How do I get data from an external hard drive?

[gc11530]

I can no longer get the information I have saved on my Maxtor External Hard Drive (Maxtor Personal Storage 3200). It worked well for a few years then a few days ago I got the following message: ""A USB device has malfunctioned and exceeded the power limits of its hub port."

A few days after, when I picked up the drive, I heard something rattling inside. There is a small piece where the USB cable was plugged into the drive that fell inside the case. The piece that fell inside the case had 4 metal connectors from the USB cable to the board. I soldered these to the board and the USB cable but that didn't work.

I have now removed the drive completely from inside the case (see pics) and have tried to hook it up internally in my PC. I have found two cables in my PC that plug into the back of the drive just as they do into my internal drive - however, the computer won't start with the new drive plugged in. When I remove it, the computer starts.

The drive label says it's a 200GB PATA133 HDD DiamondMax 10.

What can I do? Why won't the computer start with the drive connected internally? Is there some other way I can get the data on that's on the drive? Any help would be immensely appreciated! Thank you! AJ

[patio]

First thing you should do is STOP trying to get the drive to boot...this is unneccessary for getting your data.
Jumper it as slave and hook it into a known working machine with a burner...you should be able to see it in Explorer and hopefully copy/burn your important data.
Slave Drive Info

If this does not work after 3 attempts then stop.
From there you will either have to troll eBay for a similar drive and swap the circuit board out ( the serial and model #'s need to be real close for this to work ) or hire a data recovery service...the 2nd option is expensive...

Best of Luck.

[gc11530]

Thanks patio, connecting the drive as slave has not worked so I'm trying your 2nd suggestion. Thanks for your help

[gc11530]

I've purchased the same Maxtor product and have removed the drive itself from the enclosure. I hooked up my old drive to the new enclosure but there's some issue with the power. There's a green LED light that's on (if the enclosure is plugged into power). However, as soon as I plug the old drive into the new board, the LED turns off. First picture shows the new drive's enclosure plugged into power with light on (the drive is not yet attached). 2nd picture shows the old drive plugged into the new enclosure -- although power cable is still attached, the green LED light turns off. Someone mentioned this is possibly "internal power failure"... is there any solution beside data recovery? Please help.

[patio]

Clik my Slave drive link above...forget about the enclosure for now.
Then see if the drive shows up in Disk Management...

[gc11530]

Patio, I'm confused. I already tried hooking up the Maxtor drive (removed from the enclosure) to my PC as a slave. As I wrote in my 1st post above, the computer doesn't turn on when the drive is connected. When I disconnect it, the computer turns on again. I'm not sure I have set the jumper correctly, however. Here is a picture of the jumper diagram from the drive. Can you help me figure out where to place the jumpers to set the drive as slave?



Because the above didn't work, I got another Maxtor drive as you suggested and removed the drive from the case. I hooked up my old drive to the green circuit board and the power cable of the new enclosure but the moment I plug in the old drive, the power goes off.

I'm not sure I'm explaining this right because I don't know the right terms. Does it make sense?

There's a green board attached right on the drive (visible in the 3rd pic in 1st post) but seems to have some screws. Should I try swapping these boards?

[patio]

No Jumper = Slave...try it that way.

[gc11530]

Okay, I have found the same model Maxtor external hard drive on Ebay and have swaped the circuit board but it's not working. When I connect the USB cable, I don't see the drive connected. In System Hardware the USB port says something like device not working/can't open (error 10).

The problem drive is:
Maxtor 3200
Model 6L200P0
200GB PATA133 HDD
Serial S/N L41NY3NH
Mfg Date 20 Feb 2006

The drive I bought on Ebay is:
Maxtor 3200
Model 6L200P0
200GB PATA133 HDD
Serial S/N L41FMZRH
Mfg Date 26 Nov 2005

Both are same model and mfg date is 4 months apart. The circuit boards are very similar but there are small differences if you look carefully. First picture is the problem circuit board, 2nd pic is the board I just purchased.
 


Is it possible that this small difference in the circuit board is causing the issue? If yes, how do I find a drive that will work? I know the serial number is printed on the outside of the enclosure but the other data is printed on the drive itself inside the enclosure and people on Ebay won't open it up to tell me if it matches. So basically is there some way that I can tell from the serial number if the board matches my old drive?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

[squall_01]

try setting it as cable select, I know with westerns I couldn't have it jumpered as a master in order for it to boot or be seen at all.  Not sure if this was asked cause alot to read.  Do you feel it spinning?  if not its dead simple as that.  Also, that seemed like a cheap enclosure trust me I got one for about 20 and its power converter plug is know dead.

[gc11530]

The way I tested the new circuit board is by hooking up the old drive (with new board) to the new enclosure which I know works. Are you saying that hooking up the drive internally to my computer on CS might make a difference?

[Spoiler]

Before you removed the circuit board on the drive did it spin up? In other words before you made any changes could you tell if the drive was spinning?

If it wasn't than I would put it back together how you first had it...set the jumper as a slave put it in a plastic bag and put it a freezer for an hour. Take it out and as fast as you can hook it up to your computer and see if it spins up and if you can read anything off it.

This is really old school to get a drive that’s stuck spinning again long enough to get your data off of it.

You can also try to plug it in and bang the edge of the drive on a table to try to break it free.

Both of these have worked for me.

[squall_01]

supposeably you cant do that at all so i heard but this shows its possible.  So maybe I can get a few of my larger drivers working again yet probably not.