Aaj Javed asks:
I have a Seagate FreeAgent 175GB USB drive which got hit somewhere. Now the situation is that whenever I am connecting it to my laptop, the power is on, but it’s only making beeping type of noise and the laptop is not detecting anything, as if nothing was attached to laptop. Please help me how it can be fixed. Thanks!
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System: Windows XP
Tagged: detect hard drive, external hard drive, hardware issue, hardware recognition, windows tips, windows xp
System: Windows XP
Tagged: detect hard drive, external hard drive, hardware issue, hardware recognition, windows tips, windows xp
13 Answers -
Mihovil Pletikos
July 31, 2012have you tried to connect it to some other computer? but by the sound you described it looks like it is malfunctioning…..
George Monroe
July 31, 2012if you are saying it took physical damage that may be the short and sweet of it, if it under waranty, do that. if you want your data, try the drive on another machine. if the damage is at the attachment point check the pins maybe they can be stablized long enough to recover the info.
can you tell use what kind of damage it incurred?
if it is readable on another machine i would say back it up A.S.A.P.. if it is unreadable still, and it doesnt seem to be from physical damage try a software called testdisk
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk, follow the instruction and check the wiki it is fairly straight forward, it may be intimadateing at first, but you will be fine.
of coarse worse case scenario, having a vendor recover the info can be expensive but it can be done. i have never used it so i cant tell you who to use, but a little research and gut feeling and you will probably be ok.
also in case you dont know make sure you eject the drive correctly, right click on the usb icon in windows sys tray and look for the eject option, (remove drive safely)
i have the same problem.my seagate 320GB hard disc not detecting in my lap.not only in mine but other system also.there is no any problem with attaching pin. a beep sound is coming from inside. i removed my hard disc from case and connected it directly in lap but still not working. what may the problem? can i get the data inside? it is not detecting in any system.
August 18, 2012ha14
July 31, 2012go to device manager and loacate the Seagate FreeAgent driver, right click on it and choose uninstall then reboot and replug the hard drive.
try this microsoft solution
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Tips-for-solving-problems-with-USB-devices
Mike
August 1, 2012If the beeping does come from the hard drive directly it is a mechanical failure. It is usually caused by the heads scratching the platters.
can i recover the data inside?
August 18, 2012Rob Berry
August 1, 2012If it was physically hit the drive could be kerplut, My advice would be to check the seagate warranty section and see if the drive can be sent back for repair or replacement at all if under warranty, Otherwise it looks like you are going to need a new hard drive.
ferdinan Sitohang
August 2, 2012First you need to know which one of your device is broken. The step:
1. Take out the hard drive from its case.
2. Plug the hard drive into a new case
3. Plug in the new case which already has a drive into a computer
4. See if it is working. If it is working then the problem is in your old case
5. If your hard drive still not detectable, let assume that the disk already broken.
Justin Fortin
August 2, 2012Your laptop may not be providing enough power to the drive. If your usb cable has 2 ports, plug both of them in, otherwise use an external power supply.
Burhan Ahmed
August 4, 2012Replace your USB Cable. Sometimes old USB cables do not supply enough power.
Aaj Javed
August 4, 2012Thanks guys from your advises. I did try on different machines as well as on different cases even i interchanged it with my internal hard drive but same results. It is not under warrenty anymore.
FIDELIS
August 20, 2012Hello, you could try visiting the following site and match the beeping sounds from your drive with the databases there. It is divided in section by manufacturer:
http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php
If you match the beeping sounds, you might have a clearer idea of what the problem is. You could also try running the diagnostic tools provided by seagate:
http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/
Tony Batty
August 25, 2012Do you know what USB you have? meaning 1.1 or 2.0, because if you do, you will need the drivers for the said Seagate drive from the website, which most HHD vendors may still offer for download. if you have done this and the problem still persists, you may have a bigger problem than you imagine, your drive may have dropped and received internal damages or it useful live is over. (Man Made) It was not meant to last forever.
steve
September 8, 2012I have the same issue with my LG USB Harddrive HXD1. Beeping, but pc won’t detect it.
I just took it out of the case and plugged it direct into the pc motherboard like the other permanent harddrives and it works fine, so the problem is with the connection between the USB cable and the small circuit board in the Harddrive case. Which I doubt I can fix, but thought I’d mention it in case you had valuable data on your drive – you can save it by taking the drive out of its case and plugging it direct into the motherboard.
Tom MacKenzie
October 12, 2012I had the same issue for a few minutes until I realized I was using the wrong power cord. Same size connection, but different voltage. So make sure you are using the right cord, and also try a different outlet if that is not the issue.