External Drive Troubleshooting Steps

 WINDOWS

Check the Power Cable

• Check the power cables are well seated in the external drive (applies  only to 3.5” external drives), and also the AC socket you are connected to.
• Do no have the drive connected through a USB hub.. ensure it is connected directly to the PC or laptop. Similarly make sure the adapter is connected directly to an AC outlet, and not via an extention cord.
• If this is a 2.5” external drive, ensure the Y-cable is connected securely to the drive, and if necessary use both USB connectors . This will provide extra power. If you are connecting to a PC, use the USB ports at the back of the PC, and not any ports at the front. Again, do not connect via a USB hub, connect the drive directly.

Check the Data Cable

• If you are connecting to a PC (ie not a laptop) then ensure you are connecting to the USB ports at the back of the system, and not any at the front.
• Do not connect via a USB hub
• If this is a 2.5” product try using both USB connectors on the Y cable
• Try using a different USB port.

Check Disk Management
Even though you cannot see the drive on your desktop or in My Computer, we should check to see if the drive is recognised in Disk Management.
Right click on My Computer, and select Manage.
From the Computer Management window select Disk Management from the menu on the left.
In Disk Management check if you can see the drive.  If you can look at the partition on the drive then as new it will be labelled as FAT32, and should have a drive letter. It should also show the capacity of the drive, and be labelled Healthy.
If the drive does not say Healthy, or shows the file format as RAW, then the partition has become corrupt. It could also be corrupt if the bar above the drive is black and shows as Unallocated.
In this instance right click on the drive and select Delete partition. We can then right click on the drive again and select create partition. Follow the Wizard to create a Primary partition.
NB the drive will now have an NTFS partition on it, which whilst fine with Windows, will be unusable on a Mac. If you intend to use the drive with both a Windows PC and a Mac, then follow the link below to obtain a FAT32 formatting tool.
http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm

Check the drives status in Device manager :
Right click on My Computer, and select Manage.
From the Computer Management window select Device Manager  from the list on the left.
From the device list, expand the entry called Disk Drives. If the drive is detected by the system,
then there will be an entry here for your external drive.
If it is not listed under disk drives, expand the Other Devices entry and check if there is an entry for an Unknown Device.
Right click the Unknown Device and select Properties.
Under the General tab, it will probably state ‘This device is not working properly’ followed by either Code 28 or Code 10.
Code 10 would suggest a potential power supply issue (3.5” external drives”). If you have a second external drive with an equivalent power supply then you may try the second power supply.
If you do not have the option to try a different power supply, verify the problem by connecting to a different USB port, or if possible by connecting to a second PC.
If you still receive the same error code, then we would suggest creating an RMA and returning the drive under Warranty.
Code 28 would suggest a driver error.
Right click on the ‘drive’ entry in Device Manager and select Uninstall.
Remove the external drive, reboot the computer and reconnect.
If you receive the same error, do you have the opportunity to connect it to a second PC ?
If the drive fails on the second PC with the same error, then we would suggest raising an RMA and returning the drive under Warranty.

MAC
Check the power cable

• Check the power cables are well seated in the external drive (applies  only to 3.5” external drives), and also the AC socket you are connected to.
• Do no have the drive connected through a USB hub.. ensure it is connected directly to the PC or laptop. Similarly make sure the adapter is connected directly to an AC outlet, and not via an extention cord.
• If this is a 2.5” external drive, ensure the Y-cable is connected securely to the drive, and if necessary use both USB connectors . This will provide extra power. If you are connecting to a PC, use the USB ports at the back of the PC, and not any ports at the front. Again, do not connect via a USB hub, connect the drive directly.

Check the data cable

• If you are connecting to a PC (ie not a laptop) then ensure you are connecting to the USB ports at the back of the system, and not any at the front.
• Do not connect via a USB hub
• If this is a 2.5” product try using both USB connectors on the Y cable
• Try using a different USB port.

Check the Drive Partion using Disk Utilities

On a Mac PC the Disk Utility is used to verify that the drive is recognised by the system. Hitachi external drives (exc G-Technology products) are preformatted in FAT32 so that they can be used on both Windows and Mac PCs.
Click Go on the top menu bar, then choose Utilities, and Disk Utility.
If the drive had not appeared on the desktop, or if Disk Utility is showing  that the drive is formatted in a file system that is not recognised, then you can reinitialise the drive from within Disk Utility to a format that  the Mac will recognise.
Check System Profiler
The Mac System Profiler will show you whether the external drive is physically detected by the Mac.
Click on the blue Apple Menu in the top left corner of your desktop.
Select ‘About this Mac’ or ‘More Info’
When the System Profiler opens, click on ‘USB’
If your external drive is not listed, as a final step are you able to connect the external drive to a second Mac machine? If the problem follows the drive to the second Mac Pc, then the device may be faulty and you should request an RMA to return the drive under Warranty.

My Hitachi product is broken. How can I get a replacement or request an RMA?

