External HD Not Recognized

[Dell Christopher]

I've got an old Sony VAIO laptop, with 2 Hitachi hard drives installed. I'm
not able to power it up, so I've removed both hard drives in an effort to
retrieve data.

Using SATA/USB cables to connect to a desktop computer, the first hard drive
is recognized and goes thru the brief "installing hardware" process. Then,
I get a pop-up that says I need to format the drive. OK, maybe I'll have
better luck with the 2nd hard drive.

When I connect the 2nd hard drive, I get the connected sound and "install
hardware" balloon in the System Tray...then nothing. I wait and wait for a
pop-up, or for something to show up in My Computer, but still nothing. I've
tried different USB ports, disconnecting other USB devices, and even another
computer to connect it to - but still nothing.

Any other suggestions on how to get this hard drive recognized so that I can
get my data? Thanks!

 

[SC Tom]

I've got an old Sony VAIO laptop, with 2 Hitachi hard drives installed.
I'm not able to power it up, so I've removed both hard drives in an effort
to retrieve data.

Using SATA/USB cables to connect to a desktop computer, the first hard
drive is recognized and goes thru the brief "installing hardware" process.
Then, I get a pop-up that says I need to format the drive. OK, maybe I'll
have better luck with the 2nd hard drive.

When I connect the 2nd hard drive, I get the connected sound and "install
hardware" balloon in the System Tray...then nothing. I wait and wait for
a pop-up, or for something to show up in My Computer, but still nothing.
I've tried different USB ports, disconnecting other USB devices, and even
another computer to connect it to - but still nothing.

Any other suggestions on how to get this hard drive recognized so that I
can get my data? Thanks!

The only thing I can think of right off hand is, is the SATA/USB adapter
externally powered, or powered through the USB port? If self-powered, maybe
the drive is drawing too much power.

I like the externally powered adapters, myself. A bit more to hook up, but I
don't have to worry about power draw on the PC.

 

[pjp]

I've got an old Sony VAIO laptop, with 2 Hitachi hard drives installed. I'm
not able to power it up, so I've removed both hard drives in an effort to
retrieve data.

Using SATA/USB cables to connect to a desktop computer, the first hard drive
is recognized and goes thru the brief "installing hardware" process. Then,
I get a pop-up that says I need to format the drive. OK, maybe I'll have
better luck with the 2nd hard drive.

When I connect the 2nd hard drive, I get the connected sound and "install
hardware" balloon in the System Tray...then nothing. I wait and wait for a
pop-up, or for something to show up in My Computer, but still nothing. I've
tried different USB ports, disconnecting other USB devices, and even another
computer to connect it to - but still nothing.

Any other suggestions on how to get this hard drive recognized so that I can
get my data? Thanks!

For the first hard disk I'd try and access it without doing a format. I
have flashdrives soemtimes "want" formatting but work anyway.

The 2nd hard disk may have any number of problems. I've had drives work
in one enclosure and not in another. Sata so master/slave's not
pertinent. Are the drives the same make/model?

Have you tried Disk Management to see if you can "mount" the drive, e.g.
give it drive letter. That might be all it needs.

 

[...winston]

If Sata to USB to PC is the connection to the pc that is trying to access the now-external SATA drives (assuming they worked in the
Sony prior to removal) are you sure you have enough power ?

A Hard drive can require the power of at least the power of 4 USB ports (which is why you rarely see an external enclosure without
its own power supply).


--
....winston
msft mvp mail


"Dell Christopher" wrote in message
I've got an old Sony VAIO laptop, with 2 Hitachi hard drives installed. I'm
not able to power it up, so I've removed both hard drives in an effort to
retrieve data.

Using SATA/USB cables to connect to a desktop computer, the first hard drive
is recognized and goes thru the brief "installing hardware" process. Then,
I get a pop-up that says I need to format the drive. OK, maybe I'll have
better luck with the 2nd hard drive.

When I connect the 2nd hard drive, I get the connected sound and "install
hardware" balloon in the System Tray...then nothing. I wait and wait for a
pop-up, or for something to show up in My Computer, but still nothing. I've
tried different USB ports, disconnecting other USB devices, and even another
computer to connect it to - but still nothing.

Any other suggestions on how to get this hard drive recognized so that I can
get my data? Thanks!

 

[Dell Christopher]

Thanks for the replies. I failed to mention that I am using a AC powered
SATA/USB adapter. I also have the same EIDE adapter kit, with a power cord.
I just assumed all these adapters had their own AC power cord.


"Dell Christopher" wrote in message

I've got an old Sony VAIO laptop, with 2 Hitachi hard drives installed. I'm
not able to power it up, so I've removed both hard drives in an effort to
retrieve data.

