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Help with protable hard drive

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18 replies

by niktone

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

MY western digital passport 250gb is having problems. i plug it in and it reads it for a few minutes i can access all my data but then it disapears and if i try to reconnect it to other usb ports on the computer it reads it only once i tried uninstalling all usb ports and reinstalling the chipset driver but that did not work i still cant see the hard drive but i can here the disk spining i dont know if that means anything any ideas excepted

Thanks in advance
Nick Castellanos

18 replies

by Former member

Such as:
1). Operating system? (XP/Vista/Linux etc).
2). How much memory do you have on board?.
3). Is this a laptop or case computer?.
4). What power supply do you have?, (450 watt or higher).
With all these things up front makes it more helpful for us to use and to give you a more clear answer to your problem(s).

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

by niktone

> Mainboard : Dell Computer Corp. 0J2628

> Chipset : Intel i845G

> Processor : Intel Pentium 4 @ 2400 MHz

> Physical Memory : 1536 MB

> Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS

> Hard Disk : WDC (320 GB)

> DVD-Rom Drive : SONY DVD RW AW-G170A

> Monitor Type : Dell Computer DELL E153FP - 15 inches

> Network Card : Intel Corporation 82540EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller

> Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3

> DirectX : Version 9.0c (May 2007)

by oh smeg

With all forms of Linux/Unix/BSD though you have to mount the Drive for it to be readable.

Col

by niktone

Oh this is the problem to sorry about not including other details

Windows-Delayed write failed
windows was unable to save all the data
from the file G;\$mft The data has been lost
this error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection.
please try to save the file some where else.

(im just trying to access the drive not save anything to it)

by oh smeg

If you have a USB Y Cable you need to plug both Plugs into the NB. If you don't have a Y Cable you need a external Power Adapter or a Powered USB Hub that you plug into the NB and then plug the external HDD into the Powered USB Hub but make sure that the USB Hub's Power Supply is correctly plugged in first.

Col

by niktone

the hard drive doesn't pop up or any more. i dont understand i tried it in another computer and it worked for a few minutes and then i got the same delayed write message and then i started saying usb device not reconised

by rob miners

Try rebooting the computer without any USB devices attached. Then plug in the USB drive, right click on My Computer, select manage, and then click ?Disk Management.? If the drive is not present in the Disk Management window or if you are not able to access it, then the drive may have failed. In this window you should see all of your connected physical drives, their format, if they are healthy, and the drive letter.
Change the drive letter of the drive. Right-click on the drive in the list, and from the resulting menu select "Change Drive Letters and Paths"
Click on Change so you can change the drive letter. Click Change.
Select a new drive letter from the drop down list, preferably the one that is not normally used for this drive.
Click Yes on the confirmation screen and you are done.

Caution: The cause of unpredictable behavior in a USB drive is often found to be the incorrect removal of a previously connected USB device. When removing USB devices right click on the ?Safely Remove Hardware? icon in the menu bar tray. This is usually found in the bottom right hand corner of the monitor. Once you have clicked on the icon, a menu with a single selection should appear. Click again on that selection to see the ?Safely Remove Hardware? window. Select the correct USB device and click the ?Stop.? When you receive the message that it is safe to remove the device, unplug the USB device from the computer.

Click Start and in the Run box type in cmd and press Enter.
At the command prompt type in chkdsk U:/r 'the drive letter that you just added:' EG: U: and press enter.
If it finds any discrepancies it should fix them.

Some good advice for the not so faint hearted can be found here.

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=101&threadID=234993&messageID=2519330

< Typo >

by niktone

if the drive is failing how come i can read it some times now it wont work but it says theres no driver or something. are there any other ideas? or am i going to have to send it to CBL or something?

by niktone

if the drive is failing how come i can read it some times now it wont work but it says theres no driver or something. are there any other ideas? or am i going to have to send it to CBL or something?

by the scummy one

the most common problem with this is that the HDD is failing. However, it is likely the chipset on the HDD or the drive motor, however it may be another issue all together like the cable/enclosure.

Best bet is to try a different USB enclosure/cable and/or try it on another system. If it fails in both scenarios, most likely the HDD needs replacing. Or, if you have another identical drive, you may be able to swap controller boards to get it to function properly.

by niktone

what if i open up the enclosure remove the usb adapter and put in in my laptop and get a windows os cd to see if it detects it would that work? i also have another usb adapter from and old model that i believe would fit because its form the same class of hard drive what should i try? by opening up the enclosure only would i void my warranty?

by rob miners

damage to the enclosure when you open it your warranty will be void. If it has a sticker and you remove the sticker it will be void. Try this before getting it replaced.

Partition Find & Mount

http://findandmount.com/download/

I haven't tested this out yet but I have heard that it is useful.

by niktone

thanks everyone for all your help i managed to find out what the problem was. i opened up the harddrive and made it internal it was detected andi even installed windows on it and opened every singlw file. the problem was the adapter. and just to be sure i tested the adapter with another notbook drive and i had the same problem. ill say it again thanks for all your help im not sure who said it but whoever said that it could of been a power surge helped me think of my idea. quick question how do i mark this question as solved or close it or sometihng?

by Former member

Nice to know everything is working anyway.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

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