Portable hard drive seems to start working then fails

yes and yes .. problem happens on multiple computers/laptops with different OS's

I tried replying to this using my phone and lost the entire reply..
here it goes again while trying to hit all the same points.

Yes i have in a sense used a different cable in the sense that i have a data cable that i plug directly into the hard drive ( after removing from case) while this hard drive ( seems like a laptop sized drive ) does not have "pins" i believe its referred to as sata. going on i plug the power cord i have for this manner of drive reading into the appropriate slot on the drive. the drive seems to start spinning with no known abnormal sounds as i have used a few diagnostic sites that play sounds to compare. the drive does not tick. beep or scratch. it simply starts spinning then stops even without plugging in the data cable yet.

once i plug the data cable into the laptop i get nothing this way .. wont even load drivers automatically like most devices do when first introduced to a computer.

on the other hand when i use the original cable ( its almost as if the connection piece is like 2 mini usb cables put side by side.,,, possibly refered to as a UMD connection????) and plug it i get the same power on cycle for about ten seconds. ( the light comes on while the drive is "spinning" then goes off with drive) when i first plug it in i get the windows default beep that a device is connected. then the little bubble that pops up saying windows is installing software for this device. usually the drive wont stay on long enough for this process before it goes off.. sometimes tho i can get the software to say it installed successfully but upon unplugging and replugging i still cannot get "my computer" or command prompt disk part ... list disk to see the drive... even if i utilize this process while the drive is "on" for the brief amount of time.

i have downloaded sae tools utility and a separate diagnostic program to try and read the drive to no avail... the sea tools utility wont read it even if i refresh immediately while plugging drive in .. as if to try and catch it while its on.

id also like to note that i am in fact pretty computer savvy and have never experienced such an issue trying to read a drive.

if anyone still feels like they have a solution or tactic i should try i would like them to please contact me on facebook as i am more able to readily reply and sort this out vs the snail mail route. id like someone that may be able to walk me thru a process "live" if you will and it would be greatly appreciated.

although any input here will still be helpful thanks
https://www.facebook.com/RedRum420.247

NEW UPDATE .. i got brave and (its out of warranty) and took it apart. i seen that the head was stuck on the disk so i gently lifted it and it snapped back to position . drive works GREAT except i hear a scratch every now n then and it gets a little more frequent when i open larger files such as movies tho i have not had a chance to really dig and see if any data is missing or currupt yet.. my new question would be is it permanent or could this maybe sort itself out and remain a decent drive