How to remove HD from hitachi sdm/250rw usb external drive

Go to Hitachi website and download it.

Hi, welcome to fixya.

It seems that the problem is hardware related.

Just in case, if the disc is brand new please try this:
Try plugging the HDD on a different USB port or plug it in to a different computer and see if this reproduces the problem. This will help you verify at first if it is the hard drive problem or the computer's (also you haven't mentioned what type of OS you are using on your computer but I will assume is windows for this solution).

If you can manage to get it to work, please transfer all important data from it to another external location and then re-format the drive (use NTFS). For instructions on how to do this, follow this link.

Thanks,

Regards from FixYa.

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If you have tried it on two PCs with the same result, the hard drive is most likely defective. If so, the computer may recognize it being plugged in with a beep but will not recognize it at all as an accessible device.

One thing you can check is if the hard drive was never initialized, meaning that there is empty space but the empty space isn't configured for the operating system to recognize and use. To do this:

- Go to "Start" and "Run" and type in "diskmgmt.msc" and hit "Enter".
- A list will pop-up listing all hard drives on computer. Each row is a physical hard drive.
- The main hard drive for your computer should be listed as "Disk 0" and the local disk in it should be "C:".
- Assuming you have no other hard drive besides the external, the next row should be "Disk 1" and say "Unallocated", which means the hard drive was never initialized. In this case, right-click on it and select "Format". Click next through everything and the external HDD will be formatted so that Windows can recognize it.
- MAKE SURE NOT TO FORMAT LOCAL DISK C:!
- After that, the external HDD should be recognized fine and pull up in "My Computer".

Otherwise, if no other hard drive is listed, the external HDD is most likely defective and you will need to purchase a new one.

sometimes wires get loose and do not make good conection make sure wires are making good contact to your hard drive. and to motherboard . first. and as always unplug pc first.

An external storage-device has four major components:

* the USB cable

* the power-adapter

* the disk-drive inside the enclosure

* the USB-to-disk-drive adapter inside the enclosure.

One of these components has failed.

Try a different USB cable.

Try connecting to a different USB port on your computer.

Try connecting to a USB port on a different computer.

Take a "multi-meter" and measure both the voltage and amperage output from the AC adapter, and compare with the specifications on the label on the adapter.

Open the enclosure, and remove the disk-drive, and then connect it as a "slave" disk-drive in a desktop computer, to see if it works at all.

Purchase a new, compatible, disk-drive, and install it in the enclosure, to "revive" your external storage device.

Get the part-number and serial-number from the label on your disk-drive, and access the manufacturer's web-site, and use "check warranty status", to see if they will replace the device, at minimal cost to you.

There exist commercial "data recovery" services that can try to repair your device, just long-enough to rescue and copy your files. For example, see: https://services.seagate.com/index.aspx?lng=en-US for a "no data - no charge" guarantee.

1) Power:

It may be the problem that occurs with a lot of USB powered devices jrherrer. Not enough power provided.

The USB cable plugged into the computer, provides signal wires for transferring information back, and forth, and also provides 5 Volts DC for power. (Two D cell flashlight batteries produce 3 Volts DC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

[ Below shows the Signal pins, and the Voltage pins of the USB B Mini style connector, (Male), used to connect to the SimpleDrive Mini external harddrive,

Pin 1 is for the 5 Volts DC Positive (Wire color - Red)
Pin 2 is for the D- Signal (Wire color - White)
Pin 3 is for the D+ Signal (Wire color - Green)
Pin 4 is not connected. (Or sometimes joined to Pin 5 with a Resistor)
Pin 5 is for the Ground (Wire color - Black)

Just added info in case you wanted to know ]

From what I see the SDM/250RW has a USB port on the side, and a DC Power Jack, used for an AC adapter, also.
(Round port with a pin in the center)

http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/0C876B7AB91B23988825773F006BEA02/$file/SD_Mini_DS_final.pdf


From what I see stated from Hitachi, and sellers on the 'net, the AC adapter may not be provided.
Many of those who provide a review state that both the USB cable, and the AC adapter is needed to provide enough power. Seems to be a power hungry external harddrive

It's a 2.5 Hitachi SATA laptop harddrive inside that external case. (The Harddrive is 2 and a half inches across in Width. Common size used for laptops)

When using an external device powered by a USB cable there are general guidelines to follow,
A) The USB cable should not be more than 2 feet in length
B) Connect the device directly to your computer, instead of through a hub, or other device, unless the USB hub has it's own power.


2) USB cable:

Could be a faulty USB cable, although I imagine you have tried different ones by now.


3) Interface Circuit Board:

The Hitachi SATA 2.5 harddrive inside the SImpleDrive Mini SDM/250RW, plugs into a small circuit board located inside that external case.

Components on the circuit board may be fried, or the Harddrive may have come loose from the interface.

Loose from the interface
To explain;
The back of the harddrive has connector pins sticking out.
The interface has socket holes which the pins insert into.

Faulty circuit board
The external case of the SimpleDrive Mini SDM/250RW can be carefully opened up, and the Hitachi SATA 2.5 harddrive extracted out.

Another inexpensive external case for a 2.5 SATA harddrive can be procured, and the Hitachi harddrive put in it.

Example of a 2.5 SATA external enclosure,

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3743049&CatId=2781

Most USB hard drives require an external (or secondary) power cable to power the devices when connected to laptop or netbook computers. In some cases, even older desktop computer models will require a similar cable.
This is due to the specifications for the USB standard as it dictates the amount of voltage that a USB port can deliver. Some USB ports are considered "powered" and are sometimes identified by the USB logo and a small "+" sign to indicate the added voltage.
Note: Not all manufacturers use this logo, so if your computer doesn't have this variation of the logo, it doesn't necessarily mean the USB port is not powered.
This added voltage supplies additional current to power smaller devices, such as portable (or 2.5") USB hard drives. However, in the even that the USB port is not powered, then only the minimum amount of current is supplied. This should be enough to slightly power the drive, but not sustain it, thus causing the clicking noise and there isn't enough current running through to move the arm that reads the data on the hard drive.
Chances are that the USB ports on your Asus Eee are not powered and won't allow your hard drive to run until either a secondary cable is purchased or if you use a powered USB hub instead.
The secondary cable looks a lot like a Y-USB cable with one end that connects to your hard drive and the other end consisting of 2 USB plugs that both connect to existing USB ports on your netbook. Between the 2 USB ports, they can draw enough current to power the hard drive - the downside being that if you only have 1 USB port you cannot utilize the cable or if you have 2, they will both be occupying the ports while the hard drive is in use. These cables can cost about $1-7 depending on brand and can be found online in retailers such as eBay & CompUSA.
The USB powered Hub is a more expensive solution, ranging at about $10-25, but is the higher recommended of the 2 solutions since it will provide its own power supply to the tiny device, will use on 1 of your USB ports and since it's a hub, they usually have anywhere from 3-5 additional USB ports (all powered) for you to use, if needed. Some even include built-in memory card readers and they do not require any additional drivers or software to install and can work on any desktop/laptop/netbook.

Its probably trying to boot from your external drive.

Go into your bios and reset your boot setting to HDD0 as your first boot device, Disk drive 0 second and floppy third, unless you want to boot from an external drive. That being the case select an appropriate order.

If the bios shows your external HDD as HDD0, then you have to work out which is the drive carrying the operating system and set that to your first boot device.

To get into the bios, watch the boot screen for a key to hit to enter setup, normally its the "DEL" key.

Try to change the USB socket were you plug in. Or if you change it while it works try to put in the same USB where it was first installed. Remove any other devices from the other USB