Question about Cavalry Storage Cavalry CADB001U32 1TB 7200RPM USB 2.0 3.5-Inch External Hard Disk Drive 500 GB Hard Drive
I have a Cavalry 1TB external hard disk and it was working fine for a while until recently when I noticed that it has disappeared from 'My Computer'. I have tried connecting and disconnecting it to no avail. When it is connected, there are times when my computer plays the sound when something is connected and immediately after it disconnects. I can see on 'My Computer' the icon for my hard disk appearing and then disappearing immediately after that. I have not moved my hard disk at all and this problem just came up spontaneously. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Body {
background: #FFFFFF;
margin: 0px;
padding: 4px;
font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif;
font-size: 10pt;
}
p {
margin:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.spwrap
{
background: transparent url(../wysiwyg_rte/misspell.gif) repeat-x scroll center bottom;
}
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.
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
Posted on Sep 27, 2010
1,199 views
Usually answered in minutes!
Thanks for your reply! I am running Vista and the drive is in the enclosure that is standard with the Cavalry CADB001U32 1TB 7200RPM USB 2.0 3.5-Inch External Hard Drive. The fan works fine and I have not noticed it getting hot nor have I noticed any weird noises coming from it. I don't think the disks are knocking around in there as I opened it up again to make sure everything was screwed tightly in place. Thanks!
I have the Cavalry 1TB drive, and it worked up until recently, but as of today, it is no longer being recognized by my computer, or any of my friends. i have Ubuntu, and they have Vista and XP.
What OS are you running? What kind of enclosure is the drive in? Is the drive wobbling around, or is it fixed firmly in place inside the enclosure? Does the enclosure get hot when it's on for a while? Does the drive make any noises other than the spinning/humming sound they make when they spin up and down?
I have an external 500 GB HDD with a fanless metal enclosure that gets pretty warm when it's on for a while, and if I don't put a fan blowing on it, it overheats and "disconnects" from my computer. And before I put some padded tape in a couple of spots on the drive, it used to bump the enclosure when it was knocked, causing errors once in a while.
×