Hard drive turns off power to docking station

[An0n23]

Hello. I am trying to connect my hard drive to my laptop via docking station, but every time I set the hard drive into it, the power shuts down. I'm not sure what's happening, but I'm just trying to move old files from this hard drive to my laptop. I would greatly appreciate any assistance.

Took a couple of pictures that shows the problem (light on the right turns off the moment I full insert the hard drive): http://imgur.com/a/HnZHd

 

[CircuitDaemon]

Could you check if another hard drive works with it? If it doesn't work with it either, it's probably the power cord from the docking station that's not giving enough power to keep it running. If it does work however, check the PCB of the hard drive and see if there's any kind of residue or anything else that may be shorting the hard drive.

 

[An0n23]

Thankfully, I do have another hard drive, and it works perfectly with the iDsonix. And there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the hard drive, but that's probably just because I'm looking at the surface. So, I'd probably having to look further inside the hard drive (checking the PCB), but I don't think I have the equipment to do so.

 

[CircuitDaemon]

I've had similar problems before and as you say, one hard drive works fine while the other doesn't. It was because one hard drive required more power than the other. If it doesn't fail with the other one, the last thing to check is if the hard drive works fine plugged in on a desktop computer or with another adapter.

 

[An0n23]

Lol, I DO happen to have an old desktop computer with its monitor, but its cords and cables were lost, so it just stayed in my closet. And as far as using another adapter, I tried using one that I have from a separate external hard drive, but the hard drive still shuts down the power.

 

[CircuitDaemon]

Lol, I DO happen to have an old desktop computer with its monitor, but its cords were lost, so it just stayed in my closet. And as far as using another adapter, I tried using one that I have from a separate external hard drive, but the hard drive still shuts down the power.

Then it sounds to me like it's shorting whatever is connected to it. If you could take apart the PCB and clean it with flux or other special electronics liquid, it might work, but it seems to me like it could cause more harm than good.

 

[An0n23]

Well, if i can't find any replacement cables for my desktop, I'll probably have to take apart the hard drive to get a better look at what might be shorting the power. Any recommendations for tools needed to take apart a hard drive? Thank you, btw, for the help.

 

[CircuitDaemon]

Well, if i can't find any replacement cables for my desktop, I'll probably have to take apart the hard drive to get a better look at what might be shorting the power. Any recommendations for tools needed to take apart a hard drive? Thank you, btw, for the help.

You'll usually require a torx screwdriver to remove the PCB, but nothing else as you should not disassemble the rest of the drive. Although, I doubt it's something that will be fixed this way, you would have noticed if something had spilled on the drive. Just be careful not to break the PCB and do not try to connect it until it's been completely dried.