Jump to content

USB HDD not detected in Windows


doveman

Recommended Posts

I bought my brother a USB3 caddy and put a 500GB Samsung 2.5" HDD in it for Christmas and it worked fine on my PC and I copied a few files to it for him.

I've just been on the phone to him to show him how to use it (over TeamViewer) and his PC, running Win7 x64, isn't registering the drive at all, although he says it's powering up and whirring away. I tried rebooting, getting him to plug it directly into both the USB3 port on the back and the USB2 ports on the front without using the USB3 extension cable I bought him. Only once, when using the extension cable, did I see an Unknown Device in Device Manager but that's all. I also checked Computer Management - Disk Management, the Windows logs and with BootICE to check it wasn't hidden or something but it didn't show in that either.

I know the obvious thing to try first is connecting it to another PC, so I've told him to do that when he gets a chance but in the meantime, has anyone got any ideas why it isn't working?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


In addition to connecting to a different PC, also try a different cable (ignoring the extension you mentioned). I had a bad cable quite recently that was the culprit of a similar problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think he can as the caddy has a non-standard connector on it (well I've never seen one like it before anyway) but certainly that cable worked fine when I tested it before Christmas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think he can as the caddy has a non-standard connector on it (well I've never seen one like it before anyway) but certainly that cable worked fine when I tested it before Christmas.

Like this?

B1040361529.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, exactly like that. Never seen a split plug like that before but as you've posted a picture of it, I assume it is standard after all? If that's the case, I can probably get him another one to try quite cheaply, once he's tested it on another PC to confirm it isn't just his PC, which I'd be very surprised by as the USB ports seem to be working fine for everything else.

I suppose it's possible the HDD has come a bit loose from the internal connector in the caddy but I don't suppose it would be spinning up if that was the case, so that's probably unlikely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. That's a shame as I was hoping he might be able to use a USB 2 micro-B cable to test the drive and confirm the cable is faulty but they're not interchangable (I used to have the same drive in a USB2 caddy, so I know it works fine without the extra power that USB3 can provide with the extra lines), so I'll have to spend £4 buying another cable to test if it's that, which probably means I'll end up having spent as much as I would have if I'd bought a slightly more expensive caddy I was considering but as this one had good reviews I figured there was no point spending more :crazy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. That's a shame as I was hoping he might be able to use a USB 2 micro-B cable to test the drive and confirm the cable is faulty but they're not interchangable (I used to have the same drive in a USB2 caddy, so I know it works fine without the extra power that USB3 can provide with the extra lines), so I'll have to spend £4 buying another cable to test if it's that, which probably means I'll end up having spent as much as I would have if I'd bought a slightly more expensive caddy I was considering but as this one had good reviews I figured there was no point spending more :crazy:

Before spending the money for a new cable, I would:

  1. check that for any reason an internal connector has not come loose
  2. try the thingy on another PC
  3. try the actual hard disk in another caddy or directly connected to a SATA

That behaviour can be more or less attributed to 5 (five) causes:

  1. a failed USB cable/connector (both on the external case and on the actual PC if connector)
  2. the Operating System
  3. a failure of the internal connectors of the external case
  4. a failure of the actual controller (USB to SATA bridge) in the exterenal cable
  5. a failure of the actual hard disk

And you can use a USB 2.0 micro-b cable alright for testing.

It is obvious that a USB 3.0 plug won't fit (physically) into a USB 2.0 socket, but a USB 2.0 micro-b plug will obviously fit alright (and work, though at USB 2.0 mode) into a USB 3.0 socket.

Bear with me, please, on USB 2.0 you have only four connections, 5V+, 0V, D+, D-.

The USB 3.0 has more connections.

The connections in the micro-b connector of USB 3.0 are the same as those of a USB 2.0 connector (half), see here:

http://www.moddiy.com/pages/USB-2.0-%7B47%7D-3.0-Connectors-%26-Pinouts.html

http://pinoutsguide.com/PortableDevices/micro_usb_3_connector_pinout.shtml

Imagine that you have an USB 2.0 bus (which has 4 lines) connected with a USB 3.0 cable (that has more than 4 lines) to a USB 3.0 device (that has more than 4 lines).

Now imagine that you have a USB 2.0 bus (which has 4 lines) connected with a USB 2.0 cable (that has 4 lines) to a USB 3.0 device (that has more than 4 lines).

The effect is exactly the same..

