[ARCHIVED THREAD] - External Hard Drive Problems (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 11/30/2011 1:19:41 PM EDT
| I'm hoping some people here know about this stuff to help me out. I have an old Seagate hard drive that no longer seems to work. It spins up but the light does not turn on and my computer does not see it when it is plugged in or even acknowledge that something is plugged in. Neither do two other computers. What can be done about this? I have a lot of stuff on there that is not stored elsewhere. How can I access it? I just want the data. From what I've heard, though, data retrieval can be expensive. What exactly is involved in that process? |
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I have had external HDs go out and it always seems to be the housing that is the issue not the HD itself. In the ones that I have had, I just took the harddrive out of the external case and hooked it up as you would a regular internal drive. See if that works. If it does, you can buy another external HD case if you want it portable. |
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Quoted: I have had external HDs go out and it always seems to be the housing that is the issue not the HD itself. In the ones that I have had, I just took the harddrive out of the external case and hooked it up as you would a regular internal drive. See if that works. If it does, you can buy another external HD case if you want it portable. I have no idea how to do any of that. I've never done anything technical with computer hardware. I just want to remove the data and intend to eventually get another, better hard drive that is also much smaller. This started happening when my brother knocked the hard drive down. For some time before that though it was hit or miss whether or not my computer would detect it. |
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In the past I have rescued good drive mechanisms by swapping the circuit boards with ones from identical models. That was when I had access to piles of identical reject drives that were removed from equipment. The suggestions to try it directly in a computer are a very good idea. If that doesn't work, sorry. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I have had external HDs go out and it always seems to be the housing that is the issue not the HD itself. In the ones that I have had, I just took the harddrive out of the external case and hooked it up as you would a regular internal drive. See if that works. If it does, you can buy another external HD case if you want it portable. I have no idea how to do any of that. I've never done anything technical with computer hardware. I just want to remove the data and intend to eventually get another, better hard drive that is also much smaller. This started happening when my brother knocked the hard drive down. For some time before that though it was hit or miss whether or not my computer would detect it. You're going to want to learn, because it's about the only hope you have of getting at the data. |
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I have had external HDs go out and it always seems to be the housing that is the issue not the HD itself. In the ones that I have had, I just took the harddrive out of the external case and hooked it up as you would a regular internal drive. See if that works. If it does, you can buy another external HD case if you want it portable. I have no idea how to do any of that. I've never done anything technical with computer hardware. I just want to remove the data and intend to eventually get another, better hard drive that is also much smaller. This started happening when my brother knocked the hard drive down. For some time before that though it was hit or miss whether or not my computer would detect it. You're going to want to learn, because it's about the only hope you have of getting at the data. Besides, it's extremely easy. Not difficult at all. You don't even need to get it fully screwed into the box, either. Just get the cables hooked up and see if your computer detects it. |
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Quoted: In the past I have rescued good drive mechanisms by swapping the circuit boards with ones from identical models. That was when I had access to piles of identical reject drives that were removed from equipment. The suggestions to try it directly in a computer are a very good idea. If that doesn't work, sorry. I'm just wondering HOW to do that as I honestly have no idea. |
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Quoted: You need a phillips screwdriver, and a pair of hands. Seriously. Quoted: In the past I have rescued good drive mechanisms by swapping the circuit boards with ones from identical models. That was when I had access to piles of identical reject drives that were removed from equipment. The suggestions to try it directly in a computer are a very good idea. If that doesn't work, sorry. I'm just wondering HOW to do that as I honestly have no idea. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have had external HDs go out and it always seems to be the housing that is the issue not the HD itself. In the ones that I have had, I just took the harddrive out of the external case and hooked it up as you would a regular internal drive. See if that works. If it does, you can buy another external HD case if you want it portable. I have no idea how to do any of that. I've never done anything technical with computer hardware. I just want to remove the data and intend to eventually get another, better hard drive that is also much smaller. This started happening when my brother knocked the hard drive down. For some time before that though it was hit or miss whether or not my computer would detect it. You're going to want to learn, because it's about the only hope you have of getting at the data. Hence why I'm asking. I can't afford to take this to a computer place. Just the labour costs are ridiculous. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have had external HDs go out and it always seems to be the housing that is the issue not the HD itself. In the ones that I have had, I just took the harddrive out of the external case and hooked it up as you would a regular internal drive. See if that works. If it does, you can buy another external HD case if you want it portable. I have no idea how to do any of that. I've never done anything technical with computer hardware. I just want to remove the data and intend to eventually get another, better hard drive that is also much smaller. This started happening when my brother knocked the hard drive down. For some time before that though it was hit or miss whether or not my computer would detect it. You're going to want to learn, because it's about the only hope you have of getting at the data. Or bring in a friend who does know how to do it, and maybe has a spare computer that can accept either SATA or IDE drives, or has some kind of USB-to-hard drive dock hardware. |
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Quoted: Quoted: You need a phillips screwdriver, and a pair of hands. Seriously. Quoted: In the past I have rescued good drive mechanisms by swapping the circuit boards with ones from identical models. That was when I had access to piles of identical reject drives that were removed from equipment. The suggestions to try it directly in a computer are a very good idea. If that doesn't work, sorry. I'm just wondering HOW to do that as I honestly have no idea. Okay, so I have the tools. What do I connect where? I'm using an HP Pavilion dv2500 and the drive is one of those old Seagate stand-up drives. |
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Youtube: How to install a hard drive
