VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 14 of 14
Thread
  1. Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    Hello

    I have an old internal Hard Drive connected to a USB To SATA 2.5" External HDD SSD Hard Disk Drive Adapter (see picture) i have tried my laptop and PC and still i cannot get either of them to recognise the hard drive. Nothing showing in computer.

    Any advise would be most welcome.

    Thanks

    Name:  835716037_251.jpg
Views: 867
Size:  20.8 KB
    Quote Quote  
  2. Member hech54's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Yank in Europe
    Search PM
    Power?
    Quote Quote  
  3. Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    hech54
    Power?
    I have tried another internal Hard Drive and that worked fine. Power, it all runs through the adapter.
    Quote Quote  
  4. Member DB83's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    Well explain how the HDD is connected to the adapter. Is that other internal drive's power coming from the PC's PSU ?
    Quote Quote  
  5. Member hech54's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Yank in Europe
    Search PM
    Quote Quote  
  6. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    USA
    Search Comp PM
    Does the HDD spin up? You should be able to hear it. But it may be irrecoverably dead.

    But you might be able to put it into a laptop or find a 3.5>2.5 adapter and try it in a regular PC. I don't trust SATA>USB adapters that much.

    In a laptop, you could boot with a Linux live distro disc. I've used Ubuntu live and Knopix live to access the messed up HDD on a laptop, then transfer the data off to a second drive.
    This usually only works if the drive is recognized, but unreadable by the OS. But still worth a try.
    Quote Quote  
  7. Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    DB83
    Well explain how the HDD is connected to the adapter.


    The two usb ends go into LT or PC and the Adapter connecTS to the HD

    hech54
    I'm still going with "Power". This is my adapter:
    hech54, please can you tell me the name of this cable?

    Image
    [Attachment 25854 - Click to enlarge]


    redwudz
    Does the HDD spin up? You should be able to hear it. But it may be irrecoverably dead
    There is no sound at all, it's normally a ticking sound.

    redwudz
    But you might be able to put it into a laptop or find a 3.5>2.5 adapter and try it in a regular PC.
    I tried it in a PC and could not do anything with it, it just kept turning the PC off, not even a chance of safe mode.

    redwudz
    I've used Ubuntu live and Knopix live to access the messed up HDD on a laptop, then transfer the data off to a second drive.
    I will give this a try also.

    Thanks
    Quote Quote  
  8. ˝ way to Rigel 7 cornemuse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Cyber Dystopia
    Search Comp PM
    The old hdd, is it 3.5"? The adapter shewn only sends 5 v to the drive. A 3.5" drive needs 5 v & 12 v, the usb adapter I use has a 5/12 v power supply.
    -c-
    Quote Quote  
  9. Member DB83's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    - deleted -
    Quote Quote  
  10. Member hech54's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Yank in Europe
    Search PM
    Originally Posted by Teac23 View Post
    hech54, please can you tell me the name of this cable?

    Image
    [Attachment 25854 - Click to enlarge]

    That is the power supply to the back of an old(er) IDE drive. I sure hope you didn't jam that SATA connection into the back of an IDE drive.
    Quote Quote  
  11. Member turk690's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    ON, Canada
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by Teac23 View Post
    I have an old internal Hard Drive connected to a USB To SATA 2.5" External HDD SSD Hard Disk Drive Adapter (see picture) i have tried my laptop and PC and still i cannot get either of them to recognise the hard drive. Nothing showing in computer.
    Hard drives, even 2.5" SATA ones, consume more current than what a single USB2 connector can deliver so two are available (the power leads in both are in parallel), so when you plug in both USB connectors, hopefully, enough current can be sourced to make hard drive work. But nothing is guaranteed; hard drive may not still be recognized if
    • it requires even more current than that available from two USB connectors (around 1A total)
    • the particular USB controller turns off power to the port if it doesn't sense data connection, making plugging two of them irrelevant if one doesn't have data connection (this particular bridge connector likely does not & can not)
    • the particular USB controller doesn't recognize the SATA-to-USB bridge circuit in the connector
    • the drive may need to be initialized/activated/formatted under windoze disk management
    Note that, to befuddle users of this bridge connector even more, 3.5" HDDs require +12V and +5V; 2.5" HDDs only +5V. I assume the +5V coming off the USB port is just connected straight to the SATA power connection, implying only 2.5" SATA HDDs can be used with this connector, if ever.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
    Quote Quote  
  12. Banned
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    ®Inside My Avatar™© U.S.
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by turk690 View Post
    Hard drives, even 2.5" SATA ones, consume more current than what a single USB2 connector can deliver so two are available
    Well that is incorrect!

    I have a Toshiba 750gb and friends who have even larger 2.5" external HDD's that run perfectly fine with only 1 usb connection.
    Mine is used on a daily basis between my PC and both my Bluray players to watch movies and TV shows from.

    And gues what is inside the external enclosures......
    2.5" Sata HDD's
    Quote Quote  
  13. Member turk690's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    ON, Canada
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by Noahtuck View Post
    Originally Posted by turk690 View Post
    Hard drives, even 2.5" SATA ones, consume more current than what a single USB2 connector can deliver so two are available
    Well that is incorrect!

    I have a Toshiba 750gb and friends who have even larger 2.5" external HDD's that run perfectly fine with only 1 usb connection.
    Mine is used on a daily basis between my PC and both my Bluray players to watch movies and TV shows from.

    And gues what is inside the external enclosures......
    2.5" Sata HDD's
    You are lucky it does in your case. But this is just the problem with getting power solely off USB connectors: it is hit and miss. I also have 2.5" HDDs, used for testing. It is seen by some devices, ignored by some others. So I just put a USB power injector in between to ensure an external +5V is powering it always. Let's take a typical 2.5" SATA HDD: WD5000BPKX, which is one of those I use. Right there on its label: +5V, 0.55A. USB2 puts out a maximum of 0.5A, making using this particular HDD with a SATA-to-USB bridge connector solely drawing power from just one USB2 connection flakey one way or the other. That's why on some adapters there are two USB connectors, but that is still no guarantee.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
    Quote Quote  
  14. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by Teac23 View Post

    redwudz
    Does the HDD spin up? You should be able to hear it. But it may be irrecoverably dead
    There is no sound at all, it's normally a ticking sound.

    redwudz
    But you might be able to put it into a laptop or find a 3.5>2.5 adapter and try it in a regular PC.
    I tried it in a PC and could not do anything with it, it just kept turning the PC off, not even a chance of safe mode.
    Both these symptoms point to a fried drive. A HD should be barely audible (especially a 2.5") when running. Ticking or any loud noise coming for the drive is a sign that it's dying (ticking being a stuck or sticking head or having seek problems on bad sectors, loud whining a sign of failing bearings).

    The fact that your drive causes your PC to shut down may be because the drive is shorted somewhere. This sounds funny, but smell the bottom (the side with circuit board). If there's a burnt smell, something shorted out. Also check if there are any black spots, again a sign that something shorted and burnt out.

    If there's something that you need to recover from the drive, you could try replacing the circuit board if it's accessible. You'll need to get the EXACT SAME (Model number) board. But since your drive was ticking, it's likely a mechanical failure rather than or in addition to a failed board.
    Quote Quote  
Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!