I dropped my itb hitachi hard drive, it now makes a beeping sound but doesnt spin up any ideas?

SOURCE: I have a SimpleTech 320 GB external hard drive.

Hello and welcome to the TSF. If the external drive has provisions for external power you'll need to plug that in, usb ports cannot power a 320 drive. If the drive has 2 usb plugs (one for additional power) you'll need them both plugged in, and I would suggest that the laptop should also be running off of external power rather than battery. If you disconnect the usb drive or any other usb device without first stopping the device then sometimes the usb ports will fail to recognize the device when it is plugged back in, a simple reboot should do the trick. You can also check in the device manager for any yellow exclamation marks on your usb host conrtoller and see if the driver for it is in need of an update.
Any drivers you need should be on simpletech's website, though normally you should not need any for a usb hdd. If the power cord/a/c adaptor is faulty or the hdd is loose in the enclosure(thus not making good contact) then you should pester simpletech to either replace the cord, a/c adaptor,or unit, and see if there are instructions on how to take apart the enclosure and reseat the drive/connections.
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SOURCE: the computer no longer sees my 320 gb hard drive,

Possibilities:
1. dead USB port on your computer -- try another port
2. try a different USB cable
3. try your external drive on some other computer, to see if it works at all
4. open the casing, and separate the disk-drive from the USB-to-disk-drive adapter. Connect the disk-drive as a "slave" disk-drive, thus bypassing that adapter, to see if the adapter has failed, or if the disk-drive itself has failed
5. Google-search for a commercial "data recovery service" -- such companies can disassemble your disk-drive, and fix it, just long-enough to copy all your photos/music onto a brand-new disk-drive.

SOURCE: SimpleTech Simple Drive 250GB external hard drive not recognized

Hello

Okay , so there are some steps to figure out what is wrong with your external.

Firstly , if your computer makes a sound when you plug in your external , go to Start-Control Panel-Administrative Tools-Computer Management-Disk Management , and see if your external drive is listed here with your local drives. If it is listed , right click on the drive and change the drive letter to make it appear in "my computer".

If your drive does not make a connection sound when connecting to your computer and also does not show up , please follow the next step.

Remove the hard drive from the casing if possible and install it in your computer case or another external case.If the drive works , the problem is with the casing and you can ignore the drive.

Now , if the problem is with the casing , there are still 3 possibilities.

1. The USB cable between the drive and the computer may be damaged.
2. The circuit board which connects your drive to the interface of the external may be blown.
3. The power supply (if applicable) may have a blown transformer.

The latter is the easiest to diagnose , does your external light up at all when you plug in the power? If not , then this is probably your problem. On the bottom of the adapter is a label which you will be able to use to have a new adapter made at your local electronics shop and this will cost about $30 max. They will also be able to test the adapter with a clamp meter to see if this is really the problem and this should be free.

The second component you want to test is the USB cable. If you have a printer , swop out the cables and see if your printer functions normally. Most externals use the same connector so you should be able to test it in this manner. If the cable works go on to the last step. If the cable is defective , replace it with a new one which you can find for about $10 at most electronics and chain stores.

The last component to test is the circuit board. This is a bit of a grey zone as you probably won't be able to spot the blown component unless it failed really badly. With the casing already opened , locate the external's circuit board and check to see if you have any blackened components or fluids leaking from some components. If all the other components of the external worked perfectly , then this is the faulty part. It is not really economical to replace the circuit as most of the time it is out of production by the time you need to replace it and it still costs a lot even if it is available so if your drive is working perfectly when connected via sata or IDE on your computer , the best is to buy a new casing and place your old drive in the new casing.

A casing costs about $50 and you could get it at most tech shops and big chain stores like Best Buy.

I hope this solves your problem and please reply if you need more help.

Kind Regards
Andrea