External Hard Drive not Recognized by computer
- Thread starter Javery
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No, it's not new. There's some stuff on it. It was working fine about a week ago and then I had to put it away because we needed the dining room table for company (my laptop and hard drive are usually there). I just got it out of the drawer and tried plugging it back in and my computer won't recognize it. The light is on in the front and I can hear the spinning of the drive inside. I am going to freak out because it had a lot of important stuff on there.
LaraCroftsLeftBoob
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i had a similar problem with a usb drive a little while ago. it turns out my usb drive was using the same drive letter as something else. i changed the drive letter and it worked fine. heres the topic
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106633
go into disk management and try changing the drive letter.
or are you sure the usb port is working? have you tried plugging something alse into the same port to see if it works?
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106633
go into disk management and try changing the drive letter.
or are you sure the usb port is working? have you tried plugging something alse into the same port to see if it works?
[quote name='LaraCroftsLeftBoob']i had a similar problem with a usb drive a little while ago. it turns out my usb drive was using the same drive letter as something else. i changed the drive letter and it worked fine. heres the topic
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106633
go into disk management and try changing the drive letter.
or are you sure the usb port is working? have you tried plugging something alse into the same port to see if it works?[/quote]
Wow - that might be it. I had my PSP also plugged in and I switched its drive from F:\ to E:\ for no good reason other than the fact that the HD wasn't plugged in at that time and it looked funny having a C:\, D:\ and F:\ but no E:\.
I will try changing it around when I get home tonight. Oh yeah, the USB ports are definitely working - I use them all the time.
God I hope this works. Thanks!
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106633
go into disk management and try changing the drive letter.
or are you sure the usb port is working? have you tried plugging something alse into the same port to see if it works?[/quote]
Wow - that might be it. I had my PSP also plugged in and I switched its drive from F:\ to E:\ for no good reason other than the fact that the HD wasn't plugged in at that time and it looked funny having a C:\, D:\ and F:\ but no E:\.
I will try changing it around when I get home tonight. Oh yeah, the USB ports are definitely working - I use them all the time.
God I hope this works. Thanks!
I think it needs to be mounted first.
I have the Microsoft Knowledge Database article somewhere around here. I'll see if I can locate it and post the link.
In the meantime, try this if your other solution doesn't work:
Right click on My Computer.
Choose Manage (This will open the Computer Management window).
Go to the Storage category and select Disk Management
Right click the new drive (usually listed as Hard Disk 1) and "initialize"
You now have the option to partition and format the drive.
The default settings of Primary Partition and NTFS- Quick Format are recommended for most users.
Obviously, if you used it before, don't partition or format it. You'll lose everything!
I have the Microsoft Knowledge Database article somewhere around here. I'll see if I can locate it and post the link.
In the meantime, try this if your other solution doesn't work:
Right click on My Computer.
Choose Manage (This will open the Computer Management window).
Go to the Storage category and select Disk Management
Right click the new drive (usually listed as Hard Disk 1) and "initialize"
You now have the option to partition and format the drive.
The default settings of Primary Partition and NTFS- Quick Format are recommended for most users.
Obviously, if you used it before, don't partition or format it. You'll lose everything!
m6oo
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[quote name='javeryh']OK, it isn't showing up in Disk Management at all... any other ideas? Is there a way to check what is plugged into a USB port (the port works definitely)?[/QUOTE]
First, I would try the drive on another PC to rule out the PC altogether.
If you put this drive together yourself (bare HD + case), you might want to just try reseating the drive within the case. Just open the case, disconnect the HD from the case electronics and reconnect. If you bought the external drive as a whole, then you can still do the same thing, but warranty issues etc. come into play. While you've got the case open, check to make sure that you can hear the drive spinning up when you turn on the power to the case.
If that doesn't work. It might be a problem with the external enclosure. To test this, you'll need to remove the HD from the case as before, but then mount the drive directly into a PC as if you're going to install it internally. See if you can the the PC to recognize it that way. Alternatively, if you can get your hands on another external case or IDE->USB adapter you can try that HD with that to rule out the case being the problem.
First, I would try the drive on another PC to rule out the PC altogether.
If you put this drive together yourself (bare HD + case), you might want to just try reseating the drive within the case. Just open the case, disconnect the HD from the case electronics and reconnect. If you bought the external drive as a whole, then you can still do the same thing, but warranty issues etc. come into play. While you've got the case open, check to make sure that you can hear the drive spinning up when you turn on the power to the case.
If that doesn't work. It might be a problem with the external enclosure. To test this, you'll need to remove the HD from the case as before, but then mount the drive directly into a PC as if you're going to install it internally. See if you can the the PC to recognize it that way. Alternatively, if you can get your hands on another external case or IDE->USB adapter you can try that HD with that to rule out the case being the problem.
OK, I tried it on another computer - no luck. I took the hard drive (Seagate 250GB) out of the case (Venus) and re installed it - no luck. I tried a new USB cable - no luck.
I'm using a laptop so I don't know how to connect the hard drive directly...
Thanks for the help and keep the ideas coming! I should note that this thing worked perfectly about a week or so ago and since then it has been unplugged and in a drawer...
I'm using a laptop so I don't know how to connect the hard drive directly...
Thanks for the help and keep the ideas coming! I should note that this thing worked perfectly about a week or so ago and since then it has been unplugged and in a drawer...
Michaellvortega
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Your drawer full of earth magnets?
m6oo
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[quote name='javeryh']OK, I tried it on another computer - no luck. I took the hard drive (Seagate 250GB) out of the case (Venus) and re installed it - no luck. I tried a new USB cable - no luck.
