USB external enclosure troubles

D

Dustoff

New Member
I am using a Philips USB SATA hard drive enclosure with my notebook w/Vista64 Home.

I have been using this to clone my primary drive as backup but I am now suddenly having problems with Hitachi drives not being recognized. I recently downloaded 19 Vista updates which could be just coincidental.

Assuming my Hitachi drive had failed (it is only 3 months old), I purchased another but it is also not recognized by Vista.

I do however, have an older Seagate SATA drive that is recognized immediately.

Thoughts?
 

My Computer

System One

Do you know when this problem began? Try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began. Here's the procedure: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-system-restore/. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates (well usually, but not in your case - you will need to do it manually as described below). Use the recovery disk if the system prompt doesn’t work. The recovery disk works a bit different from the above procedures but if you follow the prompts from the System Restore menu option with the above information you should be able to restore with no problems. This will probably (make that certainly) uninstall all those updates (and anything else you installed since the restore point), but if it solves the problem then we're on our way to a full solution and at least the Hitachi drives will be working again (I hope). If this doesn't resolve the problem with the Hitachi drives, then repost here and don't yet proceed as follows as something else is wrong (perhaps the updates weren't the problem after all despite the fact that it seems like the most likely cause) and needs to be addressed before dealing with the updates.

Try downloading and installing them manually by downloading them to your desktop and installing them one-by-one. Insert the KB number to get the right updates and choose the one appropriate for your version of Vista: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/default.aspx. Reboot after each one and confirm the Hitachi still functions. If you get through them all, then the System Restore resolved the problem and hopefully that's the end of it. If you find an update that causes the problem, you've found the culprit. Uninstall it and confirm the Hitachi works again. Continue on with the other updates to make sure it isn't more than one. Then the issue becomes that update and how to install it without causing the problem.

At that point, please repost your question (just the part about that update) in the Windows Update Forum at: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistawu/threads where experts in updates will be happy to assist you. Please post with the info requested here: What to post in the Windows Update forum

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]

    Dell AIO Printer A940

    Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem

    6TO4 Adapter
    Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
    Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
    Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
    Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface

    Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
You can also post it here: Windows Updates - Vista Forums

Should you choose to post it at the 3rd party site as well, or instead, please keep us updated here of your progress on this issue.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Mmm, real basics just for a moment..
- is your Philips USB SATA enclosure your only one?
- is the Seagate drive in a different enclosure?
- if so, can you try your new drive and 'non-working' drive in the working enclosure?

Can you confirm you are using the same USB port for both the Seagate drive and the other drives?
Is the LED on your 'non-working' enclosure on?
Can you try your non-working disk/enclosure on another PC?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Athlon X2
    Memory
    3Gb
    Hard Drives
    500Gb 7200RPM
    Other Info
    Laptop HPG60
In disk management, you need to right-click the USB drive and choose "Create Partition." Follow the wizard through the process to partition and format the drive to its full size in NTFS format. It should be pretty self-explanatory. Once this process is complete and the format is complete (Disk management will show "Formatting: 1% - 2% - 3%" etc. to let you know the progress) you will be able to see and use the drive in My Computer.
_________________

cooling data centers
 

My Computer

System One

You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top