Using SATA/USB cables to connect to a desktop computer, the first hard drive
is recognized and goes thru the brief "installing hardware" process. Then,
I get a pop-up that says I need to format the drive. OK, maybe I'll have
better luck with the 2nd hard drive.

When I connect the 2nd hard drive, I get the connected sound and "install
hardware" balloon in the System Tray...then nothing. I wait and wait for a
pop-up, or for something to show up in My Computer, but still nothing. I've
tried different USB ports, disconnecting other USB devices, and even another
computer to connect it to - but still nothing.

Any other suggestions on how to get this hard drive recognized so that I can
get my data? Thanks!

 

[Paul]

Thanks for the replies. I failed to mention that I am using a AC
powered SATA/USB adapter. I also have the same EIDE adapter kit, with a
power cord. I just assumed all these adapters had their own AC power cord.

If you need another interconnect method, you can get 40 pin to 44 pin
passive adapters for 2.5" IDE drives, for usage with a desktop IDE interface.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/12-196-219-02.jpg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812196219

An adapter like that, is 40 pin male on one side (for the desktop ribbon cable),
and 44 pin female for the 2.5" drive side. The Molex connector, connects 5V power
to a couple pins on the connector. That's what the extra four pins are for
on the 2.5" drive, it's a place to pass power. The pin spacing on the 40 pin
side is 0.1", and on the 44 pin side is 2mm, so the pin spacing is different.

In the case of SATA 2.5" drives, you can connect a SATA power cable and
SATA data cable from a desktop computer, to the hard drive, and just
use it. I run my Windows 7 laptop 2.5" hard drive, in my desktop,
using nothing but ordinary SATA cabling that I use on the 3.5" SATA drives.

Some of the smaller drives, like 1.8" SATA, require a micro SATA adapter,
which isn't readily available. But you're not likely to run into one of those.

*******

Some BIOS, if you enter the setup screen, virtually any detected
drives are listed there. They're just not all listed in the same place.
For example, on my desktop, SATA drives are in the main BIOS screen,
IDE drives are in the Jmicron separate screen during POST (where the
drive model numbers get mentioned), while USB drives might be in the
popup boot menu. Or, the USB drives could be in a separate USB BIOS
screen, listed by model number.

Looking for drives in the BIOS, is to handle cases of "completely dead
hard drives". If a drive is dead, it won't show up in the BIOS.

If a drive is not powered properly, the data cable isn't fully connected,
then that can give symptoms of a dead drive. For example, I have an
external enclosure with a bad power connector inside the housing, and
it gives "dead" symptoms. I listen for the sound of "spinup", as proof
I've wiggled the power connector just right, tn make it work again.

In terms of a utility to play with, you could try TestDisk, but
Disk Management should be just as meaningful. If a drive won't even
show up as a rectangle in Disk Management, I doubt TestDisk will be
able to do any better. You'd need a utility that works outside of
Windows (such as a disk manufacturer test utility), to do better than
that. Seagate has Seatools for DOS for example. My main problem with that,
is it doesn't work on my two latest computers, and I suspect a few driver
problems. It does work on an older computer, so if I'm really desperate,
I have the option of connecting the drives to some of my "early SATA"
motherboards and using Seatools.

(Versions available for Windows and Linux. Some Linux LiveCDs have a
copy of this as well, so you don't necessarily need to fiddle with
a package manager to get it.)

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step

Testdisk can even be asked to display the files at the root
level of a partition, so you can use it to verify a file
system is in workable condition. The interface on Testdisk isn't
very friendly, but the software is free.

Paul

 

[Sjouke Burry]

I've got an old Sony VAIO laptop, with 2 Hitachi hard drives
installed. I'm not able to power it up, so I've removed both hard
drives in an effort to retrieve data.

Using SATA/USB cables to connect to a desktop computer, the first hard
drive is recognized and goes thru the brief "installing hardware"
process. Then, I get a pop-up that says I need to format the drive.
OK, maybe I'll have better luck with the 2nd hard drive.

When I connect the 2nd hard drive, I get the connected sound and
"install hardware" balloon in the System Tray...then nothing. I wait
and wait for a pop-up, or for something to show up in My Computer, but
still nothing. I've tried different USB ports, disconnecting other
USB devices, and even another computer to connect it to - but still
nothing.

Any other suggestions on how to get this hard drive recognized so that
I can get my data? Thanks!

Get any old desktop pc, and install those drives in it.
Check the master/slave straps carefully.
Use auto detect in the bios to install them in bios.
Then get the data off them.