External Harddrive Problem

[skydj 0]

Hi Guys

 

Can anyone give me some advise (urgently required) as I have 3 gigs this week and my Maxtor one touch external harddrive has just gone t&*ts up

 

All I can add is that when i connect the drive (self poweered) to my usb post on laptop, the light illuminates but does not see the drive and no error messages comes up

 

Any Suggestions

 

I only got 2 days to get this resolved

 

Cheers in advance

[disco4hire 1]

Hi Guys

 

Can anyone give me some advise (urgently required) as I have 3 gigs this week and my Maxtor one touch external harddrive has just gone t&*ts up

 

All I can add is that when i connect the drive (self poweered) to my usb post on laptop, the light illuminates but does not see the drive and no error messages comes up

 

Any Suggestions

 

I only got 2 days to get this resolved

 

Cheers in advance

 

I've had exactly the same problem myself with a maxtor (or should that be crapstor) drive. I was using it on a computer with a vista OS when it ceased working. I found my old laptop with XP did 'see' it after 2 attempts, so I immediately copied the contents to a WD hard drive and binned the maxtor

[Bouncy Dancefloor 0]

does the green light on the maxtor flash or stay on?

 

i accidentally plugged the power for my laptop into the maxtor by accident and the green light kept slowly flashing, with the correct power supply in, it still flashed slowly and never worked again, laptop wouldnt recognise it! I took it back to pcworld and pleaded ignorance, they said the case was blown, but the harddrive inside was fine, so they even transferred it all over into the new replacement Harddrive (provided free of charge under warranty hehe)

[Dream Catchers 0]

I had a laptop that for some reason wouldn't see an external HDD on one of its ports, when plugged into a different usb port all was fine.

 

Jim

[Dukesy 0]

I used to have a Maxtor - had no major problems?! Anyway, there may be issues with USB1 and USB2.0 devices ? I'll try to help.

 

In basic terms, sometimes the device is actually there but can not be 'seen' - so you may have to hunt!

You could try the followng but if you are unsure, get someone else who is experienced with Windows OS.

 

STEP 1

Vista

* Connect laptop to internet

* plug in external hard drive

 

Wait up to 5 mins, if nothing happens, change the USB port. Again, wait up to 5 mins - if nothing happens, leave devices conected and RESTART system through normal Windows shut down.

 

If there is still nothing after it re-boots (give it time), try step 2.

 

STEP 2

WINXP

Add computer icon to desktop.

While external drive is on, re-plug into USB port.

Wait 30 seconds then:

 

* Right-mouse-click the computer icon on desktop and choose properties. Repeat doing this until the device is found. When the device is found, the system will scan the external drive. If you have a lot of files, it will take a while!

 

If there is no indication:

* Left mouse-click Computer Icon on desktop to open Windows Explorer: Computer

 

* View device list

If device is 'found' as, for example External G:/ or other

 

* Right-Mouse-Click and 'Explore' device.

Go to folder that contains music files, NOT the Maxtor one touch folder.

You may have to manually add the music folders on the drive via your DJ software - sorry, but it may take a long time depending on the DJ software you use.

 

System may later request device install disc (winXP operating system)

You could repeat procedure but connected to internet if the device install disc is proving a problem.

 

 

Good luck.

[mattmcc 0]

Hi

 

When you say it is self powered do you mean it has it's own power supply. If not and you mean it takes it off the USB supply then check the cable isn't too long. I mixed my Lacie up with a cable that I thought was the same (but turned out to be a few inches bigger - no tittering please) and had the same symptoms.

 

I've not had a lot of luck with hard drives, including Maxtor's, WD's and Seagate's. The Lacie portable however has been brilliant and very reliable. I've also put the wrong power supply into a Maxtor and goosed it. Really easy to do.

 

Matt

[exbutlinred82 0]

My cupboard under the stairs is a graveyard for various external hard drives.

 

 

They seem to blow if anyone breaks wind near them.Got spares buried all over the place......one with my ex-wife under the patio!!

[McCardle 1]

Have you tried plugging it into different PC?.

 

Self powered hard drives can be temperamental. USB outputs are limited to 500m.a per port and hard drives run very close to this maximum.

 

A small drop in the tolerance of the 5v rail on a USB can cause an overload or surge on the point which in turn can lead to all sorts of nasties.

 

Try it on another PC first, to rule this out.

[skydj 0]

Hi Guys

 

Cheers for all your responses, I had a word with our teckie guys at the office, and they recommended just getting a new External SATA casing....

 

This I did.....

 

And now I am back up and running

 

So if any of the rest of us have this problem (not having a backup too), which I have now

 

Just buy a External Casing and plug your old hard drive in

 

It works

 

Thanks again

 

 

[Dukesy 0]

Hi Guys

 

Cheers for all your responses, I had a word with our teckie guys at the office, and they recommended just getting a new External SATA casing....

 

This I did.....

 

And now I am back up and running

 

So if any of the rest of us have this problem (not having a backup too), which I have now

 

Just buy a External Casing and plug your old hard drive in

 

It works

 

Thanks again

Glad you have solved this problem. :Thumbup:

Did you not have a backup of your music prior?

[fester 0]

If you haven't already, get another good quality 2.5" drive and enclosure and back it all up. Maxtor drives are notorious for failing.

I lost about 50GB of music a few years ago due to a failed drive. Luckily it was ripped from my cd collection so not a total loss but it was a major pain in the ar$e and very very time consuming to rip all those cd's again.

I back my drives up regularly now :)

[mattmcc 0]

Hi Guys

 

Cheers for all your responses, I had a word with our teckie guys at the office, and they recommended just getting a new External SATA casing....

 

 

 

Glad to hear it worked for you. About 18 months ago, when I connected the wrong supply up to the Maxtor, I asked some guys in my work for advice (and yes I work in IT). Did something very similar to your fix and the drive actually started to smoke and hiss. I'm glad your's worked but I truly goosed mine.

 

I've lost loads of music. Especially when I first started using hard drives. That's why I now say to anyone who will listen, to make sure it is a proper portable drive and not just an external drive, as these don't have the protection and are usually just boxes. Also, I use a Mac, and for anyone else who does, really make sure it works with a Mac. I bought one drive (can't remember if it was seagate or WD) that claimed to be Mac compatible but wasn't. Took it back, got the Lacie (portable) and haven't looked back.

 

Anyway, glad it worked and you're up and running again.

 

Matt

Edited July 14, 2009 by mattmcc

[deejaymitch 0]

I've made the mistake of using the wrong power supply before, with no lasting damage. And I have to say, I've found Maxtor to be the most reliable of all the HDD brands I've tried.