http://youtu.be/xN59W-56p3I Don't do the format step he discusses and leave you old hard drive hooked up. When you boot the computer it will appear in My Computer and then you can copy files |
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Quoted: Be aware that if data recovery is required, you're looking at the neighborhood of $1,000. Always have a backup of your backup. I know, but financially that has been an issue. This computer isn't even mine. Mine went TU a couple of years ago. Smoke just started coming up from the keyboard before I shut it down. Apparently there is some sort of proprietary component that requires a special proprietary machine to replace that is bad and the hard drive health is extremely poor. Fortunately I was able to get everything out (and into the hard drive I'm having issues with now), but it took the better part of a day. A friend loaned me this computer since he didn't need it anymore having gotten a much better computer. It's probably going to go TU soon as it's having some real issues but I just can't afford a replacement laptop. Likewise I could not afford a hard drive at the time but looking at them now they aren't as expensive as they used to be so I'll be getting a new one as soon as I can and probably a back-up. Seems like I can get two much better hard drives now for the same price I paid for this hard drive. Seems like all of these electronic devices break easily and break down too quickly. |
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Ok, well first step is to get the drive out of the enclosure. I don't know the enclosure, and unless you find a geek that has the exact same drive, specifics for getting it open are going to be a little lacking. So. Pry the fucking thing apart however it wants to come apart. There's probably a few screws holding it together, they may be under stickers to make it obvious that you opened it.
Once the thing is open, it'll be held in with 4 screws, and it'll have two plugs you need to free... One's power, one's data. Get the drive out, come back and tell us if it's SATA or IDE. 
IDE is on the left, SATA is on the right. IDE has a tiny bit of voodoo necessary sometimes, so hope it's SATA. |
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In the past I have rescued good drive mechanisms by swapping the circuit boards with ones from identical models. That was when I had access to piles of identical reject drives that were removed from equipment. The suggestions to try it directly in a computer are a very good idea. If that doesn't work, sorry. I'm just wondering HOW to do that as I honestly have no idea. Dude, google it. Seriously. My wife thinks I am a mad technowizard, but anytime I need to do something, I google it. |
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Quoted: Ok, well first step is to get the drive out of the enclosure. I don't know the enclosure, and unless you find a geek that has the exact same drive, specifics for getting it open are going to be a little lacking. So. Pry the fucking thing apart however it wants to come apart. There's probably a few screws holding it together, they may be under stickers to make it obvious that you opened it. Once the thing is open, it'll be held in with 4 screws, and it'll have two plugs you need to free... One's power, one's data. Get the drive out, come back and tell us if it's SATA or IDE. http://static.diffen.com/uploadz/thumb/1/17/SATA-IDE.jpg/250px-SATA-IDE.jpg IDE is on the left, SATA is on the right. IDE has a tiny bit of voodoo necessary sometimes, so hope it's SATA. What he said. If it's as old as I think it is, it's IDE. But, he'll be able to tell us. He also posted the make and model of his desktop, so we should be able to go to Dell's site and look up the particulars. OP: Years ago, most external hard drives were really nothing more than internal hard drives, mounted in an enclosure that had it's own power supply, and USB interface that allowed it to connect to your PC. Underneath all of that fancy packaging, is a run of the mill, off the shelf, generic, internal hard drive that could have been placed in any enclosure (including your own PC). You know what typically fails on these things? The enclosure (and associated circuit boards), not the hard drive itself. Bust out the screwdriver, and take the enclosure apart. Inside, you're going to find a hard drive that looks exactly like one of the two drives in WinstonSmith's picture. |
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Quoted: I got the damn thing out. It's SATA. Edit: And yeah, it looks like the hard drive from a computer. Awesome. This actually makes your life a bit easier. Without looking at the specs for your Dell PC myself, is the existing drive in there SATA? Pop the case off, and look. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I got the damn thing out. It's SATA. Edit: And yeah, it looks like the hard drive from a computer. Awesome. This actually makes your life a bit easier. Without looking at the specs for your Dell PC myself, is the existing drive in there SATA? Pop the case off, and look. I'll check. It's actually an HP. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I got the damn thing out. It's SATA. Edit: And yeah, it looks like the hard drive from a computer. Awesome. This actually makes your life a bit easier. Without looking at the specs for your Dell PC myself, is the existing drive in there SATA? Pop the case off, and look. I'll check. It's actually an HP. Whatever it is, pop the case off and look. If there's a wide grey ribbon cable in there attached to your hard drive (as in the picture above) along with a large 4-pin white looking power connector, it's IDE. Otherwise, it's SATA. You'll recognize it in a second, even if you don't know what the terms mean.  |
| Is there a single panel to remove or do I have to take the whole bottom off? I removed the largest panel and I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a black thin plastic sheeting taped to what seems to be a box (the hard drive?) underneath, with a sticker that says Fujitsu. I see a circuit board next to it with a round, plastic-covered button with two wires coming out of it. |
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Quoted: Is there a single panel to remove or do I have to take the whole bottom off? I removed the largest panel and I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a black thin plastic sheeting taped to what seems to be a box (the hard drive?) underneath, with a sticker that says Fujitsu. I see a circuit board next to it with a round, plastic-covered button with two wires coming out of it. I'm confused - are you trying to take apart your PC, or your external hard drive? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Is there a single panel to remove or do I have to take the whole bottom off? I removed the largest panel and I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a black thin plastic sheeting taped to what seems to be a box (the hard drive?) underneath, with a sticker that says Fujitsu. I see a circuit board next to it with a round, plastic-covered button with two wires coming out of it. I'm confused - are you trying to take apart your PC, or your external hard drive? PC. |
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Quoted: Cool. Quoted: Quoted: Is there a single panel to remove or do I have to take the whole bottom off? I removed the largest panel and I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a black thin plastic sheeting taped to what seems to be a box (the hard drive?) underneath, with a sticker that says Fujitsu. I see a circuit board next to it with a round, plastic-covered button with two wires coming out of it. I'm confused - are you trying to take apart your PC, or your external hard drive? PC. I'm having a hard time visualizing where you're at. Is it at all possible to snap some pics, and post them?
