stickynips

I have several external USB HDDs that I use for backups, music, etc. Most of the time they stay off, and I only plug them in and turn them on when I need to get something off of them.

Today I had a 250GB Fantom Titanium drive hooked up, and I wanted to switch to a 500GB LaCie Mini HD & Hub. Each drive has its own power cord, and I usually use the correct ones when I switch them. Well... today I was lazy, and it looks like I paid the price for it. I used the Fantom's power cord with the LaCie, and turned it on. The drive began spinning like usual, until it reached a certain speed, then it made a loud click and stopped. It spins back up, clicks, and repeats for a couple minutes and then stops. It may have been my imagination, but I caught a whiff of that burning electronics smell, and then it was gone. I switched to the correct power cord, and the same problem persists. I opened up another external case, and hooked up the LaCie's drive to it, hoping I only fried the power supply in the case. The same clicking noise occurs, and eventually the drive stops trying, and the clicking stops.

I'm all out of ideas at this point. I'm just hoping some of the data on that hard drive is recoverable...

Was it just a coincidence that the drive stopped working today, or is it possible that I messed something up inside by using the incorrect cord?

linderman

hello



you had a dose of poor judgment and bad luck in this endeavor; I am sorry to say


but, lets look for a silver lining


remove the Lacie drive from the enclosure and try connecting it internally to your computer / remember to set the jumpers as needed

I personally would use the cable from your cd/dvd drives and have only that Lacie drive connected on the cable while you check things out

remember; you dont need to get all fancy and proper about mounting )fastening) the drive into your computer >>>>> you only need to place a phone book next to your computer, lay the drive on top of the phone book and connect a data cable and power cable to the drive , then boot the desktop computer and keep your fingers crossed that you only need to replace your external enclosure

if thats not the case >>>>> then you "can" replace the PCB (printed circuit board) of the lacie drive. thats the little computer board on the bottom side of the drive which the data cable gets connected to, these are held in place by two or more small screws

DONT open the drive case itself or you will lose all data guaranteed !!

to get a replacement PCB you will need to contact Lacie and do a little begging or they may give you a contact for their parts distributor / this approach has worked for me several times

rodney_spears

Hi Stickynips & Linderman,
Im glad I found your problem listed here Stickynips because I have the same. I often wondered why my Lacie drive would appear without the external power supply actually being turned on. Well instead of disconnecting it and finding the solution, it eventually ceased working and is as dead as a doornail. Ive tried another enclosure but no luck so it looks like getting a new PCB. Thanks for the advice Linderman. Rgds Rod

devilangel

Hi Everyone,

I am so lost and bummed out ever since I noticed my ext HD isn't working.
I have a LaCie 500gb ext HD .. I don't know the full specs of it.

Here is what happened. I bought this for about a year now, I connect it to the USB port and ever since I got it, I haven't turned it off or unplug it or anything. It works just fine, I had no issues with it what-so-ever.

A few days ago, I noticed there is a really faint clicking noise from it. I shrugged it off cuz it was so soft, you can barely notice it unless you step really close to it and listen to it.
Then just this Monday, I know there was a power outage in my home when I was at work. When I came home from work and turned on the computer, it can't detect my ext HD any more!!!
I noticed the usual green light has turned to blinking amber/green lights and the faint clicking noise is still there.

I tried several solutions suggested on Lacie's support page which includes plugging the power cable to another source, trying it on another computer and another USB port.
Of course, none of those helped me.

I am so lost as I'm not a computer person. I read several other things on the internet about mounting and plugging it directly to ur PC and stuff I have no idea what they're talking about.

I do plan to send it in for repair but is there any other simple stuff I can try before sending it in cuz I don't know how long this will take and if they can even fix it for me.

I am freaking out cuz I didn't back up any data from it and all my precious photos are in there!!! The main thing for me right now is to be able to get all the data from it.

Can anyone give me some help/advice??? =( Thanks in advance

2pistolpacker

Hi devilangel, if you have a lot of important data on the drive, your best move is to take it to a repair shop and have them remove the hard drive from the enclosure and test the drive itself. Most times when you send in an external drive for warranty work, they won't transfer your data, they only replace the defective drive. If the hard drive itself is still good, all you need to do is buy a new external enclosure. Mike

linderman

the pistolpacker gave you EXCELLENT advice