Ext HD not recognized by Mac/Pc

Question

anne062 Author

Level 1

4 points

Ext HD not recognized by Mac/Pc

My HAMLET ext. hard drive no longer is showing on my desktop. I've not used it for a few years, but now need

something important of it and it doesn't show up on either macs i have (both using 10.4.11 OS) or a PC with windows 7.

The light comes on on the device, and I tried it in an ext USB port hub and also the slots on both macs. THe light on

the hub flashes as if it's reading it, the box hums along as it's it's being read, but nothing.

I looked up the specs online for the XX and it says no driver is needed.

HXD2CCUU

USB 2.0 Station 2.5” External Hard Disk Enclosure

features

External USB 2.0 Box for 2.5" SATA + IDE Hard Disk
USB 2.0 interface, transfer rate up to 480Mbps
Supports Windows, Mac Os and Linux

specifications

USB 2.0 interface
Max speed up to 480Mbps
Designed for 2.5" SATA or IDE Hard Disk (up to 9mm height)
Light weight design
Solid aluminum body for protection and excellent heat dissipation
Compatible with Windows 98SE and above, Mac OSX 9 and above, Linux (kernel 2.4.18 or above)
No driver needed (except Win 98)
USB powered, no power adapter required
Hot Swappable
Plug and Play
Dimensions: W. 79mm x L. 142mm x H. 17mm

Message was edited by: anne062

powerbook g4, Mac OS X (10.3.9), i photo 5

Posted on Apr 4, 2014 1:16 AM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,690 points

Apr 4, 2014 9:21 AM in response to anne062

USB powered, no power adapter required

that could be the problem. None of your computers are producing enough power at the USB ports to turn over the drive.

As electric motors (like the one that spins your hard drive platter) age, they can demand more power and eventually exceed what the ports can provide.

There are ways around this---these are cheap:

1) Get a powered USB hub (has it own, separate power brick). That will usually solve the problem.

2) Get a "Y" USB cable ( http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/USB2AYMBPB/ ) . Attaches to two USB ports on the computer to get more power to the drive.

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