External hard drives are an incredibly useful addition to almost any computer owner’s arsenal. They are available in high capacities at prices that compete with internal hard drives and have incredibly high transfer speeds thanks to the USB 2.0 interface. External hard drives can experience problems that internal hard drives don’t, such as the common problem of the drive spinning or making noise but not being recognized by the computer. With a solid troubleshooting plan, even this problem can be easily solved.
My Hard Drive is Beeping
If the noise we hear is a beep, or you’re external hard drive beeping make sure one of the causes could be that not enough electrical current is reaching the hard drive. And even if it has never beeped and suddenly has, check the connection, as over time the storage unit may draw more current, or the power supply may have lost power. This can be found mainly when our hard drive takes the current via USB, 2.5 ″ hard drives.
If this is your case you can try:
- Change the USB port. Connect the disk to another USB input on your computer or laptop to see if the hard disk continues to paint.
- Replace the cable you are using with one that you know works.
- Try plugging your external hard drive into another computer. With this we will rule out if the problem is due to the hard drive on your laptop.
Compare with other Devices
If your USB disk is not being recognized by your computer when you connect it, try disconnecting it and disconnecting any other USB devices as well. All USB devices, even those with an external power source, draw a portion of their power directly from the USB bus. If you have too many devices connected to the same USB controller, problems such as a disk not being recognized can arise.
Incompatible File System
The Mac working framework can peruse hard drives designed with the FAT32 and NTFS record frameworks utilized in Windows, yet Windows won’t perceive HFS, the document framework utilized by Mac Os. In the event that you associate a HFS-designed outer hard drive to a Windows PC, the hard drive will turn however Windows won’t react. The hard drive should be utilized on a Mac or reformatted utilizing a hard drive apportioning utility.
Disc Disconnected from Power
Some external hard drives have the option of drawing all their power from the USB bus or receiving supplemental power from a socket. If you’re hard drive does not operate using only the USB bus, connect it to power. Many hard drives do not have this option; they will not operate unless they are connected to both a plug and a USB port.
Driver Update Required
Some more established motherboards may require refreshed USB drivers to appropriately utilize a cutting edge 2.0 gadget. In the event that you attempted every one of the essential arrangements in the means above, visit your motherboard maker’s site and search for refreshed USB drivers. Additionally ensure your Windows establishment is state-of-the-art.
Corrupt Files
USB hard drives are susceptible to file corruption if the power cord or USB cable is disconnected during a write operation. Over time, this can lead to Windows not being able to write to the hard drive properly. To make Windows try to fix corrupted files, open Scandisk by right-clicking on the hard drive after double-clicking on “My Computer” or “My Computer.” Click Properties> Tools> Check Errors. Click on the two boxes to make Windows try to fix the errors and bad sectors. Click on the option with “OK” and start the operation. Depending on the size of your hard drive and the speed of your computer, this operation may take a few hours to complete.
Hardware Failure
If your hard drive is not being recognized but is making audible noises when plugged in, the drive may be failing. Almost any hard drive manufacturer distributes a free utility to check the drives they made for errors. Visit the manufacturer’s website to download this utility. If the disk is failing, the utility will most likely be able to detect it. Contact the manufacturer for a replacement if the disc is under warranty.