external enclosures for drives above 2TB.

I settled for a 2TB drive with standard connection to the Thunderbolt 4 port on the Mac mini. No more problems.

If you want to use a drive above 2TB, purchase an enclosure that provides hardware support for this type connection.

OWC has several that work well. I'm certain there are others. Do your research.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]