Hard disk recognised but not reading

[navneethr120]

Hello, I have a WD 500 GB external harddisk(an internal harddisk connected thro USB as external hard disk),. the problem is,. the device was working properly. Now, all of a sudden, when I plug it in, the device is recognised(I can only see in taskbar that a USB has been connected and can be safely removed), but, I cannot see it in Explorer, Disk manangement. I tried with 'n' number of friends laptops, but, still the same problem. My guess is that it might have a problem in reading, do I have any luck with HD guys ?

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi there,

Do you mean you have a SATA drive or PATA IDE drive (regular HDD) that has been placed in an external enclosure, like a Lantex NexStar, or Antec, with a USB 2 connector?

If so, it sounds elementary but that external drive needs external power. It does not get its power source from the USB cable. Make sure that the power light on the enclosure is on, and you can hear the HDD spin up.
Also change out the USB cord for thoroughness.

Then with your computer off, and the USB drive off, connect the USB cord. Then boot up your computer.
After it is on the desktop, turn on the USB enclosure. See if you get a beep that your OS recognized the USB drive, and it should be visible in Windows Explorer.

There is always the possibility that the HDD/USB interface connector inside the case is not tight, so removing the hard drive, and reinserting it into the internal connector would be something to consider.

 

[navneethr120]

Hi John,

Thanks for the information. I have tried out all the things you have mentioned in your reply. I figured this out. The power light is on, but, I cannot hear the HDD spin up as before, when it was working. I opened the case and made sure everything is fine. I even tried changing USB cords. So, is it safe to say that, in layman's(my) terms, the HDD is not being read ?

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi again,

What kind of a HDD is it? PATA, SATA?

If you can't hear it spin up in the case, take it out of the case and plug it onto one of the molex or SATA power connectors from your desktop computer. Turn the desktop computer on and listen if you can hear the drive spin up or not. If not, it's the drive.

If you can hear it spin up, turn the desktop off, and connect the HDD data cable (IDE 80 pin ribbon for PATA, 7 pin data cable for SATA) to your desktop and see if it is recognized in the BIOS system setup or as an attached HDD in windows explorer.

You may have to "Enable" the IDE controller or SATA controller in the BIOS if they are not already "Enabled" and set to "Auto".

Worth a try. It could the power connector inside the USB case failed (easy to replace the case) or the drive motor inside the HDD failed (need a new drive)

 

[navneethr120]

Best answer selected by navneethr120.

 

[navneethr120]

Hi John,


Thank you very much for your help. Really appreciate it. I am afraid to say that , your guess was right, the motor had failed. Had to get a new drive.

 

[meeratony]

HI,

I have had a similar problem with my WD500G harddrive... Renaming the drive letter helped i read it on one of the resolutions for the problem.....

It needs a new drive letter. Try this,
go to control panel -- administraive tools -- computer management -- disk management

Find the drive and right click on it. select to change the drive letter

 

[bande]

salam(hi)
yes your power connector inside the USB case is failed T so you can by the HDD case with 10 $
and you can save your money!