USB Hard drive problem

[Seany]

Hi,
I have an 80G portable hard drive which I can't seem to access
anymore. When I plug it into my laptop, the laptop recognises a
portable USB device has been plugged in but the device does not appear
under my computer. I've tried everthing I can think of....rebooting,
using the troubleshooter in the 'safely remove hardware' panel. I
really don't want to re-format the drive as I have a lot of work stuff
and more importantly music stored on it! The laptop usb ports work as
other devices work fine.
HELP please!!

Thanks
Seany

 

[Mark Fortune]

Hi,
I have an 80G portable hard drive which I can't seem to access
anymore. When I plug it into my laptop, the laptop recognises a
portable USB device has been plugged in but the device does not appear
under my computer. I've tried everthing I can think of....rebooting,
using the troubleshooter in the 'safely remove hardware' panel. I
really don't want to re-format the drive as I have a lot of work stuff
and more importantly music stored on it! The laptop usb ports work as
other devices work fine.
HELP please!!

Thanks
Seany

This could be a number of things, nackered disk, broken electronics etc
etc. easiest way to find out is to take the disk out of the usb caddy
and plug it straight into the computers internal ide interface and see
if it shows up in the bios and in your operating system. if it is a 2.5"
hard disk, you will probably need an adapter, you can usually pick these
up off ebay for a couple of quid.

 

[cmdrdata]

Hi,
I have an 80G portable hard drive which I can't seem to access
anymore. When I plug it into my laptop, the laptop recognises a
portable USB device has been plugged in but the device does not appear
under my computer. I've tried everthing I can think of....rebooting,
using the troubleshooter in the 'safely remove hardware' panel. I
really don't want to re-format the drive as I have a lot of work stuff
and more importantly music stored on it! The laptop usb ports work as
other devices work fine.
HELP please!!

I have this problem once. The problem could be that your laptop cannot
provide enough power to the USB HD so it was unable to read the data.
even though the OS recognized that a USB device is plugged in. I
suggest that you get a 5V power supply that fits your USB HD (I have
two types, one USB drive have a small coaxial plug for power input, the
second type have a USB cable with 3 connectors and the third connector
was connected to a POWERED USB hub.). I think USB ports are spec'ed to
supply 500mA max, and your HD may draw more, thus the problem you are
seeing.

The sequence: power up the USB HD, then hook up tp your laptop.

 

[JW]

Seany wrote:

[...] USB drive won't start

I have this problem once. The problem could be that your laptop cannot
provide enough power to the USB HD so it was unable to read the data.
even though the OS recognized that a USB device is plugged in.

Indeed. Usually when this condition occurs, you can hear the drive click
repeatedly. Some of these come with a dual USB connector at the computer
end for additional power.

 

[Michael Ware]

Seany wrote:

[...] USB drive won't start

I have this problem once. The problem could be that your laptop cannot
provide enough power to the USB HD so it was unable to read the data.
even though the OS recognized that a USB device is plugged in.

Indeed. Usually when this condition occurs, you can hear the drive click
repeatedly. Some of these come with a dual USB connector at the computer
end for additional power.

try plugging into another PC

 

[Michael Kennedy]

Seany, is this your question over on c-net?

http://tinyurl.com/njko3
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-10149-0.html
forumID=7&threadID=190878&messageID=2067686&tag=nl.e497


If it was me I'd just remove the hdd from the usb enclosure and plug it into
the IDE cable in a working PC.. Make sure to set the jumper to slave on the
hdd if your are hooking it up with another device that is set to master.

- Mike

Seany wrote:

[...] USB drive won't start

I have this problem once. The problem could be that your laptop cannot
provide enough power to the USB HD so it was unable to read the data.
even though the OS recognized that a USB device is plugged in.

Indeed. Usually when this condition occurs, you can hear the drive click
repeatedly. Some of these come with a dual USB connector at the computer
end for additional power.

try plugging into another PC

 

[Jussi Peltola]

My experience with USB hard drives: data corruption after data
corruption. Especially the Genesys Logic USB-IDE bridges are terribly buggy.
I would recommend against putting anything important, especially
work-related, on one.

 

[JW]

My experience with USB hard drives: data corruption after data
corruption. Especially the Genesys Logic USB-IDE bridges are terribly buggy.
I would recommend against putting anything important, especially
work-related, on one.

I've had no issues at all - perhaps you're doing something wrong?

It's important to notify Windows before disconnecting a device. It's also
important to use quality USB 2.0 cables.