need advice on external hard disk not working..

[junior8415]

Dear all,

Need some advice on how to save my external hardisk, Seagate FreeAgent 500gig HDD. Not sure what is going on..

The indicator light is on, when connected to my laptop, but it is not detected.
There is a tapping sound (thud thud), and I can hear/feel the spinning inside the HDD.

Is it very serious situation? How should I go about saving it?
Thanks anyone in advance for your help.

Rgds,
Jr

 

[watzup_ken]

Sounds like its not getting sufficient power.

 

[junior8415]

Sounds like its not getting sufficient power.

Hi, thanks for your reply! Sorry I was overseas for a few months, slow reply..

Sorry, I don't understand what do you mean by insufficient power? I thought these hdd just plug-and-play?
But there is the thud-thud sound coming from within the hdd, after I connect to my laptop.
Does this show that something is broken from within, ie. the "reading pin"?

How should I go about solving either of the above possible scenarios?
Appreciate your advice pls, thanks!

Rgds,
Jr

 

[cybercom8]

think its not getting sufficient power from your usb port. try connecting to other usb ports or other computers. or try getting a y-cable and connect to 2 usb ports.

 

[Louisloo]

Forget about using the external casing. Open up the external casing and take out the disk. Attach the disk directly to the mobo. Once and for all, you can examine whats wrong with the disk

 

[junior8415]

think its not getting sufficient power from your usb port. try connecting to other usb ports or other computers. or try getting a y-cable and connect to 2 usb ports.

Hi cybercomm8,

I tried your method, still can't work. Still a lot of spinning within the hdd and thudding sound..could it be something broken within?

Any other ways of resolving this prob?

Rgds,
Jr

 

[junior8415]

Forget about using the external casing. Open up the external casing and take out the disk. Attach the disk directly to the mobo. Once and for all, you can examine whats wrong with the disk

Hi Louisloo,

Thanks for your reply as well.

Do you mean stripping my hdd, and connectin to the motherboard of another computer? If this doesn't work too, does it mean the hdd is dead or something broken inside?

Thanks!

Rgds,
Jr

 

[jtjt00]

If direct connect to motherboard sata fail, go for expensive data recovery or kiss goodbye.

Hi Louisloo,

Thanks for your reply as well.

Do you mean stripping my hdd, and connectin to the motherboard of another computer? If this doesn't work too, does it mean the hdd is dead or something broken inside?

Thanks!

Rgds,
Jr

 

[cybercom8]

Hi cybercomm8,

I tried your method, still can't work. Still a lot of spinning within the hdd and thudding sound..could it be something broken within?

Any other ways of resolving this prob?

Rgds,
Jr

another common problem is that the pcba of the external hdd casing is faulty...try putting the hdd into another casing if you have one lying around? or just send it to the manfacturer's service centre for testing?

 

[ic3boi4]

the clicking sound in hdd can be caused by insufficient power. if not, the pin is probably stuck. did you drop the hdd before? if it is still under warranty, you can take it back to get it repaired or replaced.

 

[Louisloo]

Hi Louisloo,

Thanks for your reply as well.

Do you mean stripping my hdd, and connectin to the motherboard of another computer? If this doesn't work too, does it mean the hdd is dead or something broken inside?

Thanks!

Rgds,
Jr

Yes, take out the hard disk from the external casing and plug it directly to a SATA port. This will rule out USB connection and low power problem. It will also rule out the PCB connector problem.

If the sound still have, could mean firmware or head problem. As long as the platters are not scratched, the data still can be recovered.