External Hard-drive not connecting - Help :(

Yitzhak Rabin

Ok, long story short, I was transferring some date from one ext hard drive to another on my laptop. I accidently bashed one off the ground.

It contains about 1TB of pretty important stuff.

It is a USB powered Seagate Freeagent Go Flex.

The power source from the USB is working (most of the time, at some angles it doesn't). However the computer is no detecting the hard drive.

Worst part is, its not my drive and I need to give it back.

I have done the following:

Rebooted computer and drive. Changed cables. Tried different computers. All of the above has the same result, as above.

Please help

riclad

SEE here,
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056926486

open case, make sure data, power cables ,to drive, interface,,and pcb ,interface is on tight both ends.
epecially data cable,on both ends.

inside case, theres a pcb,small circuit board, 3 x3 inch approx, c0nnected to drive, by power, and data cables.

even if enclosure. pcb,is dead ,the drive itself should be ok.
was it powered on when you dropped it.?

riclad

SEE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjllfIpb9UE
IT SEEMS TO be a standard sata drive, will work in any sata caddy,
or pc with sata cables.
Looks like its 2,5inch ,drive. Sata

Yitzhak Rabin

Cheers man!

riclad

Its likely to need a sata caddy ,with a power cable,
cost round 24 euro.unless you just install it in a pc, use the dvd power,data, cables ,as a temporary connection,
Unless you have a sata power ,cable, and sata data cable in your gaff.

its risky to use it if power cable is going on,off at random times.

riclad

when you say usb powered,
do you mean 1 usb cable to pc supplys the power,for the Drive

eg it doesnt need psu,


IF so a 12 euro sata caddy with usb cable is all you need.
i presume drive case is 2.5inch in size approx.

Yitzhak Rabin

riclad wrote: »

Its likely to need a sata caddy ,with a power cable,
cost round 24 euro.unless you just install it in a pc, use the dvd power,data, cables ,as a temporary connection,
Unless you have a sata power ,cable, and sata data cable in your gaff.

its risky to use it if power cable is going on,off at random times.

Its actually the model as seen in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkakc7QEtFs

Tbh, I'm not going to try and take it apart as I am clueless, and definitely will do more damage.

Can you tell me if you could guess what the problem is, just so I know whethe r the data is fecked or not.

It is USB powered, as in the data and power cable are from the same source.

The power/USB cable works, but it is unreliable, if it is moved angle it drops off for a second.

The hard-drive is spinning once I connect it. It physically behaves just like it normally would, except windows doesn't recognise it. Does that sound like the board attaching the USB is broken, rather than the drive itself?

riclad

REPLACE THE usb cable, it just uses a standard micro,usb cable,
have you got another 1 around,

eg take one from the other external drive.

Yitzhak Rabin

riclad wrote: »

REPLACE THE usb cable, it just uses a standard micro,usb cable,
have you got another 1 around,

eg take one from the other external drive.

Yeah I tried that already. No difference.

riclad

Then the only way, to test the drive,is ,open case, remove hardrive,as in video,
connect to a pc, using dvd, data ,power cables,

OR put in a usb, sata caddy.2.5inch,

they sell,em,in peats, maplins,
moore st pc shops, 12 euro.

riclad

SEE
http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog_v2.cgi?type=product&id=29584

theres 3 shops in moore st.
pc caddy.2,5inch sata, cost 11 , 12 euro.

riclad

it could be ,the enclosure, pcb, is damaged,

ONLY way to find out,is remove hardrive, install it in a pc,
OR place in a caddy.plug into a pc.

riclad

OPEN CASE ,COVER ,
make sure hardrive,is tight,
pushed all the way in to pcb,interface,
then try again,
plug usb cable into pc.
reboot pc first.

riclad

it,ll work in any sata caddy, 2.5 or
3,5inch, if you have one
i mean moore st.
dublin 1, off parnell st.

ED E

Somebodys had a little too much caffeine tonight eh