Member Avatar for wazzuup

hi guys i got an external 1TB hardrive used to work fine but recently whenever i plug it in to my laptop or desktop it wont pick up although the power light appears to be on....it takes its own power supply dont know if that helps...

any ideas???

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by hughv

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Two short points before diving into steps: a lit power LED only means the enclosure is getting juice, not that the disk is healthy or the USB bridge is working. Both and pointed to isolating the enclosure vs the drive — that is the right idea. Below is a compact, safe troubleshooting order and what to watch for at each stage.

  1. Try simple swaps first: a different USB port, a different USB cable, and another PC.
  2. Check Windows visibility: open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc). Note whether the disk appears, shows as offline/unallocated/RAW, or is missing entirely.
  3. If the disk appears but has no letter or shows unallocated, do not run repairs before imaging. Assign a letter only if you need quick file copy; otherwise image first.
  4. If the disk is completely invisible, check the enclosure power adapter (compare the printed voltage/current on the adapter against a multimeter reading). An adapter can power an LED without delivering enough current to spin the platters.
  5. If you can, read SMART info (CrystalDiskInfo or smartctl) once the drive is seen — if SMART reports reallocated sectors or pending sectors, copy important data immediately.
  6. If the drive makes repeated clicking/beeping or does not spin up, stop testing. Mechanical symptoms mean professional recovery is the safer route.

Quick commands to run:

devmgmt.msc
diskmgmt.msc

If isolation (the test suggested) makes the drive visible, the enclosure or its SATA-to-USB board is the fault — replacing the enclosure/adapter (the type mentioned, but with its own power for 3.5" drives) is the usual fix. If the disk remains invisible or noisy after isolation, avoid further power cycles and consider a professional recovery service.

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Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi and welcome to Daniweb,
You have not given much information about your machine, external drive, OS, etc,
If you can, remove the hard drive from the external case, hook it up to your desk top as a second primary drive, and see if is detected in BIOS (on boot up) and then in Windows after boot up. If so it is a problem with your case. If you need more help, please post back and supply more information.

Member Avatar for hughv

Why the facetious question?
What are you laughing about?
How does this contribute to the solution?

Hi,
I totally agree, it would be of great use, will you send one to the OP or just the $25.00 to buy it?
PS. Ill have one as well please. lol

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