Toshiba Ext. HDD Not appearing in My Computer or Disk Management

[SuperGT]

Hi,

I have been having issues with my external hard drive. It is a Toshiba STOR.E PARTNER 2.5" 1TB. I understand there are many threads relating to similar problems but I thought it would be best to post my exact problem because none of the solutions I have read worked for me.

The problem began after I accidentally disconnected the hard drive whilst moving my laptop. I assume something important must have been happening at the time of disconnecting. The HDD still appears to work in the sense that the light is on when connected and my laptop makes an acknowledgment sound when I plug it in. This is almost certainly a software/driver issue.

So when I plug it in, it does not appear in My Computer at all. When I go to Disk Management there is also no sign of it existing. It does seem to appear in Device Manager under 'USB Mass Storage Device' but it has a yellow ! mark on it. It has the Device status: This device cannot start. (Code 10). I have tried upgrading drivers but they seem to be up to date. I have also tried uninstalling the drivers and restarting the laptop - it attempts to reinstall them but fails to do so.

I have also tried using all of the available USB ports on the latop but all have the same outcome as above.

Any help is greatly appreciated as I have important files that I need to use on this HDD. I have two images attached below:

Device Manager:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Disk Management:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

 

[TVeblen]

Hello SuperGT. Welcome to the forum.

Can you try the external drive on another computer? See if it is recognized there, or if it does the same thing on another system.

 

[SuperGT]

I will try this when I have the opportunity. I will let you know the results.

 

[SuperGT]

I have tried plugging it into another computer and I have the same outcome with nothing appearing at all.

 

[TVeblen]

What that proves is that the problem is in the external drive, not the PC, it's OS, or drivers.

Can you hear the drive spin up when you plug it into the USB port?
Does this external drive run completely off the USB, or does it have an external power supply?
You may be looking at cracking open the external case. Is this unit under warranty? How handy are you?

 

[SuperGT]

When I plug it in I can certainly something happening on the inside - I would presume it is trying to spin up. Yes, it relies solely on the power from the USB.

Its under warranty but I was just worried that they would fix it without keeping all the data on it but I am unsure on that. I'll be honest, I don't really have a clue if I were to try and open it up and fix it myself.

 

[TVeblen]

Try manipulating the USB connector where it goes into the hard drive. A slight push and rocking motion - not enough to break anything.

Yes, they are not responsible to look out for your data if they get it. Always best to try and retrieve it first.

Inside the casing of the external drive is a plain old 2.5" SATA hard drive. You can connect this hard drive directly to a desktop computer using a SATA power connector and a SATA data cable. If the drive still works you will then be able to retrieve your data. And/or you can use the drive as an internal.

On some of these drives there is a "cap". A platic cap that receives the USB connector on one side and connects to the Hard Drive's SATA connectors on the other side. On these this cap just pulls off. You can then check to see it it is making good contact or not, as this could be a cause of the problem.