Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler External HD winds down after connection?

I have an external USB 2.0 drive that hasn't been used in a few years.

When I first plugged it in, I was getting a "heartbeat-rhythm clicking" but it wasn't showing up in explorer. As soon as I plugged in the USB cable, it stopped trying to spin.

I tried putting it in the freezer for an hour and now when powered it spins and the clicking has gone away. Yet still, when I plug the USB cable (or a different one to make sure!), it spins down and goes quiet...almost as if I turned the power off.

There's nothing too critical on there but if I could get that data off it, that would be preferable...even if it takes a bit of effort. I have another external HD from the same manufacturer and I can switch cases/power supplies, etc...(I assume)...

Anyone have any thoughts as to why a drive would spin down when connected?

Sounds like the controller on the drive is dying. If you can get it back up, get as much off of it as possible, but don't count on it actually working again.

Thanks, Ken.

The controller is actually part of the drive itself? So switching cases wouldn't help?

You got it. Now, it's possible, but highly unlikely, that the USB/ATA board in the case has gone off, but that wouldn't cause the noise you describe.

Hmmmm... luckily, it's purring along nicely at the moment. Of course, that's without it being connected. All the clicking has stopped.

Unluckily, I just checked it's "sister" drive, and it's F/W, not USB....

I swear I had a third one though, a 5600 RPM USB 2.0 in the same case, etc...

Oh, that doesn't matter. As long as the internal connection (PATA or SATA) is the same, you can swap the drives between cases all you like.

I tried the Firewire drive now as well, since IT hadn't been fired up in a few years.

It's ALSO not being recognized.

I'm sharing the same power supply with the DIN cable between them, and wondering if the power supply isn't "steady"...!

Sounds like you may have a culprit.

what does placing it in a freezer do.. besides make it really cold?

'Legendary' fix for stuck drive heads. Sometimes it works but you have to be careful when taking it out and powering up. The condensation can cause a short.