A: To check the warranty status of your drive, and if necessary create an RMA, please visit the Warranty section of our website.

Where can I find information on RoHS compliance and Hitachi GST drives?

A: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies provides a web site specifically for RoHS/WEEE information:
RoHS/WEEE If you have further questions regarding RoHS/WEEE, please contact our Corporate Environmental Programs personnel at eppc@hitachigst.com.

How do I make an exact copy my old hard drive and put in on the new hard drive?

A: There are several alternatives available depending on your hardware platform and operating environment.
PCs
Symantec Norton Ghost
Acronis True Image
Miray HDClone Many laptops only have one internal drive bay. One solution is to mount the drive into an external enclosure and clone the drive. Apricorn and CMS both offer reasonably priced packages.

The advantage of using an external enclosure is that you can use your original drive as additional storage once the cloning process is complete.
Mac
The most popular software is Carbon Copy Cloner by Mike Bombich:
Carbon Copy Cloner

My drive became locked with a password or I forgot my hard drive password. How do I gain access to my data?

A: Unfortunately, there is no way to bypass the security password feature of Hitachi hard disk drives. If the password is not known or has been misplaced, Hitachi will not be able to assist in gaining access to the data on the drive.

Where do I find drivers for my Hitachi drive?

A: All operating systems (OS) have hard disk drivers built into the OS by default. No additional drivers are required for the drive itself.

If you are being asked for drivers by the installation software or your drive is not detected during the OS installation, you may need to download the most current version of your controller or motherboard drivers. To obtain the most current version of your controller or motherboard drivers, please contact the manufacturer of your controller or motherboard or visit their web site for more information.

Is it possible to obtain a firmware upgrade for my hard drive?

A: Generally, firmware updates are provided only when a firmware update is required to resolve a specific issue. If your hard drive is working normally, there is no need to upgrade the firmware.
If you feel a firmware update is necessary or you have a question about firmware,
In order for us to determine whether a firmware upgrade will be beneficial, please be prepared to provide a complete description of your system configuration, along with a detailed account of the problems you are experiencing. We will need the serial number(s) and part number(s) of the hard drive(s) in question and the current firmware level.
To obtain drive and firmware level information by using Hitachi’s Drive Fitness Test:

1. Click on the Utilities menu and select Drive Info
   
2. Scroll down until the firmware level (“Microcode level”) is displayed.
   

For more specifics about operating DFT, consult the Drive Fitness Test User's Guide.

How do I partition and format my new drive?

A: Depending on the operating system being used, there could be multiple steps involved in partitioning and formatting a drive.
For more information, please see our Partitioning and Formatting Reference Guide.

Where can I purchase Hitachi Global Storage Technologies hard disk drives?

A: You can find purchasing information and sales links in the Where to Buy section of our web site.

How can I test my drive to see if it is defective?

A: If you are experiencing problems with your drive or would just like to test the drive’s integrity, download and run the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test.

If possible, we recommend that you backup any important data before running the test. Run the quick test first. If you are experiencing problems, but receive the result 0x00 try running the Advanced Test option. When you have completed the test, please contact the Support Center with the results and our agents will be able to assist you on resolving the problem.

Disk Formatting and Partitioning Applications May Lead to Data Loss

Image via Wikipedia

Every computer operating system comes with a number of applications for formatting and partitioning various kinds of hard-drives as well as removable storage media. These tools enables you to create partitions and make the the newly created partitions ready for use, although the capabilities of these utilities are usually rather limited. Disk formatting can also be used to remove hard-drive errors or viruses. Before partitioning or formatting the hard drive, you should always create complete backup of your critical data as these operations lead to data loss. In case if the backup is not updated or not available, you need to opt for Data Recovery solutions through reliable tools.

Over the last few years, several third-party applications (meaning utilities that are not a part of any operating system) have appeared in the market. Such tools expand on restricted functionalities of the operating system and enable you to perform effective manipulation of the hard drive partitions. They offer quick and easy hard drive formatting and partitioning. You can create, manipulate, convert, copy, and rearrange hard drive partitions.
All of the hard drive formatting and partition recovery tools work with hard drive at an informal level. There are strong chances of data loss while using these applications. You need to be careful, to prevent any sort of problems. But in case if you try to change the structure of the existing hard drive, which contains all your valuable data, there are several risks of problems.

Particularly, interrupted disk repartitioning or loss of power while performing sensitive drive operations could make your hard drive partitions in unusable state. You can prevent such cases by using UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply). The UPS are quite cheap today and as a serious computer users you must always consider using the UPS.

In case if you do not take protective measures and drive partitioning or formatting is interrupted, critical data loss situations occurs. In such circumstances, you are required to go for effective Data Recovery Software to get your valuable data back.

The data recovery applications are particularly designed to methodically scan the affected drive through powerful scanning techniques and extract all lost data from it. Data Recovery Software come equipped with self-descriptive graphical user interface and thus do not demand sound technical skills for assured recovery.

Related articles by Tom

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