My Portable Hard Drive isn't being recognised

Forums › Microsoft Windows › My Portable Hard Drive isn't being recognised

1 | 2

Finch

2851 posts

Uber Geek

#3073352 7-May-2023 11:42

Actually, this right here is my hard drive, I didn't realize there was a screw underneath the sticker!

If I opened it up, would I be able to tell what's wrong with it? Or would it more likely be something technical and not a visual thing?

I might as well open it I guess?

Bung

6496 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3073355 7-May-2023 12:04

Didn't it all start with misplugging a cable leading to possible damaged port and /or cable? Why has that jumped to being faulty drive? It has been a long time since I had a pc but I recall having to delete usb devices and allow them to be rediscovered.

Finch

2851 posts

Uber Geek

#3073359 7-May-2023 12:19

Bung: Didn't it all start with misplugging a cable leading to possible damaged port and /or cable? Why has that jumped to being faulty drive? It has been a long time since I had a pc but I recall having to delete usb devices and allow them to be rediscovered.

The TLDR is basically...

I plugged my Portable Hard Drive into my laptop, I was transferring a file between my laptop - another laptop. File transferred, I went to plug the Portable HD into the other laptop, it couldn't plug in, it was like there was a "wall" blocking it in the USB port. I discovered that something in the cable (Where the blue bit is) was stuck in my laptop in one of the USB Ports. After plugging the cable back into my laptop, I was able to "grab" the piece in the port (There was no strategy, just plug and unplug and eventually they attached to each other like a magnet). Since then my portable Hard Drive won't show up on my laptop/other laptop, the lights and sounds go on, but nothing pops up (Nothing saying there's a USB device attached, even checked disk management)

Other Flash drives/my mouse all connect fine, it's literally just this portable Hard Drive that doesn't. I've tried two sets of the same cable in both laptops (For a total of 6 ports) and the Portable HD doesn't pop up. It's only the portable drive that has this problem, everything else works fine.

It's not a cable or port problem, it's a problem with the drive itself because again, everything else I've tried plugging into the ports with the same cables and with no cables works perfectly fine.

Wombat1

586 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#3073366 7-May-2023 13:14

Remove the drive from the portable case its in and buy a new USB SATA adapted for the drive. Try that, it will rule out everything else. If its still not working then your drive is buggered.

Finch

2851 posts

Uber Geek

#3073801 8-May-2023 13:56

Good news everyone

Following the video above that had my Hard Drive in, I just opened mine up!

I pulled out the Portable Drive and put it into this case thig I mentioned before, something similar to this at PB Tech

It worked instantly!

So what does that say about the original case the Portable drive was in? The bit (No idea what its called) that sits between the drive itself and the cable is faulty?

SomeoneSomewhere

1804 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3074000 8-May-2023 19:50

Finch:

Good news everyone

Following the video above that had my Hard Drive in, I just opened mine up!

I pulled out the Portable Drive and put it into this case thig I mentioned before, something similar to this at PB Tech

It worked instantly!

So what does that say about the original case the Portable drive was in? The bit (No idea what its called) that sits between the drive itself and the cable is faulty?

Very likely. Either the USB-SATA converter board itself or the socket on it.

SomeoneSomewhere

1804 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3074002 8-May-2023 19:54

Also, WD's 2.5" external drives have that converter built onto the drive PCB, so you can't remove the drive from the case and connect it directly (at least without a soldering iron). Don't buy one of them to replace this.

1 | 2