My Western Digital My Passport 500gb (usb powered) external harddrive is experiencing an issue. When I plug it in to a USB port, the light comes on that it's received power and it vibrates like it should when it's active. After 10 seconds the drive stops spinning and my computer refuses to acknowledge that it is plugged in. How do I fix this issue? I'm running an HP Pavilion dv6 laptop with a Windows 7 64-bit operating system.
This is a hard one, as 7 is so new. But it sounds like the very next thing to do is to plug the drive into another computer to see if the drive is working properly.
If it works well, make sure that your drive is not trying to grab a drive letter that is already being used by another device. Do a search on the MS website for known issues and instructions on how to check for drive letter management issues.
Good luck.
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Scroll down to the second photo, and left-click on it. The case of the external harddrive is shown open. Inside is a 2.5 inch laptop sized harddrive. An aluminum tape strip covers the small circuit board, attached at the back of the harddrive.
The second photo down on this page, shows you the small interface circuit board, that the harddrive plugs into, with the aluminum tape removed.
(Another design has wires coming from the small circuit board, to an interface the harddrive plugs into )
It is this small circuit board that goes bad in a LaCie. QUITE common.
Solution?
Simple. 1) Obtain a 3.5 inch IDE external enclosure 2) Remove the 3.5 IDE harddrive from the LaCie's case. 3) Install the harddrive out of the LaCie into the external 3.5 IDE enclosure. An example of a 3.5 IDE (PATA) external enclosure,
Could you confirm if the problem with the drive not being recognized is a problem with the USB cable? I have a 250GB passport and it worked fine with my XP. Once I decided to reformat it to NTFS and tried to do so by plugging into my new windows7 laptop the problems started.
You could try using another USB port on your computer. Perhaps that USB port you have the IOmega external harddrive plugged into is bad.
More than likely not, though.
The problem is usually inside the IOmega's case. (External enclosure)
Inside that IOmega external harddrive's case is a regular harddrive as used in a desktop, or laptop computer. To explain;
Harddrives are physically rated in width, as well as type, and size. A laptop harddrive is 2.5 inches across in width. (2 and a half inches) A desktop harddrive is 3.5 inches.
The larger desktop harddrives are usually used in external harddrives that are 500GB, and larger. (Not always the case when it comes to the 500GB size)
Harddrives have two technologies, or types. IDE (PATA) or SATA.
You didn't state the Model Number so I can't even hazard a guess at this point.
The harddrive inside the case plugs into an Interface. The Interface may be separate, and connected via a cable to a small circuit board, or the Interface may be soldered directly to the small circuit board.
It is this Interface, and circuit board which go bad. The solution is to remove the harddrive inside, purchase an inexpensive external enclosure, and install the harddrive into it.
The external enclosure has a USB cable just like the IOmega external harddrive did.
As stated the harddrive inside is just a normal harddrive. Made by a harddrive manufacturer. Could be a Western Digital, or Seagate, or Hitachi, or Maxtor, or Fujitsu, or IBM, just to name a few. (Seagate bought out Maxtor)
On the harddrive will be a decal with it's specifications. You will also be able to physically measure the width.
This external hookup will support harddrives that are 2.5, or 3.5 inches in width, (And 5.25), plus will support both IDE (PATA) or SATA harddrives,
Other styles are listed in the Suggestions column down on the right. Not a good source for information on disassembling an IOmega external harddrive, but there is very little info available.
(It isn't that tough for any external harddrive enclosure. The screws are usually hidden under labels, and the case pops apart in two halves. Just a little different design here, and there)
For additional questions please post in a Comment. Regards, joecoolvette
Inside the case is a regular laptop size harddrive. Laptop harddrives are 2.5 inches across. (2-1/2 inches. Desktop harddrives are 3.5 inches)
I would suggest the external enclosure the harddrive is in, is defunct. I would suggest buying a new external enclosure, and putting this harddrive in it. Then just plug the USB cable in, (As you did before), and download your data, to be ready to transfer.
You need an external enclosure that is Sata, and is for a 2.5 inch harddrive. These are relatively inexpensive. Let me show you some examples: 1.http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=2783&name=2.5-eSATA-Hard-Drive-Enclosure&Nav=|c:2781|&Sort=0&Recs=10
perhaps this new computer has usb 2.0 while the old dell was of older standards.check whether the external hdd supports usb 2.0,,if it do so,,buy a usb 2.0 cable and start using it.best of luck
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