Windows 7 won't locate my Hitachi USB External HD

I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing I found that might have been relevant was over my head. I cannot find that article anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data from my previous computer HD are on this external HD, which I bought for the sole purpose of transferring my files.


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On 11/12/2010 21:27, Jeff G wrote:
I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing I found that might have been relevant was over my head. I cannot find that article anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data from my previous computer HD are on this external HD, which I bought for the sole purpose of transferring my files.


--------------= Posted using GrabIt =----------------
------= Binary Usenet downloading made easy =---------
-= Get GrabIt for free from http://www.shemes.com/ =-


Don't worry. We'll get it for you. I've seen this before and the answer
in 95% cases is the same.

Go to Device Manager and look for signs of it there; especially under
USB controllers. Tell us what you find.

Ed

"Jeff G" wrote in message
...
I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing I found that
might have been relevant was over my head. I cannot find that article
anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data from my previous
computer HD are on this external HD, which I bought for the sole purpose
of transferring my files.

Delete your USB Controllers in Device Manager, reboot and let Windows
reinstall everything,

try going into the disk managment console and see if you can see it there if
u can you might just have to apply a letter for the drive

"Jeff G" wrote in message ...

I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing I found that
might have been relevant was over my head. I cannot find that article
anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data from my previous
computer HD are on this external HD, which I bought for the sole purpose of
transferring my files.


--------------= Posted using GrabIt =----------------
------= Binary Usenet downloading made easy =---------
-= Get GrabIt for free from http://www.shemes.com/ =-

On 12/11/2010 10:04 PM, Paid wrote:
try going into the disk managment console and see if you can see it
there if u can you might just have to apply a letter for the drive
I've seen this happen multiple times with internal drives no less.
Wonder what the deal is there.

--
Remove .yourclothes to email

Jeff G wrote:
I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing
I found that might have been relevant was over my head.
I cannot find that article anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data
from my previous computer HD are on this external HD, which
I bought for the sole purpose of transferring my files.

External drives come in 2.5" and 3.5" form factors. This is
how they're set up inside.

On the 3.5" ones, they come with an external adapter. If
the drive fails to spin up, it can be a power adapter
failure. The USB controller chip, might continue to respond,
because at least part of it can be powered via bus power

---- USB cable ---------

Computer ---- DATA ----------------- USB ---------- 3.5"
---- +5V BUS POWER -------- Controller Hard
Chip Drive
| |
+5V +12V

Enclosure
Power Supply

On a 2.5" drive, the power is more likely to all be coming
from the bus power source. And because there isn't any
enclosure power supply to deal with, the failure modes
are more straight forward. If there is no response at all,
it could be a loss of bus power. But because bus power is just
"wires and pins", the chance that it broke is pretty low.
The USB controller chip could fry, or the disk could fry.
The 3.5" has a few more possibilities, because of the
separate power source (and any internal regulators on its
enclosure controller board).

Computer ---- DATA ----------------- USB ---------- 2.5"
---- +5V BUS POWER --+----- Controller Hard
| Chip Drive
| |
+-------------------+5V

To test for basic USB response, I recommend UVCView. You
can get the tool here. Try to get a response from this first.
UVCView was written by Microsoft, but I'm not aware of it
still being on their web site. That's why there are a couple
links here, to private copies. (If you want to verify the
MD5SUM, Microsoft does make "fciv" program available for
computing checksums.)

(fciv program - if you want to verify an MD5SUM value for a file)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/e...displaylang=en

******* UVCView details *******
ftp://ftp.efo.ru/pub/ftdichip/Utilities/UVCView.x86.exe
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/USB...VCView.x86.exe

File size is 167,232 bytes.
MD5sum is 93244d84d79314898e62d21cecc4ca5e

This is a picture of what the UVCView info looks like.

http://www.die.de/blog/content/binary/usbview.png

Some information on the parameters seen in UVCView.

http://www.beyondlogic.org/usbnutshell/usb5.htm

Using the VID/PID info from UVCView, for the plugged
in device, you should be able to look up the device
and identify it here. This would tell you what
chip was used for your USB device, and provide a
way to determine whether it was genuine or not.

http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids

To identify a device using UVCView, it should be
plugged into one of the computer connectors. As far
as I know, UVCView only presents a list of things
seen directly on the computer connectors (not stuff
on external hubs).
*******

If UVCView can "see" the USB chip, then you should be able
to see *something* in device manager. If the drive has
failed, or the drive can't spin up (adapter failure),
then you might see the USB portion in Device Manager,
but not the disk part.

There is one kind of failure, which looks like a USB controller
issue. A certain Cypress brand chip, "forgets" who it is,
and the device enumeration changes to the original Cypress
trademarked name, instead of the enclosure name. This seems
to be a firmware issue of some sort. And I haven't heard
of anyone fixing it by reflashing or anything. In any case,
you'll see a rather unique value in the USB section of
Device Manager, if that happens.

