External HD won't recognize

[GaryGnu]

I have a WD My Passport external 1 TB 0730 hard drive. I bought it last year, backed up a bunch of files on it, and took it to someone else's house and put it in a drawer. It's been there ever since. I got it today, and tried to make another backup, and the drive will not be recognized. I've tried to connect to other computers and have had various degrees of small success, like on one computer I can see it in Disk Management and it says "Healthy" but it no case can I ever see any files on it. The drive spins up, vibrates, and powers on. I have had other issues with external hard drives. My computer is many years old, and I am using Windows XP.

Any ideas?

I bought this thing at Costco. I can probably return it and get a new one, but I am concerned that all of my personal files on this drive.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

These issues can be tough to diagnose. First thing I'd try is reinserting the USB cable, or if possible, replacing it with a different one (though it might use a proprietary cable).

It is possible that your computer isn't providing enough USB power for the drive (though unlikely).

As a last resort you may be able to open the drive up and try connecting it internally? I haven't done this myself but in theory it could work.

 

[GaryGnu]

I've tried putting the cable in just about every USB slot. I've rebooted. Disconnected. Reconnected. Uninstalled. Reinstalled. The cable is new and came with the drive.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Do you have a different one you can try?

You mentioned that on other PCs you can see it in Disk Management. Are you able to run a scan on it?

 

[Bubbaleone]

Connect it to whichever PC you said recognized it in Disk Management. Check that the drive is assigned a drive letter. Assign a drive letter if it doesn't have one. If the drive or enclosure isn't damaged, then your files should now be accessible. Post back with the result.

 

[KompuKare]

If you got it to show up in Disk Management, the drive sounds like it's at least semi-functional. So try what Bubbaleone suggested.

Other things you can try is to download a Linux CD (Ubuntu, Parted Magic) and see if it is able to mount the HDD.

If you feel confident with hardware you can try taking the drive out of its housing and connect it directly to your PC. This will of course void your warranty. Also, some external drives do not have anything except USB connections even inside the housing. And, if this is was an old EIDE drive (1TB portable? then not likely) you would need an adapter for 2.5" > 3.5" EIDE but 2.5" SATA drives use the same connectors (but note the bit about USB-only drives above).

 

[corkyg]

Is this a 2.5 or 3.5-in HDD? If 2.5-in, you may need a USB "Y" cable so it gets connected to TWO USB ports. If 3.5, it has to have its own power brick. I think the Passport is 2.5, and the "Y" cable requirement is quite common. Simply put, not poop from one port.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=ts7kT63GF8nM2AW66J3aCQ&ved=0CIcBEPMCMAE