External Hard-Drive problem

C

CookyLUFC

Joined
10 Nov 2008
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Lancashire
Country
United Kingdom
Hi people, been referred here so hopefully you lot can help me. :)

I bought a 500gb Hard-Drive a few days ago to back all my ****e up on my laptop, yesterday I plugged it into my computer and it didn't make the usual sound it does when it starts up and it doesnt show up in my computer or anything, tried it on a mates computer and still doesn't show up.

I tried contacting the Buffalo customer support but they were pretty much useless. dry.gif I've checked the device manager and a yellow exclamation mark shows up next to "USB mass storage device". I've check the logical disk thingy and only drives that show up are my main hard-drive and the CD/DVD drive.

Anyone any ideas?
 
Sponsored Links
From your description it sounds like you have bought a Buffalo 500GB USB HDD, is this correct?

AFAIK the device will not need any drivers (although it probably has an installation CD with applications and manual).

You really need to deal the yellow exclamation marks first. I would suggest:

1. With laptop switched off unplug the device

2. Switch laptop back on and check device manager
Do you still have yellow exclamation marks?
If you do you may need to install drivers for mobo usb.

3. Assuming no yellow excl. above. Turn off laptop. Reconnect HDD and reboot - hopefully windows will detect your device
 
Cheers for the help but im abit lost with it. For step 2 you say check for the yellow exclamation marks but how can I do this with the external hard drive not connected or should i connect it again for step 2?
 
The idea was to check your system for any problems without the external HDD connected first.

If device manager shows the yellow exclamation marks in USB devices when system booted with no external HDD then these errors will probably need fixing before your device works.

Have you ever used any other USB devices with this system?
 
Sponsored Links
O I see. Well only the mass storage device( the external hard-drive) comes up with the yellow exclamation mark. I use a usb pen drive quite abit for backing up documents and there seem to be no problems with that.

I really appreciate your help by the way mate. :)
 
Just so I am absolutely clear on what you are saying:

Computer off and without any external HDD or pen drive attached to your laptop. When you turn it on and check device manager are you getting yellow exclamation marks still?

With the device attached what do you get in Device Manager
(Click on "+" symbol next to each):

1. Disk Drives - can you see the Buffalo HDD? What exactly reported?
2. Human Interface Device - What exactly reported?
3. Universal Serial Bus Controllers What exactly reported?
 
i have a diiferent brand, BUT it also needs a power supply to work ( a wall wart) does your have an external power supply and if so does this work?
 
It does sound like it could be the device or usb cable - as you have tried it on another system. Are you able to take it back to where you purchased it for quick test?

I think that your device is likely to be USB 2.0, are you using the correct cable i.e. if one supplied with HDD are you using that cable. Even though USB 2.0 is said to be backward compatible with USB 1.1 there may be issues if using the wrong cable.

You could try removing and reinstalling the USB mass storage device:

Unplug the HDD from the laptop

Right-click the USB Mass Storage Device and select Uninstall to remove

Restart the computer, and allow it to reinstall the USB controllers.

Plug in the HDD, and then check if this has resolved issues.
 
CookyLUFC said:
I bought a 500gb Hard-Drive a few days ago to back all my s***te up on my laptop, yesterday I plugged it into my computer and it didn't make the usual sound it does when it starts up and it doesnt show up in my computer or anything, tried it on a mates computer and still doesn't show up.
Click to expand...
IMHO you're looking at a b*ggered drive.

I've had one example where I installed the unit that a customer bought, and within 30 minutes it went faulty. :(

If you take it into a quiet room and run it without plugging into a computer, does the drive sound as though it's spinning?

If you have vital data on it then it might be recoverable. If it's storing only copies of what's on the laptop then cut your losses and get another one.

Do you know which disc is inside it?

I tried contacting the Buffalo customer support but they were pretty much useless.
Click to expand...
You've found out the hard way. Next time try a better manufacturer.

In the meantime, take it back to the supplier and get a full refund, which is your statutory right.
 
Breezer it is powered by the mains and seems to be powering it correctly due to the green light lighting up on my ext HDD.

Tony I just tried that and I got an error message saying the hardware could not be installed correctly but when I go onto the usb mass storage details under status it now says "No drivers are installed for this device. " yet it wont let me re-install the drivers I download off the buffalo website saying that the it has the lastest software versions for this hardware.

Softus when I power it up not connected to a computer I can hear it spinning around for about 30secs and clicking abit and then it stops. As for the files on the ext.HDD I have some family photos on there which took me ages to scan, is there a way of recovering them at all?

Thanks for the help guys, means alot to me. Shame people like you ain't working at Bufflo customer support!
 
CookyLUFC said:
Softus when I power it up not connected to a computer I can hear it spinning around for about 30secs and clicking abit and then it stops.
Click to expand...
A quiet chattering when the drive has first reached target speed is merely thermal calibration and is not a problem, but any other type of clicking is always a bad sign, so the first action you should take is to stop powering up the drive - it might have a limited life left.

As for the files on the ext.HDD I have some family photos on there which took me ages to scan, is there a way of recovering them at all?
Click to expand...
If the drive is capable of spinning then the chances are more favourable than if not.

There are specialists who I use in my area of the country, but that's not near you.

I can help you directly, if you want to PM me, but otherwise you need to consult a data recovery expert. It's usually not cheap, but if the data is valuable to you then it might be worth it. If it's only a question of repeating some scans, then it might be tedious, but it would be cheap.

Remember - turn off the drive and leave it off.

Also, when you get the new drive, don't put things on it that aren't also copied somewhere else.
 
CookyLUFC said:
... I got an error message saying the hardware could not be installed correctly but when I go onto the usb mass storage details under status it now says "No drivers are installed for this device. " yet it wont let me re-install the drivers I download off the buffalo website saying that the it has the lastest software versions for this hardware.
Click to expand...
AFAIK you should not need drivers for this type of device - other than to access special features?

If you have actually got drivers from the buffalo site then you may want to try uninstall of original drivers then reboot and try and load yours however.....
IMHO you're looking at a b*ggered drive
In the meantime, take it back to the supplier and get a full refund, which is your statutory right
Click to expand...
I agree it is not looking good :(

EDIT: Did not see reply from softus before I posted - must learn to not get diverted with other things when replying :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sponsored Links

Similar threads

M
External Hard Drive no longer showing up in My Computer
Replies
2
Views
1K
foxhole
foxhole
M
Problem with Lacie 500GB Desktop USB Hard Drive
Replies
7
Views
2K
Monkeh
M
G
EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
Replies
2
Views
903
Alison556
Alison556
Alison556
Hard drive not recognised
Replies
5
Views
1K
Trisha88
T
S
hard drives
Replies
4
Views
1K
cjard
C
Back
Top