My external hard drive has suddenly stopped working and the light's not flashing

Question

My external hard drive has suddenly stopped working and the light's not flashing

Hello everyone.

I have an external hard drive that I've been using for the past year. It's a Porsche Design. No on/off button, just a light that flashes white when it's plugged in. The other day I found that the lead had been bent and the hard drive no longer worked when plugged in, so I bought another identical lead, brand new but the hard drive is simply not showing up. The light's not flashing, it's not showing up in my disk utility, it's nowhere.

Does anyone have any idea on what may be the problem and if there's a way of troubleshooting

Thanks

Tom

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Nov 28, 2014 3:58 AM

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Answer 1

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 28, 2014 4:32 AM in response to tomwardthomas

Then either there is a faulty connection or the HDD is dead. If you have an enclosure that is known to be good,. transfer the HDD to that enclosure and connect it to the MBP. That should confirm the status of the HDD.

Ciao.

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Answer 2

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 28, 2014 4:46 AM in response to tomwardthomas

MBP = MacBook Pro.

The enclosure is the case in which an external HDD is mounted in. This is an example:

If you have access to another external HDD, take out the existing HDD, install the 'questionable' HDD and connect it to the MBP. If it does not show in Disk Utility, the HDD is dead. If it does show in disk utility, then there is a flaw in the connections (bad enclosure or cable).

Ciao.

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Answer 3

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 28, 2014 7:05 AM in response to tomwardthomas

The age of a HDD is not a determinant if it is or should be working or not. I have had a new HDD out of the box to be faulty. All HDDs in time will fail, some sooner , some later.

Connect it to another Mac, if available, and see what the result is.

Ciao.

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Answer 4

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 28, 2014 4:57 AM in response to tomwardthomas

tomwardthomas wrote:

Ah ok, great thanks. If the Hard Drive Disk is dead is there a way of charging it?

It must be replaced if it is dead.

Most enclosure cases will be fastened with Phillips screws. Usually a #00 Phillips driver is required, but that may vary depending on the manufacture of the enclosure. When you open it, you unplug the internal HDD and then plug in the HDD you are testing. Reassemble the case and then connect it to the MBP.

Ciao.

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Answer 5

Nov 28, 2014 5:34 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

It doesn't have any screws or anything, I don't think it's the type of hard drive that can be opened. Earlier I put a hair dryer to it, in case it had gathered damp, which there's no reason it should have, but I used the hair dryer. As soon as I plugged it in after that it flashed white so I thought it might be working, but then nothing more. It's not an old hard drive so it shouldn't be dead. I'll have a look around and maybe try other leads possibly.

Thanks

Tom

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Answer 6

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 28, 2014 7:12 AM in response to tomwardthomas

If the HDD is recognized, you can search on the Internet for data recovery software. Usually they give you a trial to see if the software can recover data. If it can then you will have to pay for the software.

If the HDD is not recognized, then a professional data recover firm can be employed. That will be very expensive with NO guarantees of success.

Ciao.

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Answer 7

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 28, 2014 7:17 AM in response to tomwardthomas

tomwardthomas wrote:

How much are the leads generally. Because this one was very cheap, only £3 on Amazon. Could that have something to do with it not working?

Tom

If you are referring to connection cables, even inexpensive ones will usually work. Price is not always a guarantee of quality.

Ciao.

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