PC has stopped recognizing external HDD

minikolaj

Prominent
Aug 28, 2017
17
0
510
I recently bought a new external HDD of 1TB after my old HDD stopped working. After using it for a couple of weeks, my laptop occasionally didn’t want to recognize it. I fixed this by simply re-plugging it. Now it’s even worse, it virtually never recognizes it. It won’t even show up in device manager!

The HDD works fine on another of my computers, and my laptop that has this issue works fine with another external HDD that I got.
While it was still working it also had this weird thing where I sometimes couldn't remove it safely even after closing everything. It just kept telling me that some process was using it!

I’d appreciate any help i can get
 

HamBown81

Commendable
Aug 3, 2017
917
0
1,360
Do you have issues with any other devices in that USB port on your laptop? Might just be a loose port and it was connecting properly when the plug on the HDD was brand-new but now it isn't?

The not being able to eject and external HDD is something that I have also experienced with my WD My Passport drive. There is a freeware program called Unlocker 1.9.2 that I have found exceedingly useful for solving that particular problem.
 

HamBown81

Commendable
Aug 3, 2017
917
0
1,360


Seems strange that it WAS working and then got worse. That was the reason I thought it may be related to the port. More details about the specific HDD you are using and your system hardware might help.

Have you tried booting the system while it is already plugged in?

Can you see the drive in the BIOS or on the POST report?
 

minikolaj

Prominent
Aug 28, 2017
17
0
510
The PC is an: ASUS UX305C
The HDD is an: ADATA HD720 1t
I tried booting with the HDD plugged in but it didn’t seem to change anything. I could not find it in BIOS but I am not familiar with BIOS, so I may have missed it.

Here are the specs that speccy gave me

Summary
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core m3 @ 0.90GHz 34 °C
Skylake-U/Y 14nm Technology
RAM
8,00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 930MHz (14-17-17-40)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. UX305CA (U3E1) 35 °C
Graphics
H22-1W (1920x1080@60Hz)
Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 515 (ASUStek Computer Inc)
Storage
238GB Micron_M600_MTFDDAV256MBF (SSD) 28 °C
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio
 

HamBown81

Commendable
Aug 3, 2017
917
0
1,360
Just throwing ideas out there. Considering that the drive is working in another machine, maybe it isn't getting enough current from the port on your laptop?

If the port is shared with others on the same USB controller, the total current availability may also be shared?
 

minikolaj

Prominent
Aug 28, 2017
17
0
510
I tried unplugging everything except power and then plugging the HDD into the 3 ports but it didn’t help. The HDD lights up and starts spinning when I plug it in but nothing happens on the PC side. Maybe its power, I can’t really say. But it seems weird that the power available would have decreased over time.
 

HamBown81

Commendable
Aug 3, 2017
917
0
1,360

Sorry dude, it is a bit of a strange situation.

If it works properly on other machines, it is unlikely to be an issue with the drive.
If it behaves the same in every port on your machine, it is unlikely to be an issue with a specific port.

How old is your laptop?
 

minikolaj

Prominent
Aug 28, 2017
17
0
510
I bought my pc a little more than a year ago. I tried to figure out when the model was released and I think it was released early 2015.
I am really glad that you wanna help me :)
 

minikolaj

Prominent
Aug 28, 2017
17
0
510
Since people are really helpful here I was stuck without a solution. Recently I visited some family and tested the HDD on their laptop. At first it didn't work but then I plugged it into a high voltage USB port on the same laptop and it worked fine. So I guess the problem is too low voltage like HamBrown81 suggested.
 

TRENDING THREADS