Unable to see External Hard Drive using USB - SATA Connector

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  1. Posts : 18
    Windows 10
       #1

    Unable to see External Hard Drive using USB - SATA Connector


    The power went out while doing a Windows 10 update. I purchased a USB to SATA connector, connected it to another Windows 10 PC's USB port. The external hard drive that I removed from my other PC is not showing in Windows File Manager.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #2

    Hello JohnRoss1969 Welcome to the Ten Forums!

    The common problem is simply a drive not being seen at first when either replugged back in or moved to a new host machine until it is initialized in the Disk Management tool. This has been a common cause since XP days for any new drive external and even for adding in a new internal drive as well. Solution?

    In most cases with an external enclosure and drive in it to be known to be good the quick and easy solution is a fast trip into the Disk Management tool itself to find the volume on the drive that should be seen as an unknown and right click on that to select the Change drive letter option and select a letter not already in use. J or K make for a good pair since flash drives and other internal drive like you dvd and storage drives will grab up the D, E, F, G, H, letters on the spot depending on how many there are. Here two permanent storage/backup drives see S and T used instead while another drive in a fan cooled usb/eSata type enclosure will see either J presently or K. That has "K"(c)onfidential type files stored there like online orders. etc.

    If the volume isn't found right away when scrolling the window there you can go up to the menu bar>Action tab and select the Rescan Disks option to refresh the list of partitions/drives. If the size of the partition on the external drive is larger then the C drive then spotting it becomes a simple task. When and if the rescan is needed and the partition does appear you can simply scroll further down the Action tab's menu for the All tasks and use the Change drive letter option there or right click on the volume directly to see a drive letter assigned which will then see the "File Explorer" no longer Windows Explorer icon on the main task bar suddenly appear and start flashing. Your av program will also prompt to scan the new drive found as well.
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  3. Posts : 197
    Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB N 1607 x64
       #3

    You say the power went out while updating, was this the primary drive (C drive/system drive) in your PC, and now you're hoping to fix it? I highly doubt that the drive has failed, your volumes/partitions are probably fine but corrupt. Was a driver installed when you plugged in the external drive? Did you try using different USB cables? Cables can vary in quality from cheap to excellent. Did you try different USB ports? Does the external case need its' own AC power source, or is it fully powered via the USB cable? If it needs external power, be sure to provide it.

    I would also try downloading a small Linux distro (like Parted Magic), install it to a USB stick, then plug the drive in there to see if it's recognized. You don't need alot of experience to do this, even if you know nothing about Linux. Be sure to pick a user-friendly distro.

    It could also be that your USB ports have issues. I have a particular external HDD that is very finicky and frequently disconnects while copying files. Using different cables/ports helps a bit, but not much. The drive works fine on a friend's desktop, so it's probably just something with my hardware or whatever.

    If you ever get it to come up, be sure to run a checkdisk (chkdsk) command to find/fix any errors.

    Not sure what else I can say that might help, good luck!
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  4. Posts : 18
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Anon Vendetta and Night Hawk,

    Thank you for your help.

    I ordered the adapter cable online for a 3.5 hard drive, they sent me one for a 2.5 laptop hard drive. My mistake for not checking the label on the bag when I picked it up in the store.

    I just reordered another one. Hope they send the correct one try his time.

    Again, thank you for your time
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #5

    You might want to hang onto the 2.5" cable in case you end up needing to hook up a laptop drive some time. I will now be looking at few enclosures for the 2.5" since one laptop suddenly went doa as far as the display leaving me with that plus a spare I can use to back up the new laptop's drive with.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 13,895
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #6

    JohnRoss1969 said:
    Anon Vendetta and Night Hawk,

    Thank you for your help.

    I ordered the adapter cable online for a 3.5 hard drive, they sent me one for a 2.5 laptop hard drive. My mistake for not checking the label on the bag when I picked it up in the store.

    I just reordered another one. Hope they send the correct one try his time.

    Again, thank you for your time
    The 2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives use the same type data and power cables, it's the PATA drives that are different. When a 2.5" drive is removed from a Notebook/Laptop there are adapters or portable cases one can get that can allow plugging into USB port, I use them frequently when working on various computers. There also are adapters or cases that can use an eSATA port.
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #7

    Berton said:
    The 2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives use the same type data and power cables, it's the PATA drives that are different. When a 2.5" drive is removed from a Notebook/Laptop there are adapters or portable cases one can get that can allow plugging into USB port, I use them frequently when working on various computers. There also are adapters or cases that can use an eSATA port.
    Not all 2.5" drives use the power cable typically seen with a 3.5" while the 15pin data cable remains the same. With laptop drives those slide into a pin shaped connector having an opening at the end of the drive while the 3.5" see that end exposed until either is place in an enclosure. Some also see the IDE type molex 4 pin power plug as well as depending on which make and model enclosure or docking station you go with being another option. I was looking at both earlier to consider which to go with while mostly the 2.5" only picked out will be for a laptop running on the usb port rather then the usb/eSata Sata I II III IDE combiniation and running up a nice price tag of $175 with one seeing a cabinet of drawers! ICY DOCK ICYCube MB561U3S-4S 4 Bay USB 3.0 SSD External Enclosure - White - Newegg.com

    Of course others will run much much higher like over $5,000! How about one for nearly $20,000!!! HP D2700 QK771A 25 900GB 6G SAS 10K SFF Dual port HDD 22.5TB Bundle - Newegg.com

    In contrast however you can find one for home use running about $20-$50 depending on who makes it that will be dependable and not simply cheap garbage when it gets a good review! For example Thermaltake as a brand seems to always see a good rep and a combination USB 2.0/eSata docking station can be found for a good price. Thermaltake BlacX ST0005U External Hard Drive SATA Enclosure Docking Station 2.5 eSATA - Newegg.com

    That vendor even carries 5.25/3.5" enclosures!
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  8. Posts : 18
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    This is the connector I purchased.


    Thanks for the additional information.

    This is the connector I purchased that's made by StarTech.com. It cost me $24.00 locally.
    USB 2.0 to SATA IDE Adapter | Drive Adapters and Converters | StarTech.com
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #9

    I'm little skeptical about that one from first look here! When running a quick search lately for a fan cooled enclosure since the Acomdata only saw a couple of vents on that I ran a Sabrent USB2.0/eSata model I grabbed at Amazon which unfortunately is for 3.5" only Sata II+III while the other I have was 2.0 only for both IDE and Sata II + III. The product page for that can be seen at Sabrent USA

    That brand also carries a combination converter not only for 2.5 and 3.5 but also for SSD and even 5.25" drives. Sabrent USA

    The problem is I tend to get skeptical on the quality factor when you see too much bunched together over having something specific for each. Even with the fan added in however that new enclosure gets warm to the touch when simply left running for any good period of time. That was one of the early drawbacks seen with the self contained external drives by the way where the drives would end running hot and fail on people! Those were mainly usb or usb/1394 firewire however since the eSata enclosures and adapters were later to come.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 18
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #10

    What I am trying to do is retrieve the data off of the drive that lost power while updating Windows 10.

    I am not trying to keep that same drive as a permanent external hard drive. If I can retrieve the data I will put it back in the tower & reinstall Windows.

    I now have a Seagate 1TB external drive, backup power supply, that I will connect in case this happens in the future.
      My Computer


 

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