External 3.5 inch IDE hdd encloser connected via USB is showing "device is not ready" when try to initialise it in the disk manager

SOURCE: PC won't recognize external usb HDD

You may not have installed the HDD correctly in the case... I had the same problem with my Thecus N1050 enclosure, the green power light on the enclosure would come on and the drive would spin up but my PC would not see the HDD!!??... I thought, becuase i could hear the drive spinning that i had it installed correctly but this wasn't the case, when i removed the enclosure again and FIRMLY pushed the HDD into the connector (all the way in) and connected it back up to my PC, it recognised it instantly. Hope this helps!

SOURCE: Computer not detecting NexStar 3 USB 2.0 External hard drive

I'm not a computer expert so I won't use too much tech language but after months of dissapointment, I finally got my NexStar 3 to work and it was actually easy!

At first I thought it was a driver problem so I tried to find a driver on line or in the disc provided (it wasn't neccessary as I run windows XP).

Then I actually opened the disc provided and found the PDF manual and opened that for a read (maybe the answer was in there?) Yep!! It has the answer you are looking for. Part of this manual 5.2 describes that "a partition is required" if the hard drive does not appear under My Computer.

To do this you:
Right click on your "My Computer" icon and choose "Manage",
Under "Storage" on the LEFT pane, select "Disc Management",
Find the drive (mine was around 300GB so I knew it was the one) at the bottom Left and "Initialize" the disc by clicking on "not initialized",
Then in the bottom RIGHT Pane, where the status bar is, Right click and choose New Partition,
Follow the directions from the Wizard. (Recommended partition type is "Primary" and file type "NTFS".

When this is done you should see your drive under My Computer.

NOTE: This formatted around 23GB on the newly created "E" drive I selected.

After this, by Right clicking the other unallocated area of the drive I went on to format the rest of the drive as a "F" drive which contains the other 256GB.

Hope this helps!

Keith in South Australia.

SOURCE: Drive Recognized but not visible on my computer

Right-click My Computer, go to Manage, Disk Management under Storage
Find your drive there and assign a drive letter.
The drive may still need to be formatted.

SOURCE: Bytecc BT-300 USB 2.0 drive mate problem

First is the "Drive" formatted? It will not work, if it is a new drive, until it is formatted. And/Or "Initialized"? If it has data on it already then it may be faulty? the only way to check that is to try it on another machine... also are you 100% sure you have it connected right way around, I have made exactly that mistake, before, I learnt whats what. Also try another USB port, this sometimes works. Try the setup on another PC to check it is actually OK.

SOURCE: Unable to use Sabrent External HArd Drive Enclosure

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