But your first step, might be to check to see if anything
is visible at all, on the USB bus. And that's what UVCView
is for.

Paul

"Paul" wrote:

[summary of external drive attach methods]

A while back I had an external USB-attached drive that stopped being
recognized by the computer. The USB interface itself was recognized (and
could be dismounted) but the drive wasn't visible. Listening to the box
revealed that the drive wasn't spinning.

After tearing open the housing I found that the drive was a standard 3.5"
Seagate Barracuda, and attaching that drive to a USB port using other
interfaces I keep in my desk it worked like a champ.

So...it's got to be the power supply, right? Maybe, but I put the supply on
my workbench, attached an oscilloscope to the +5 and +12 lines, and saw
nothing unusual either at power-on or in steady state. Odd, but given the
miniscule price of external USB drive adapters it wasn't worth pursuing.

I saw a somewhat similar problem with the original 1983 IBM PC: a hard disk
would not spin up. I discovered that it could be made to spin if the +12
line was brought up a few milliseconds after the +5, so I stuck a relay in
the line that added enough delay that the drive ran without problems until I
retired the machine several years later. Yes, in the USB disk problem I
tried delaying both +12 and +5; neither made any difference.

Obviously, opening the case will probably void any warranty, and if any
encryption feature provided by the interface was used the data on the disk
might not be recoverable.

To test for basic USB response, I recommend UVCView. You
can get the tool here. Try to get a response from this first.
UVCView was written by Microsoft, but I'm not aware of it
still being on their web site.

UVCView is shipped with the Windows Driver Kit. A description of the tool,
extracted from

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...5).aspx?ppud=4

is:

====
UVCView.exe (USB Video Class descriptor viewer) is a development tool that
allows the user to examine the descriptors on any attached USB device.
UVCView is a variation on USBView, which ships in this Windows Driver Kit
(WDK) as a sample in the USB section. UVCView adds descriptive descriptor
information for multimedia USB Audio and Video Class devices.

====

Joe Morris

To identify a device using UVCView, it should be
plugged into one of the computer connectors. As far
as I know, UVCView only presents a list of things
seen directly on the computer connectors (not stuff
on external hubs).
*******

Paul
In my case, I have an external Belkin F5U014-OE powered 4-Port Hub directly pluged in to a computer port.
UVC View shows this hub and provides information for the hb and for devices attached to the hub.
See sample output of a hub connected device below. (It is the receiver for a Logitech Mouse.)
Stuart

English product name: "USB Receiver"

ConnectionStatus:
Current Config Value: 0x01 - Device Bus Speed: Full
Device Address: 0x02
Open Pipes: 2

===Endpoint Descriptor===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x81 - Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes: 0x03 - Interrupt Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0008 = 0x08 bytes
bInterval: 0x01

===Endpoint Descriptor===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x82 - Direction: IN - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes: 0x03 - Interrupt Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0014 = 0x14 bytes
bInterval: 0x01

===Device Descriptor===
bLength: 0x12
bDescriptorType: 0x01
bcdUSB: 0x0200
bDeviceClass: 0x00 - This is an Interface Class Defined Device
bDeviceSubClass: 0x00
bDeviceProtocol: 0x00
bMaxPacketSize0: 0x08 = (8) Bytes
idVendor: 0x046D = Logitech Inc.
idProduct: 0xC525
bcdDevice: 0x0200
iManufacturer: 0x01
English (United States) "Logitech"
iProduct: 0x02
English (United States) "USB Receiver"
iSerialNumber: 0x00
bNumConfigurations: 0x01

===Configuration Descriptor===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x02
wTotalLength: 0x003B - Validated
bNumInterfaces: 0x02
bConfigurationValue: 0x01
iConfiguration: 0x04
*!*ERROR: no String Descriptor for index 4!
bmAttributes: 0xA0 - Bus Powered
MaxPower: 0x31 = 98 mA

===Interface Descriptor===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x04
bInterfaceNumber: 0x00
bAlternateSetting: 0x00
bNumEndpoints: 0x01
bInterfaceClass: 0x03 - HID Interface Class
bInterfaceSubClass: 0x01
bInterfaceProtocol: 0x02
CAUTION: This may be an invalid bInterfaceProtocol
iInterface: 0x00

===HID Descriptor===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x21
bcdHID: 0x0111
bCountryCode: 0x00
bNumDescriptors: 0x01
bDescriptorType: 0x22
wDescriptorLength: 0x0043

===Endpoint Descriptor===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x81 - Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes: 0x03 - Interrupt Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0008 = 0x08 bytes
bInterval: 0x01

===Interface Descriptor===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x04
bInterfaceNumber: 0x01
bAlternateSetting: 0x00
bNumEndpoints: 0x01
bInterfaceClass: 0x03 - HID Interface Class
bInterfaceSubClass: 0x00
bInterfaceProtocol: 0x00
CAUTION: This may be an invalid bInterfaceProtocol
iInterface: 0x00

