[SOLVED] WD Blue HDD not showing up in external USB 3.0 docking station ?

[Raxol]

Hello everyone!

I‘ve minified my PC and as part of that I threw out my last mechanical harddrive. I intended to access it via my USB 3.0 disk station as I do with other HDDs from time to time.
I needed some files from it and plugged it in, Windows USB sound comes but no drive shows up. Okay not the first time this happens, checked Disk Management but nope, no drive and no partitions. Popped it in my case again and connected it with SATA, reboot and it shows up just as expected.
Got my files but now I‘m sitting here trying to figure out what’s going on.

HDD is a WD Blue 2TB WD20EZRZ
OS: Windows 10 Pro 19041, Parted Magic 2021_02_28
USB Station: Fantec USB 3.0 Station (It's powered externally)

• Internal SATA: works
• USB Station (Windows): not showing up
• USB Station (Parted Magic): not showing up
• Tried a different HDD in the disk station: drive shows up in Linux & Windows
• USB Station on a different machine: not showing up

Has anyone ever had a similar problem or could someone give me a clue?

Cheers!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

are these drives connected via SATA cable to the enclosure or do they direct connect to a static SATA port?

also try pluggin in to a different system to see if it recognizes the drive having issues while in the enclosure.

 

[Raxol]

Thank you for your reply.

It’s only this one WD Blue drive that is having the problem, all my other drives are working fine in the external disk station. The disk station is connected via USB 3.0.

When I tested the drive internally it was directly connected over sata and did show up just fine.

And yeah I did connect the disk station to a different system - with no success.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

The disk station is connected via USB 3.0.

i was asking about how the actual drives are connected to the dock itself.

are they using separate cables or do they directly connect to a static SATA port that is permanently fixed in it's location on the dock?

 

[Raxol]

i was asking about how the actual drives are connected to the dock itself.

are they using separate cables or do they directly connect to a static SATA port that is permanently fixed in it's location on the dock?

It‘s a fixed SATA + Power port. Basically like a hotswap bay. No flexible cables that could cause a bad connection.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

It‘s a fixed SATA + Power port. Basically like a hotswap bay. No flexible cables that could cause a bad connection.

then it can actually be a minute issue with the drive itself.

i've had some older HDs that have had trouble sitting snuggly in my drive docks.
when using cables they could be pressed firmly into place with a bit if leeway for movement.
when seated against the docking station ports they could not sit perfectly level and couldn't properly connect.

sometimes "wiggling" them slightly back and forth worked but i was always a bit nervous that the power connection may not be secured and could short or damage the dock or drives some other way.

 

[Bob.B]

Hello everyone!

I‘ve minified my PC and as part of that I threw out my last mechanical harddrive. I intended to access it via my USB 3.0 disk station as I do with other HDDs from time to time.
I needed some files from it and plugged it in, Windows USB sound comes but no drive shows up. Okay not the first time this happens, checked Disk Management but nope, no drive and no partitions. Popped it in my case again and connected it with SATA, reboot and it shows up just as expected.
Got my files but now I‘m sitting here trying to figure out what’s going on.

HDD is a WD Blue 2TB WD20EZRZ
OS: Windows 10 Pro 19041, Parted Magic 2021_02_28
USB Station: Fantec USB 3.0 Station (It's powered externally)

• Internal SATA: works
• USB Station (Windows): not showing up
• USB Station (Parted Magic): not showing up
• Tried a different HDD in the disk station: drive shows up in Linux & Windows
• USB Station on a different machine: not showing up

Has anyone ever had a similar problem or could someone give me a clue?

Cheers!

Do other 2TB disk work in this dock?

 

[Raxol]

sometimes "wiggling" them slightly back and forth worked but i was always a bit nervous that the power connection may not be secured and could short or damage the dock or drives some other way.

The drive spins up when I power up the station and I tried wiggling it around (carefully) but that didn't change anthing :-/

Do other 2TB disk work in this dock?

Yep, thats why I started the question here. I use the disk station with other drives (WD 1-4TB, Seagate etc.) and have no problems at all. It must be something with this exact drive.