Toshiba external HDD not being recognized!

[BlackBlaster111]

From a couple of days back, whenever I plugged in my "Toshiba 1TB Stor.E Canvio 2.5" USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive" whether on the Desktop or a Laptop, it would refuse to show up in "My Computer". I've had this [the product, not the problem] for just over a year, so I know that it worked beforehand.

I know that it’s getting power because the LED light on the front of the case is lit and I know that the HDD is not being read because that same LED light is not blinking in regular intervals and whenever I physically feel it there’s no rumble feeling of parts moving inside.

I have a general suspicion that it’s the USB cable since after a few attempts of plugging in the Micro B part of the cable to the ex. HDD it would suddenly be able to boot up, though this victory is short-lived as whenever I take the USB cable out the computer and plug it back in it suddenly stops working again.

However I'm also wondering, could it be a problem with the Ex. HDD itself? Like the Micro B port got knocked loose v.slightly out of alignment, so it’s not making a proper connection and that's causing it not to get read.

So have you had any similar problems and if so how did you go about fixing it?

 

[edogawa]

Can you see this drive in disk management? Or in the bios?

 

[BlackBlaster111]

Can you see this drive in disk management? Or in the bios?

Just checked, and I do not spot the external HDD listed in disk management, just the ones that are stored in the laptop.

 

[edogawa]

Alright, check the bios, if it's not there report back.

 

[BlackBlaster111]

Alright, check the bios, if it's not there report back.

How may I do that?

 

[edogawa]

Since you do not know how to do that, lets try something else first.

Turn off your PC, unplug the USB cable to the external.
Now unplug power cord from the external for 10 seconds.
Turn on your PC, plug the power cable back into the external, once to the desktop plug the cable in(try different ports if needed).

And you sure it wasn't listed under disk management?

Worst case scenario is the drive is dead too, you may need to pull it out of the enclosure and test it in your PC.

 

[BlackBlaster111]

Since you do not know how to do that, lets try something else first.

Turn off your PC, unplug the USB cable to the external.
Now unplug power cord from the external for 10 seconds.
Turn on your PC, plug the power cable back into the external, once to the desktop plug the cable in(try different ports if needed).

And you sure it wasn't listed under disk management?

Worst case scenario is the drive is dead too, you may need to pull it out of the enclosure and test it in your PC.

Did as you said and that worked, and yes it wasn't listed under disk management whereas now it is.

So what do you think the cause of this would be?

 

[edogawa]

Since you do not know how to do that, lets try something else first.

Turn off your PC, unplug the USB cable to the external.
Now unplug power cord from the external for 10 seconds.
Turn on your PC, plug the power cable back into the external, once to the desktop plug the cable in(try different ports if needed).

And you sure it wasn't listed under disk management?

Worst case scenario is the drive is dead too, you may need to pull it out of the enclosure and test it in your PC.

Did as you said and that worked, and yes it wasn't listed under disk management whereas now it is.

So what do you think the cause of this would be?

Can't say specifically, but the good news is that it works. If it does it again, you know what to do. 😀

 

[hassan64]

From a couple of days back, whenever I plugged in my "Toshiba 1TB Stor.E Canvio 2.5" USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive" whether on the Desktop or a Laptop, it would refuse to show up in "My Computer". I've had this [the product, not the problem] for just over a year, so I know that it worked beforehand.

I know that it’s getting power because the LED light on the front of the case is lit and I know that the HDD is not being read because that same LED light is not blinking in regular intervals and whenever I physically feel it there’s no rumble feeling of parts moving inside.

I have a general suspicion that it’s the USB cable since after a few attempts of plugging in the Micro B part of the cable to the ex. HDD it would suddenly be able to boot up, though this victory is short-lived as whenever I take the USB cable out the computer and plug it back in it suddenly stops working again.

However I'm also wondering, could it be a problem with the Ex. HDD itself? Like the Micro B port got knocked loose v.slightly out of alignment, so it’s not making a proper connection and that's causing it not to get read.

So have you had any similar problems and if so how did you go about fixing it?

 

[edogawa]

i have got the same issue my external hard drive is not working its led is on but not blinking please help me............ 🙁

Open your own thread, do not ask your own question in another persons thread.

 

[ratii]

Since you do not know how to do that, lets try something else first.

Turn off your PC, unplug the USB cable to the external.
Now unplug power cord from the external for 10 seconds.
Turn on your PC, plug the power cable back into the external, once to the desktop plug the cable in(try different ports if needed).

And you sure it wasn't listed under disk management?

Worst case scenario is the drive is dead too, you may need to pull it out of the enclosure and test it in your PC.

can i ask, which one is the power cord?

 

[timegberts]

Since you do not know how to do that, lets try something else first.

Turn off your PC, unplug the USB cable to the external.
Now unplug power cord from the external for 10 seconds.
Turn on your PC, plug the power cable back into the external, once to the desktop plug the cable in(try different ports if needed).

And you sure it wasn't listed under disk management?

Worst case scenario is the drive is dead too, you may need to pull it out of the enclosure and test it in your PC.

I've had the same problem, your solution totally works.
Thank you very much!

 

[kinghenriIV]

Since you do not know how to do that, lets try something else first.

Turn off your PC, unplug the USB cable to the external.
Now unplug power cord from the external for 10 seconds.
Turn on your PC, plug the power cable back into the external, once to the desktop plug the cable in(try different ports if needed).

And you sure it wasn't listed under disk management?

Worst case scenario is the drive is dead too, you may need to pull it out of the enclosure and test it in your PC.

I have been experiencing the exact same problem but my hdd doesnt have a power cord. just 2.5" toshiba 500gb portable hdd with data usb cable? it used to work on the tv but stopped after i started a large transfer over usb 3.0 and felt really hot to the touch and started to disconnect. after letting it cool, i plugged it back in and it would work for a short interval (i could view and copy files across) before disconnecting again. Now it doesnt even work on the TV. what should i do? its not mine to make things worse 🙁

 

[JX7000]

I know this is late but I just resolved a similar problem with my "Toshiba 500GB Canvio 2.5 USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive" running in a Win7 32- and 64-bit PCs and also my old WinXP. The Toshiba used to work just fine on all-three PCs and then wouldn't at some point, soon after I plugged it into an older Android 4.0.4 tablet (Toshiba AT100).

My exHDD only has the "SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B" cable and HDD--no external power source. Apparently, there's something wrong with the cable, and after much searching, I discovered that a plain micro-USB in place of the Micro-B cable, plugged into the exHDD will work believe it or not. This was just to confirm for me that my exHDD wasn't dead--the thing appeared right away on my PCs. So I'll be getting a new "SuperSpeed USB Type A to Micro-B Cable" as a permanent fix.