===HID Descriptor===
bLength: 0x09
bDescriptorType: 0x21
bcdHID: 0x0111
bCountryCode: 0x00
bNumDescriptors: 0x01
bDescriptorType: 0x22
wDescriptorLength: 0x004F

===Endpoint Descriptor===
bLength: 0x07
bDescriptorType: 0x05
bEndpointAddress: 0x82 - Direction: IN - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes: 0x03 - Interrupt Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize: 0x0014 = 0x14 bytes
bInterval: 0x01

Joe Morris wrote:
"Paul" wrote:

[summary of external drive attach methods]

A while back I had an external USB-attached drive that stopped being
recognized by the computer. The USB interface itself was recognized (and
could be dismounted) but the drive wasn't visible. Listening to the box
revealed that the drive wasn't spinning.

After tearing open the housing I found that the drive was a standard 3.5"
Seagate Barracuda, and attaching that drive to a USB port using other
interfaces I keep in my desk it worked like a champ.

So...it's got to be the power supply, right? Maybe, but I put the supply on
my workbench, attached an oscilloscope to the +5 and +12 lines, and saw
nothing unusual either at power-on or in steady state. Odd, but given the
miniscule price of external USB drive adapters it wasn't worth pursuing.

I saw a somewhat similar problem with the original 1983 IBM PC: a hard disk
would not spin up. I discovered that it could be made to spin if the +12
line was brought up a few milliseconds after the +5, so I stuck a relay in
the line that added enough delay that the drive ran without problems until I
retired the machine several years later. Yes, in the USB disk problem I
tried delaying both +12 and +5; neither made any difference.

Obviously, opening the case will probably void any warranty, and if any
encryption feature provided by the interface was used the data on the disk
might not be recoverable.

To test for basic USB response, I recommend UVCView. You
can get the tool here. Try to get a response from this first.
UVCView was written by Microsoft, but I'm not aware of it
still being on their web site.

UVCView is shipped with the Windows Driver Kit. A description of the tool,
extracted from

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...5).aspx?ppud=4

is:

====
UVCView.exe (USB Video Class descriptor viewer) is a development tool that
allows the user to examine the descriptors on any attached USB device.
UVCView is a variation on USBView, which ships in this Windows Driver Kit
(WDK) as a sample in the USB section. UVCView adds descriptive descriptor
information for multimedia USB Audio and Video Class devices.

====

Joe Morris

I downloaded that a couple months ago, but didn't really want to
install the thing.

GRMWDK_EN_7600_1.ISO 649,877,504 bytes

Using 7ZIP, I opened it and navigated to "WDK"

avstreamtools_x86fre_cab001.cab

and clicked on the cab, did an "Open Inside", then select

_UVCview.exe_00006

then extract. Then rename it to

UVCView2.exe 133,632 bytes MD5SUM=213f6e89cc4ab4e7e9e3e2ad394b83cb

That saves me having to install it, to get the file.

I tried it, and it seems to work. It's a pretty
big download though, for such a small file. I
liked the Microsoft approach on one of their other
CDs, where they had a download interface that allowed
you to select subsets of the download. That saves
a lot on downloads.

Paul

"Jeff G" wrote in message
...
I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing I found
that might have been relevant was over my head. I cannot find that
article anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data from my
previous computer HD are on this external HD, which I bought for the
sole purpose of transferring my files.

If the external HD doesn't have a separate power supply, it might
simply
be that it can't get enough power from the USB port on the new PC.
If you think that may be the problem, check if the external HD has a
power socket and see if you can find a mains adapter for it.
Sometimes, plugging external USB HDs into a "powered USB hub" will
also
provide them with enough extra power to spin-up.

Otherwise, you need to follow the other advice in this thread. I
usually
do what Relic suggests.

HTH,
--
Rob

On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:27:22 -0000, Rob wrote:

"Jeff G" wrote in message
...
I've been searching online for answers, but the only thing I found
that might have been relevant was over my head. I cannot find that
article anymore.

I haven't stopped trying, but I am stuck. All of my data from my
previous computer HD are on this external HD, which I bought for the
sole purpose of transferring my files.

If the external HD doesn't have a separate power supply, it might
simply
be that it can't get enough power from the USB port on the new PC.
If you think that may be the problem, check if the external HD has a
power socket and see if you can find a mains adapter for it.
Sometimes, plugging external USB HDs into a "powered USB hub" will
also
provide them with enough extra power to spin-up.

Otherwise, you need to follow the other advice in this thread. I
usually
do what Relic suggests.

HTH,

Along the same line, some drives come with a Y-cable so that it can plug
into two USB ports, one for signal and power and the other for extra
power.

Note that the extra plug carries power only, so the drive won't work if
that's the only one plugged in.

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)