Has my hard drive failed?

sounds like your Drive died to me.

I have experienced this problem. Sometimes when I plug the drive it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Usually the OS will try to access the drive as mush as possible. That's why it won't respond when you shut down your computer.

Try plugging it in again. Usually it will work if you access some files or folders that are still readable from the drive (in my case it was the other partition of the drive that's inaccessible).

How does Microsoft's UVCView utility see the external drive?
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/USB_IDs/UVCView.x86.ex...

What do the following utilities report (assuming you can get them to run)?

HD Sentinel (DOS / Windows / Linux):
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

HDDScan for Windows:
http://hddscan.com/

it lists it as a usb mass storage device and the info is:

English product name: "USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge"

ConnectionStatus:
Current Config Value: 0x01 -> Device Bus Speed: High
Device Address: 0x01
Open Pipes: 2

===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x81 -> Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes: 0x02 -> Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval: 0x00

===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x02 -> Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes: 0x02 -> Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval: 0x00

===>Device Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x12
bDescriptorType: 0x01
bcdUSB: 0x0200
bDeviceClass: 0x00 -> This is an Interface Class Defined Device
bDeviceSubClass: 0x00
bDeviceProtocol: 0x00
bMaxPacketSize0: 0x40 = (64) Bytes
idVendor: 0x152D = JMicron Technology Corp.
idProduct: 0x2339
bcdDevice: 0x0100
iManufacturer: 0x01
English (United States) "JMicron"
iProduct: 0x02
English (United States) "USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge"
iSerialNumber: 0x05
English (United States) "DCA81913342F"
bNumConfigurations: 0x01

===>Configuration Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x02
wTotalLength: 0x0020 -> Validated
bNumInterfaces: 0x01
bConfigurationValue: 0x01
iConfiguration: 0x04
English (United States) "USB Mass Storage"
bmAttributes: 0xC0 -> Bus Powered
MaxPower: 0x01 = 2 mA

===>Interface Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x04
bInterfaceNumber: 0x00
bAlternateSetting: 0x00
bNumEndpoints: 0x02
bInterfaceClass: 0x08 -> This is a Mass Storage USB Device Interface Class
bInterfaceSubClass: 0x06
bInterfaceProtocol: 0x50
iInterface: 0x06
English (United States) "MSC Bulk-Only Transfer"

===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x81 -> Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes: 0x02 -> Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval: 0x00

===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x02 -> Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes: 0x02 -> Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval: 0x00

im pretty sure thats the right one. its the only other storage device i have connected besides another hard drive which i recognized in the program. thank you.

Obviously the USB-SATA bridge board is working, at least partially. Am I correct in assuming that neither HD Sentinel nor HDDScan were able to see the drive behind the bridge?

Both programs didn't list the drive.

Does the drive spin up or sound like it is trying to?

Did you drop it?

Is the model number WD5000AAKS?

If you install the drive's PM2 jumper (Power Up In Standby, PUIS), can you see it then? If so, then this would suggest that the drive most probably has an internal fault. If the drive is still not visible, does Windows still hang or does it respond differently now?

Jumper Settings for WD SATA and EIDE Hard Drives:
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/other/2579-001037...

The drive is my friends so im not sure if its been dropped. Im not sure about the model #. It's from an external enclosure made by RetailPlus. I'm going to try the jumper next time I go see my friend and I'll listen to see if it spins up too. Thank you for your help.

the drive didnt show up in my computer with the pm2 jumper on, it showed up in device manager as usb device.

also when shutting down windows with the pm2 jumper on windows still hanged.

ok. thank you.

Best answer selected by kenbb1983.