Question Help! Problems connecting external drive

[Patrick Young]

I need to replace my 2009 WD3200BEVT hard drive case. As its quite old, it uses the SATA 3Gb/s interface. I recently purchased a replacement case but when I connect it to the PC, the blue external hard drive light comes on, but there is no humming sound or connection to the PC. Usually the external drive is powered via the PC. I have tried different USB cables, different ports and different PC’s – even the TV - but still the same result. Is there anything I can do to get this external drive working?

 

[helpstar]

which case are you using now?
was the old case using a y-cable to two USB ports?

eventually the new case needs such a y-cable to power the drive

 

[Patrick Young]

which case are you using now?
was the old case using a y-cable to two USB ports?

eventually the new case needs such a y-cable to power the drive

The external drive didn't use a y-cable. Just a normal USB 2.0 cable. All of the cases I've tried use USB 3.0 but, I figured since the cables are backwards compatible, that shouldn't make any difference. Do you think using a y cable might do the trick?

 

[Misgar]

In theory, USB 2.0 ports are only capable of supplying up to 500mA to external devices.For USB 3.0 ports it's 900mA. This is not a hard and fast rule.

A Y-cable connected to two USB 2.0 ports should be capable of supplying 1000mA (2x500mA) which is only 100mA more than USB 3.0.

If the drive used to work on a single USB 2.0 port, lack of current is not the problem.

The WD3200BEVT is a 2.5in hard disk. These drives were often fitted in laptops and usually work fine on a single 5V 500mA USB 2.0 port.

Your old hard disk case might have used a direct SATA to USB translation bridge chip. The new case might use a SATA to USB bridge chip with "sector translation".

https://goughlui.com/2013/10/02/experiment-usb-to-sata-bridge-chips-and-2tb-drives/

Try connecting the WD3200BEVT directly to the SATA port in a desktop PC. If the hard disk works OK in the desktop and you can view files on the drive, the hard disk is operating without sector translation.

It's possible your new case is not compatible with your old drive.

N.B. Sector translation was invented when hard disk capacities crossed the 2TB barrier some years ago.

 

[Patrick Young]

In theory, USB 2.0 ports are only capable of supplying up to 500mA to external devices.For USB 3.0 ports it's 900mA. This is not a hard and fast rule.

A Y-cable connected to two USB 2.0 ports should be capable of supplying 1000mA (2x500mA) which is only 100mA more than USB 3.0.

If the drive used to work on a single USB 2.0 port, lack of current is not the problem.

The WD3200BEVT is a 2.5in hard disk. These drives were often fitted in laptops and usually work fine on a single 5V 500mA USB 2.0 port.

Your old hard disk case might have used a direct SATA to USB translation bridge chip. The new case might use a SATA to USB bridge chip with "sector translation".

https://goughlui.com/2013/10/02/experiment-usb-to-sata-bridge-chips-and-2tb-drives/

Try connecting the WD3200BEVT directly to the SATA port in a desktop PC. If the hard disk works OK in the desktop and you can view files on the drive, the hard disk is operating without sector translation.

It's possible your new case is not compatible with your old drive.

N.B. Sector translation was invented when hard disk capacities crossed the 2TB barrier some years ago.

That makes sense as it is a pretty old external drive. Pretty sure I haven't got a SATA port on my pc. Just HDMI and USB. Does anyone sell replacement cases with a direct SATA to USB translation bridge chip? Had a look on ebay and can't see any listings.

 

[Misgar]

It's very difficult to tell what logic is involved in most of these USB caddies, unless you can find a technical review.

I've had good results from Inateck housings, but I can't guarantee full compatibility with your HDD.

If you have a desktop computer that's less than 15 years old, it should have at least two internal SATA ports. Whether or not any of these SATA ports are free is a different matter.

 

[Patrick Young]

Ok I have an idea. I have lots of replacement cases which probably use a SATA to USB bridge chip with "sector translation". Perhaps I can buy a compatible USB interface that connects the hard drive to the USB cable. Is this unit called a USB interface?

 

[Misgar]

If you can plug your SATA drive into these replacement cases, then the small printed circuit board with a SATA connector on one side and a USB socket on the other side constitutes a SATA-to-USB interface. This interface may or may not incorporate sector translation.

All you need is a suitable plain ordinary USB cable to connect the housing to a desktop or laptop computer. You don't need to buy anything else to perform the following tests.

Install the disk drive into each housing in turn. Connect the housing to a computer. See if you can view any files on the disk.

If Windows says the disk is unformatted, do NOT format the disk.

You might get lucky. Then again, sector translation may not be the problem.

 

[Patrick Young]

I finally got an external drive docking station delivered. When I connect it to the PC, the PC makes the noise telling me that something is connected, but the drive does not appear. In Disk Management, there is a message saying:

You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it

I tried to partition it using both MBR and GPT but neither work

MBR says its an incorrect function while GPT says the size is less than the minimum size required for GPT disks.

Is there anything else I can do to get this external drive to connect?

 

[Misgar]

Let's face it, your drive is probably dead.

If you're trying to create new partitions on the drive, presumably you're not trying to recover any old data.

Since it's a circa 2009 design of only 320GB capacity, why not buy a new drive?

I have heaps of old dead drives which were manufactured well after after 2009. Hard disks can fail at any time and a 14-year old drive is living on borrowed time.

 

[Patrick Young]

Let's face it, your drive is probably dead.

If you're trying to create new partitions on the drive, presumably you're not trying to recover any old data.

Since it's a circa 2009 design of only 320GB capacity, why not buy a new drive?

I have heaps of old dead drives which were manufactured well after after 2009. Hard disks can fail at any time and a 14-year old drive is living on borrowed time.

You're probably right. I figured if its broken, there must be some way to fix it. But it may be time to read the drive its last rights.

 

[Misgar]

If you take it to a professional drive recovery agency, they'll test it thoroughly.

If necessary, they'll open it up in a clean room with filtered air, to prevent microscopic dust particles contaminating the platters and heads.

As a last resort, they'll pull the platters out of your drive and fit them in an identical donor drive, if they think the heads in your drive are broken.

Any bad scoring on the platters due to head crashes and prolonged contact with the head positioning mechanism during seeks and it's Adios Amigos.

If you've got $500+ to spare, they might recover some data.