Seagate USB drive always disappearing from desktop

I have a 2TB Seagate USB 3 drive, which is "backwards compatible" with USB 2.0.
I put that in quotes because this drive constantly disappears from my desktop. I simply
unplug the USB cable and plug it back in, and voila, there it is. But it makes me nervous
(and ticks me off!) that it never 'stays put'. Nervous, because I have been using this drive as my
Tima Machine drive. I just did a successful restore yesterday, so I know it's working properly, but
I do have to manually start my backups. I constantly get the message "backup drive not present".
So scheduled backups are sketchy to say the least. I know what you'll say - get a different drive for
use with Time Machine.    A good idea I'm sure. But can anyone tell me why this drive won't remain on
my desktop? Is it a USB 3 issue?
Thanks

There are many reports in these forums of problems using Seagate GoFlex drives with Time Machine. I wouldn't trust one, myself.

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