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Quoted: Quoted: Cool. Quoted: Quoted: Is there a single panel to remove or do I have to take the whole bottom off? I removed the largest panel and I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a black thin plastic sheeting taped to what seems to be a box (the hard drive?) underneath, with a sticker that says Fujitsu. I see a circuit board next to it with a round, plastic-covered button with two wires coming out of it. I'm confused - are you trying to take apart your PC, or your external hard drive? PC. I'm having a hard time visualizing where you're at. Is it at all possible to snap some pics, and post them? Yes. I'm just going back and forth between this and trying to make dinner for everyone right now. |
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Cool. Quoted:
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Is there a single panel to remove or do I have to take the whole bottom off? I removed the largest panel and I have no clue what I'm looking at. It's a black thin plastic sheeting taped to what seems to be a box (the hard drive?) underneath, with a sticker that says Fujitsu. I see a circuit board next to it with a round, plastic-covered button with two wires coming out of it. I'm confused - are you trying to take apart your PC, or your external hard drive? PC. I'm having a hard time visualizing where you're at. Is it at all possible to snap some pics, and post them?
Sounds like it's a laptop? |
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Quoted: Yes. I'm just going back and forth between this and trying to make dinner for everyone right now. No problem, man. I'll be up for a while, yet. Take some good pics of where you're at when you get a chance, and I (and a bunch of others, really) will be able to walk you through this.
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I have a USB drive dock that will hook up any drive to USB for about $50-$60. I also have one of these that does the same thing for about $20 delivered. http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=2020 Your Price: $12.99 + s&h IDE/SATA to USB 2.0 Cable Adapter - Turn Your 2.5", 3.5" or 5.25" IDE or SATA Drive Into A USB Drive!
Both drive docks have saved me one hell of a lot of trouble. |
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Quoted: Alright, here's what I'm looking at. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/bigstick61/DSCN9987.jpg Can you zoom out a bit, and give me some context? |
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Quoted: The top is the front of the computer. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/bigstick61/DSCN9989.jpg Is this a laptop? |
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Quoted: Quoted: The top is the front of the computer. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/bigstick61/DSCN9989.jpg Is this a laptop? Yes. |
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That aint gonna work dude.
ETA- I'd suggest the adapter Dumpster-Baby posted. That should do it if anything will. Problem is that while those cages do fail sometimes, hard drives always fail eventually. Coupla guys have posted that their experience showed the drive enclosures failing more often than the drives. My experience is exactly the opposite. I've seen a few enclosures go, but every drive that's in service for long enough will die eventually. I've swapped a lot of new drives into those things. We use 'em a lot, they're just the ticket for a lot of Mac stuff. |
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The top is the front of the computer. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/bigstick61/DSCN9989.jpg Is this a laptop? Yes. Your fucked. Find someone with a desktop that has sata. Unless that enclosure had a laptop drive and you lappy has two drive bays you will need a desk pc. Looks like your laptop only has one. Laptop drives are 2.5 x 4" and desk are 3.5 x 6". |
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Quoted: So I can only do this on a desk top computer? You will need a 2.5" enclosure kit or an adapter similar to what Dumpster_Baby posted above. You'll also need another computer so you can hook up and drag stuff off the old HD. Your thread title still says "external HD", so I think that caused some confusion. What part of CA you in?
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OTOH this thread inspired me to look at my old Acomdata USB external hard drive. Back on my last computer (XP) I thought the USB had somehow hosed the drive since it quit recognizing it. Tonight on a whim after reading this thread I took the drive out and plugged it into my NEW Core i5 Gateway (Win7 64-bit)and VOILA, it spun right up, installed its drivers and now I am backing up my old backups!  (including 82 GB of my fav porn I thought I had lost forever!  )
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