My Computer "forgot" a USB device

[cooltouch]

I've pulled the hard drive from my laptop and want to access the files from my desktop. I've mounted the disk in a USB holder or box or whatever you call those things, and it uses a USB cable to connect the disk to my computer. Straightforward stuff, I've done this a bunch of times in the past. But on this occasion when I first plugged it in, I got an error message, stating something like it didn't recognize the device and couldn't set it up. So I clicked on the popup, hoping it would expand and tell me more, but instead it just disappeared. And now, no matter how many times I try, when I plug this disk into my computer, it doesn't respond. I've tried three different USB ports, doesn't make a difference.

I have USBDeview and I used it, hoping it might get my computer to recognize the disk again, but so far I've had no luck. It doesn't even see the disk, in its listing of all USB actions. But I'll admit, I don't much know how to use this app. For example, I can't figure out how to get it to show anything that was connected, but that isn't connected currently.

So anyway, what I want to do is get my computer to "unforget" this disk drive. And then I'm hoping I can figure out why it errored out on me. The disk, which I carefully removed from my laptop, was working fine when I removed it. So I'm hoping it's still functioning normally. And I know this carrier -- or whatever you call it -- works because I used it to load another disk just minutes before I tried the disk I'm now trying to access. And that other disk loaded normally. Win7 did do a driver search though, found a driver, then let it appear in the list of disks in Win Explorer.

So, any suggestions?

 

[RolandJS]

What happened after you powered down, waited a few moments, powered back up? I'm guessing here: maybe consider disabling Fast Boot? There's another Fast something, I forgot what it is, and it may or may not help in this situation.

 

[file3456]

I see a lot of this crap and I think it has to do with the chipset used for the USB reader. Or in your case, a "box" which is often called a drive enclosure.

Since this is just a 2.5" drive, a SATA to USB adapter will work, or at least should work just fine without the chipset middle man in between. They also make drive adapters for 3.5" drives and are backwards compatible to 2.5" drives.

If you ever go the drive enclosure route you'll want a good, reputable model. These are mostly for when you want an external hard drive you'll take with you all the time or to serve as an external hard drive for clones and what have you. If you're doing forensics and the like or just want to retrieve data off a HDD, then I'd go for a SATA to USB adapter instead.

Now for a 2.5" drive, the USB power (5 volts) from the SATA to USB adapter should run the drive without an external power source. 5.25" drives will need an external power source and they sell SATA to USB adapters with a power adapter. Just make sure it's UL listed. I have a Vantec model and it's been pretty decent so far. For a laptop HDD you'll just need this: Amazon.com

 

[file3456]

When you run USBDeview it'll show you a list of all USB devices as soon as you run the program. Not sure what's going on there on your end.

When I used USBDeview many years ago I made the mistake of uninstalling all USB devices which included my keyboard. LOL Don't do that.

Just out of curiosity. If you go into the Device Manager, do you see any yellow exclamation marks?

The motherboard's chipset could be at issue here.

Edit-

Here's a Sabrent. Amazon.com

I own a Sabrent USB 3.0 10 port hub since its power adapter is apparently UL listed. The other crap wasn't. Those other ratings mean very little to me. Especially an EU rating or what ever. And Energy Star is a joke and a half. Very long story... Some 'Energy Star' Appliances May Not Be That Green : NPR

The Energy Star Program Faces Opposition on Multiple Fronts - Consumer Reports

Anyway...

 

[RolandJS]

Thanks for the info, F22Simpilot! I'm watching this thread to learn from you, from others, and from the OP.