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before spending the money for a new cable, I would:

  1. check that for any reason an internal connector has not come loose
  2. try the thingy on another PC
  3. try the actual hard disk in another caddy or directly connected to a SATA

That behaviour can be more or less attributed to 5 (five) causes:

  1. a failed USB cable/connector (both on the external case and on the actual PC if connector)
  2. the Operating System
  3. a failure of the internal connectors of the external case
  4. a failure of the actual controller (USB to SATA bridge) in the exterenal cable
  5. a failure of the actual hard disk

jaclaz

Yeah, thanks for the pointers, I'll do all that (or get my brother to anyway) before spending any money.

I don't have another caddy though so can only try it directly connected to SATA, which won't allow me to eliminate problems with the PC's USB ports but I guess the fact that other devices do work in them rules that out.

Edited by doveman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And you can use a USB 2.0 micro-b cable alright for testing.

It is obvious that a USB 3.0 plug won't fit (physically) into a USB 2.0 socket, but a USB 2.0 micro-b plug will obviously fit alright (and work, though at USB 2.0 mode) into a USB 3.0 socket.

Bear with me, please, on USB 2.0 you have only four connections, 5V+, 0V, D+, D-.

The USB 3.0 has more connections.

The connections in the micro-b connector of USB 3.0 are the same as those of a USB 2.0 connector (half), see here:

http://www.moddiy.com/pages/USB-2.0-%7B47%7D-3.0-Connectors-%26-Pinouts.html

http://pinoutsguide.com/PortableDevices/micro_usb_3_connector_pinout.shtml

Imagine that you have an USB 2.0 bus (which has 4 lines) connected with a USB 3.0 cable (that has more than 4 lines) to a USB 3.0 device (that has more than 4 lines).

Now imagine that you have a USB 2.0 bus (which has 4 lines) connected with a USB 2.0 cable (that has 4 lines) to a USB 3.0 device (that has more than 4 lines).

The effect is exactly the same..

jaclaz

Hmm, that's a bit confusing as the first link you posted http://support.usr.com/education/peripherals0.asp specifically states that the micro-B connectors are not compatible between USB3 and USB2 and the diagram comparing the two appears to show that the pins (or whatever the white space indicates) are on opposite sides. :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, that's a bit confusing as the first link you posted http://support.usr.com/education/peripherals0.asp specifically states that the micro-B connectors are not compatible between USB3 and USB2 and the diagram comparing the two appears to show that the pins (or whatever the white space indicates) are on opposite sides. :huh:

Oopd, I didn't notice the "opposed side" of the contacts. :blushing:

From this:

cable-fit.jpg

and also from this:

http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/usb_3_explained.html

USB Micro-B:

This one is first on the list because it's the simplest to understand. The SuperSpeed Micro-B connection is similar in appearance to the classic USB 2.0 Micro-B, but with an additional set of pins to the side to host the SuperSpeed data transfer. The tapered part of the connector is backwards-compatible for USB 2.0-only devices and cables, and prevents a USB Micro-A cable from plugging into a Micro-B port. The USB Micro-B connector exists both as a male plug and a female receptacle.

it seemed like they would work the same, but you raised an interesting point.

According to the actual datasheets:

http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/HiroseZX62Datasheet24200011.pdf

http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/ZX360Flyer.pdf

it is however confirmed that one half of the micro-USB B 3.0 socket/receptacle is compatible with the micro-USB B 2.0 plug.

jaclaz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oopd, I didn't notice the "opposed side" of the contacts. :blushing:

From this:

cable-fit.jpg

and also from this:

http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/usb_3_explained.html

USB Micro-B:

This one is first on the list because it's the simplest to understand. The SuperSpeed Micro-B connection is similar in appearance to the classic USB 2.0 Micro-B, but with an additional set of pins to the side to host the SuperSpeed data transfer. The tapered part of the connector is backwards-compatible for USB 2.0-only devices and cables, and prevents a USB Micro-A cable from plugging into a Micro-B port. The USB Micro-B connector exists both as a male plug and a female receptacle.

it seemed like they would work the same, but you raised an interesting point.

According to the actual datasheets:

http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/HiroseZX62Datasheet24200011.pdf

http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/ZX360Flyer.pdf

it is however confirmed that one half of the micro-USB B 3.0 socket/receptacle is compatible with the micro-USB B 2.0 plug.

jaclaz

Cool, thanks for looking into that and confirming it. I can at least get my brother to test with a micro-USB B 2.0 cable now, of which he already has a couple, so no need to buy a new USB 3 cable unnecessarily :thumbup

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...