Can't See Hard Drive

[wordoftheday]

Computer:

Dell Inspiron 6400
Windows XP

Problem:

I had a WD 2tb hard drive.
The usb port on it broke.
I bought this "USB 2.0+ Firewire 1394 Combo Enclosure for 3.5-inch SATA Hard Drive up to 2.0 TB"
I have all the cables for it.
It turns on.
I think I can hear the "gears" turning.
When I check my laptop I can see the "safely remove hardware" on the bottom right with the enclosure's name as well. But in My Computer no new hard drive shows up. I'm hoping I'm just dumb and didn't do something right.
I'm worried that the drive itself is bad.
I'm at a loss.

Tried:

Using someone else's computer - does the same thing
Using different cables - to no avail

[patio]

Does the HDD have a SATA connector along with the USB plug that was damaged ? ?
If so i would buy new cables and hook it up internally to test and see if the drive itself got damaged...

NOTE: Forget enclosures when you are attempting to retrieve data/test a drive for integrity...

[Computer_Commando]

Computer:
Dell Inspiron 6400
Problem:
I had a WD 2tb hard drive.
The usb port on it broke.
I bought this "USB 2.0+ Firewire 1394 Combo Enclosure for 3.5-inch SATA Hard Drive up to 2.0 TB"
I have all the cables for it.
It turns on.
I think I can hear the "gears" turning.
When I check my laptop I can see the "safely remove hardware" on the bottom right with the enclosure's name as well. But in My Computer no new hard drive shows up. I'm hoping I'm just dumb and didn't do something right.
I'm worried that the drive itself is bad.
I'm at a loss.

Tried:
Using someone else's computer - does the same thing
Using different cables - to no avail

After reading your description several times, I have questions:
What is make & model of enclosure?
Did you forget to connect something properly inside the enclosure?
Is the enclosure capable of supporting drives as large as 2TB?

[JJ 3000]

Click start then run and type diskmgmt.msc and press enter. This will open disk management. Does the drive show up there?

[wordoftheday]

What make and model of enclosure -

- Interface: SATA to USB 2.0 and Firewire 1394a
- Chipset: JMicron JMB-353
- Supports: 3.5-inch SATA (Desktop) Hard Drives
- External Interfaces: 2x 6-pin Firewire 1394a ports, 1x USB 2.0 port
- Compatible OS: Windows 2000/ME/XP/2003/Vista, Mac OS 8.6 or above, Linux kernel 2.6+
- Supports High-speed USB 2.0 (480Mpbs)/1.1 and Firewire 1394 (400Mpbs)
- Hot-Swappable, Plug-n-Play
- Better vantilation design with a built-in Fan
- Anti-Shock Design: Hard drive can be fastened on the internal mounting frame with the bolts provided
- Size: 202 x 127 x 46mm

Did I forget to connect something properly in the enclosure -

I highly doubt it. It was a rather simple A to B connecting process, I rechecked to make sure they weren't loose or anything also.

Is it capable of supporting 2tb -

Yes. The enclosure fits like a glove on the hard drive.

Diskmgmt.msc -

The drive does not show up. the the cable connected to it does.

Does the HDD have a SATA connector along with the USB plug that was damaged -

All cables are new.

[patio]

Does the HDD have a SATA connector along with the USB plug that was damaged ? ?
If so i would buy new cables and hook it up internally to test and see if the drive itself got damaged...

NOTE: Forget enclosures when you are attempting to retrieve data/test a drive for integrity...

[cesaralvareza65]

Reboot your system and hit F2 as soon as you see the Dell startup screen (the options are F2 for setup, F12 for boot sequence).

In the System Setup screen, do these steps.

- Select Drives:
- Make sure your Diskette Drive (3.5 floppy) is set properly (Usually set to Internal)
- Make sure that “Drive 0: SATA-0″ drive is set to “ON”

Go to “SATA Operation”:

Your system proabaly came set to “RAID Autodetect / AHCI” – THIS SETTING CAUSES YOUR SYSTEM TO GO INTO AN IDE LOOP AND DOESN’T ALLOW IT TO FIND YOUR FACTORY INSTALLED SATA DRIVE.

CHANGE THE SATA OPERATION SETTING TO “COMBINATION”

Reboot – make sure that the boot sequence is set to CD rom before HD and make sure that the reinstall CD is in the drive. Setup will load, hit enter to reinstall XP. Your HD should now be detected and you should see the licensing agreement.

[Computer_Commando]

Reboot your system and hit F2 as soon as you see the Dell startup screen (the options are F2 for setup, F12 for boot sequence).

In the System Setup screen, do these steps.

- Select Drives:
- Make sure your Diskette Drive (3.5 floppy) is set properly (Usually set to Internal)
- Make sure that “Drive 0: SATA-0″ drive is set to “ON”

Go to “SATA Operation”:

Your system proabaly came set to “RAID Autodetect / AHCI” – THIS SETTING CAUSES YOUR SYSTEM TO GO INTO AN IDE LOOP AND DOESN’T ALLOW IT TO FIND YOUR FACTORY INSTALLED SATA DRIVE.

CHANGE THE SATA OPERATION SETTING TO “COMBINATION”

Reboot – make sure that the boot sequence is set to CD rom before HD and make sure that the reinstall CD is in the drive. Setup will load, hit enter to reinstall XP. Your HD should now be detected and you should see the licensing agreement.

Why do you offer this advice when it has nothing to do with the issue in question?  This is rhetorical question, don't bother to respond.

[wordoftheday]

I was advised to go to disk management and look for it there.
i found my drive and it said it was unallocated

[patio]

If there was data on this drive we need to consider a data retreival option...

It sounds like the drive was unplugged 1 too many times without using the safely remove option...
Either way let us know so we can advise further...

PS Your stuff may be gone...prepare for that eventuality...

[Doc_Vibe]

I have an Epson Stylus CX8400 and I can't print in Black because the red ink cartridge is empty. I called Epson and they told me that the red cartridge would have to be replaced before I can print anything. The way I see it is that if I have a good working black cartridge in the machine, I should be able to print in just black ink, but not with this machine. So I suggested that they make that an option on future machines. Just makes sense to me that I should be able to print in black at anytime if I want to.

Just my thoughts

God Bless

Doc

[BC_Programmer]

I have a feeling that was supposed to be in another thread...

[wordoftheday]

If there was data on this drive we need to consider a data retreival option...

It sounds like the drive was unplugged 1 too many times without using the safely remove option...
Either way let us know so we can advise further...

PS Your stuff may be gone...prepare for that eventuality...

Right. I'm currently looking in to data retrieval

The usb breaking must have been the straw that broke the camels back.

I've come to terms with that possibility. and whether it's there or not. i just want this thing to work again. i really dont care to eat the money i spent on it.