Unable to access my external Hard drive

[lingyi]

[QUOTE=Nelson37;2462709]
This is actually a hybrid I have not seen before and a kludge (workaround) I will in the future be very careful to avoid. A true POS.
QUOTE]

I just remembered that my first portable drive was a 320GB WD drive that had the same interface. Took it apart since it was acting up and trashed it because there was no way to use it with a standard SATA cable.

My last portable drive purchase was by Transcend, figuring that since they're not a HDD manufacturer, it's likely it's a standard SATA drive inside. Haven't cracked it open yet since it's still under warranty.

[raffriff42]

Really sad to hear they dumped the SATA connection. In the future, I will avoid these and build my own, with a laptop drive and external enclosure.

What about the old HDD in the freezer trick? Probably won't help, but then again it might.

[lingyi]

There one last thing that could (and should) be tried.

Get a dual head USB cable as shown below. This will ensure you're getting enough power to your drive.



If you currently have one, get another since cables go bad.

If possible, plug the USB 3.0 connector (the one with the blue line) into a USB 3.0 port. The other connector can go to a regular USB 2.0 port. As Nelson37 and I have stated, USB 3.0 provides higher voltage and amperage than USB 2.0. This is especially important for portable HDDs which receive their power through USB only.


My final advice to everyone (after having gone through dozens of external drives) is don't buy an external drive. Instead buy a good external case and put an internal drive into it. This way, if the drive starts giving problems, you can easily extract the drive and test it directly (though a SATA cable and power connector) or through another USB interface.

Yes, external drives are generally cheaper than their internal counterpart, but the trade-off is that most of the external cases (especially portables) offer poor cooling and protection against shock (especially movement while the drive is running) which are two of the main causes of HDD failure.

[aruwin]

First, verify that your drive is not just the same make and model but has the permanently mounted USB interface as shown in the video. Model number not relevant, interface must be visually checked and identified.

How do I check the interface? And what happens if I open the drive and do not find a SATA connection inside? Aren't I able to use it anymore?

[lingyi]

Really sad to hear they dumped the SATA connection. In the future, I will avoid these and build my own, with a laptop drive and external enclosure.

What about the old HDD in the freezer trick? Probably won't help, but then again it might.

Before the OP or anyone considers the "freezer tricK', keep in mind that:

This only applies to drives that known to have mechanical problems like stuck / sticking head(s) or overheating. It hasn't been determined 100% if the OP's issues are caused by the USB interface or mechanical issues.

This is a next to last ditch effort (the last being slamming the drive flat on a table in the hope that it will free the jam) that will 100% kill the drive through internal condesation and/or mechanical failure.

The likelihood of success is extremely small.

And yes, I've tried it a few times myself (as well as slamming the drive on a table) and it didn't work.

[Krispy Kritter]

First, verify that your drive is not just the same make and model but has the permanently mounted USB interface as shown in the video. Model number not relevant, interface must be visually checked and identified.

How do I check the interface? And what happens if I open the drive and do not find a SATA connection inside? Aren't I able to use it anymore?

Unless you somehow break something while opening it, it will still work (as well as it is now anyway).

As it's not working anyway, you have nothing much to lose. (unless it's under warranty and you intend to have it replaced as noted previously).

[Nelson37]

Son, I am trying to make allowances for the fact that english is not your primary language, but I am going to strongly suggest that YOU take a look at the goddamn video that YOU posted, and if YOU do not get All the goddamn answers to your last Several questions then YOU need to Watch the ******* video, AGAIN.

Or, find someone with even the slightest clue, I mean even a faint glimmer of a hint of a clue, and have them deal with it because you are just not equipped to be doing this.