I'm using a laptop so I don't know how to connect the hard drive directly...
Thanks for the help and keep the ideas coming! I should note that this thing worked perfectly about a week or so ago and since then it has been unplugged and in a drawer...[/QUOTE]
Sorry, at this point, you're going to have to get your hands (borrow?) on some known good parts in order to test with.
To test the HD, you're going to have to find either a desktop machine to mount the drive in OR a new (known good) set of IDE2USB electronics (eg. another enclosure). If the HD works without the old enclosure, then it's the enclosure electronics that are bad. If you can't get the drive recognized this way, then you have to start thinking that maybe it's the drive.
I'm using a laptop so I don't know how to connect the hard drive directly...
Thanks for the help and keep the ideas coming! I should note that this thing worked perfectly about a week or so ago and since then it has been unplugged and in a drawer...[/QUOTE]
Sorry, at this point, you're going to have to get your hands (borrow?) on some known good parts in order to test with.
To test the HD, you're going to have to find either a desktop machine to mount the drive in OR a new (known good) set of IDE2USB electronics (eg. another enclosure). If the HD works without the old enclosure, then it's the enclosure electronics that are bad. If you can't get the drive recognized this way, then you have to start thinking that maybe it's the drive.
[quote name='m6oo']Sorry, at this point, you're going to have to get your hands (borrow?) on some known good parts in order to test with.
To test the HD, you're going to have to find either a desktop machine to mount the drive in OR a new (known good) set of IDE2USB electronics (eg. another enclosure). If the HD works without the old enclosure, then it's the enclosure electronics that are bad. If you can't get the drive recognized this way, then you have to start thinking that maybe it's the drive.[/quote]
Thanks... I'm thinking the hard drive isn't spinning now. It it making noise but the spinning I hear is from the case fan, not the hard drive. Is there any way to repair this?
To test the HD, you're going to have to find either a desktop machine to mount the drive in OR a new (known good) set of IDE2USB electronics (eg. another enclosure). If the HD works without the old enclosure, then it's the enclosure electronics that are bad. If you can't get the drive recognized this way, then you have to start thinking that maybe it's the drive.[/quote]
Thanks... I'm thinking the hard drive isn't spinning now. It it making noise but the spinning I hear is from the case fan, not the hard drive. Is there any way to repair this?
m6oo
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If the HD isn't spinning up at all then you're screwed more or less. If the spindle is stuck, you might be able to break it loose by a sharp rotational "jerk" along the platter's axis of rotation. Do this only as a last resort before throwing the drive away.
I'd hook up the HD to a "real" power supply to make sure that it really isn't spinning up.
Faulty IDE electronics hooked to the drive can cause a HD not to spin up. So, don't hook anything else up to the HD, just the power and then see if you can't hear the drive spin up and the head's seek.
I'd hook up the HD to a "real" power supply to make sure that it really isn't spinning up.
Faulty IDE electronics hooked to the drive can cause a HD not to spin up. So, don't hook anything else up to the HD, just the power and then see if you can't hear the drive spin up and the head's seek.
[quote name='m6oo']If the HD isn't spinning up at all then you're screwed more or less. If the spindle is stuck, you might be able to break it loose by a sharp rotational "jerk" along the platter's axis of rotation. Do this only as a last resort before throwing the drive away.
I'd hook up the HD to a "real" power supply to make sure that it really isn't spinning up.
Faulty IDE electronics hooked to the drive can cause a HD not to spin up. So, don't hook anything else up to the HD, just the power and then see if you can't hear the drive spin up and the head's seek.[/quote]
OK, I can open up my arcade cabinet and hook it up to the power supply in there. If that doesn't work is there any way Newegg or Seagate will send me a new one or give me a rebate? It's only a few months old and I actually only had about 15 GB worth of data on there. It should not break like that...
I'd hook up the HD to a "real" power supply to make sure that it really isn't spinning up.
Faulty IDE electronics hooked to the drive can cause a HD not to spin up. So, don't hook anything else up to the HD, just the power and then see if you can't hear the drive spin up and the head's seek.[/quote]
OK, I can open up my arcade cabinet and hook it up to the power supply in there. If that doesn't work is there any way Newegg or Seagate will send me a new one or give me a rebate? It's only a few months old and I actually only had about 15 GB worth of data on there. It should not break like that...
m6oo
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[quote name='javeryh']If that doesn't work is there any way Newegg or Seagate will send me a new one or give me a rebate? It's only a few months old and I actually only had about 15 GB worth of data on there. It should not break like that...[/QUOTE]
I think that the warranty on new Seagate drives is 5 years. They should replace it for you. I'd go directly to Seagate to get the drive replaced.
If it's under warranty DON'T kick it. Just return it.
I think that the warranty on new Seagate drives is 5 years. They should replace it for you. I'd go directly to Seagate to get the drive replaced.
If it's under warranty DON'T kick it. Just return it.
[quote name='m6oo']I think that the warranty on new Seagate drives is 5 years. They should replace it for you. I'd go directly to Seagate to get the drive replaced.
If it's under warranty DON'T kick it. Just return it.[/quote]
I called Seagate and I'm sending it in today. They are going to send me a new one as soon as I mail mine in. They said the whole process should take 10 days or so and I'm mailing it out today.
If it's under warranty DON'T kick it. Just return it.[/quote]
I called Seagate and I'm sending it in today. They are going to send me a new one as soon as I mail mine in. They said the whole process should take 10 days or so and I'm mailing it out today.
bread's done