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Thread ID: 112032	2010-08-21 02:24:00	External HDD issues	nzhnp (15944)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1130112	2010-08-21 02:24:00	Hiya folks! Hoping I can get a bit of guidance with a problem I'm having. Recently I got a virus and after a few days I eventually got rid of it, I think. Nothing's shown up in the multitude of scans from various programs etc. It infected some registry items, etc etc. However, during this process, my external hard drive stopped showing up as a drive in my computer. It was working fine before I unplugged it and moved into the lounge with my laptop (in the process virus scanning and fixing/removing problems etc), then when I came back to my bedroom and plugged it in, nothing. It shows up as External HDD in Devices & Printers, but nothing further. No volume in Disk Management, nothing in My Computer. My Songbird still picks it up as a Western Digital External HDD but says there's no mass storage device available and to enable the USB option on the device... which I can't find. The hard drive taps/clicks for a while before eventually stopping and the computer picking it up as a USB device. It's this bit that worries me the most, from what I hear this is a pretty bad sign. Are the virus and problematic hard drive possibly related, or just poor timing? If I take it into a repair place to see if the data's retrievable, will that void my warranty, to take it back to where I bought it? Running Windows 7 64 bit. Thanks very much for your time, cheers in advance if you think you can help.	nzhnp (15944)
1130113	2010-08-21 02:28:00	Can you remove the hard drive from the enclosure as it just may be the enclosure that is at fault. Is it a SATA or IDE drive?	Snorkbox (15764)
1130114	2010-08-21 02:32:00	To clarify, have you tried plugging it into another computer?	jareemon (5207)
1130115	2010-08-21 02:32:00	Not entirely sure I can, without damaging either the enclosure or the drive (and voiding the warranty). It seems like it'll be difficult to open up. It's a WD Elements. www.wdc.com @jareemon, Yeah I have, my flatmate's Vista. Same result there. Don't know anyone with an XP or Mac (I don't think so, anyway) to test on those. Work's computers are XP but the USB drives have been disabled.	nzhnp (15944)
1130116	2010-08-21 02:33:00	Can you remove the hard drive from the enclosure as it just may be the enclosure that is at fault. Is it a SATA or IDE drive? I've seen this quite often too	jareemon (5207)
1130117	2010-08-21 02:37:00	Not entirely sure I can, without damaging either the enclosure or the drive (and voiding the warranty). It seems like it'll be difficult to open up. It's a WD Elements. www.wdc.com @jareemon, Yeah I have, my flatmate's Vista. Same result there. Don't know anyone with an XP or Mac (I don't think so, anyway) to test on those. Work's computers are XP but the USB drives have been disabled. So its definitley the drive then. i think with those ones you just pop the top panel off, you probably will scratch the case in the process though. You will very likely void the warranty if you take the case off, but IMO youve got a good chance of fixing it yourself by replacing the case EDIT: ofcourse, if it's still under warranty, send it back and theyll do it for you EDIT EDIT: www.youtube.com	jareemon (5207)
1130118	2010-08-21 02:50:00	So its definitley the drive then. i think with those ones you just pop the top panel off, you probably will scratch the case in the process though. You will very likely void the warranty if you take the case off, but IMO youve got a good chance of fixing it yourself by replacing the case EDIT: ofcourse, if it's still under warranty, send it back and theyll do it for you EDIT EDIT: www.youtube.com Cool, thanks for that. Don't really want to send it back. Guessing I'll need a USB/Sata cable now? On a laptop so can't really plug it right into the mobo.	nzhnp (15944)
1130119	2010-08-21 03:59:00	you can get USB devices that plugs into a naked HD (cheapest) or you can get another enclosure or docks that you insert (slot down).	Nomad (952)
1130120	2010-08-21 04:13:00	Cool, thanks for that. Don't really want to send it back. Guessing I'll need a USB/Sata cable now? On a laptop so can't really plug it right into the mobo. you just need a new enclosure, make sure its a 3.5" sata or sata2 depending on what your drive is. the new enclosure (the case) will include the usb cable.	jareemon (5207)
1130121	2010-08-21 04:31:00	Doesn't look like that worked - went and bought a Dick Smith enclosure, getting the same problem. When it tries to install new hardware, it fails at the Disk Drive stage. www.dse.co.nz is the enclosure I got imgur.com is the failure to install disk drive drivers.	nzhnp (15944)
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