HD enclosure problem, need educating.

  • Thread starter Thread starter jojo
  • Start date Start date
J

jojo

Hi,
I have a new dell laptop running XP pro.
I have an 'old' maxtor 7120 AT hard drive I put in an
external HD case.

The laptop can see the hard drive, it is listed in the device configuration
and shown as working properly.
I have research jumpers and have tried every master/slave configuration, but
the drive
is NOT listed in the disk management portion.
I just cannot access this drive.

One suggestion was that the drive is too small and that my BIOS may not be
able to handle it.
Could this be the case?
I can get another 40+ gb HD for the external case. Should this solve the
problem?
I don't want to go buy another HD to find that this is not the problem.

Also, is there anyway to access this 'old' drive if my laptop cannot access
it? There are things
I'd like to get off of there.

Thanks,
jojo

p.s. this is the case:(purchased from comp usa)
USB 2.0 3.5 inch External Hard Drive Enclosure
Manufacturer: FMI
Mfg Part #: 070538
Product Number: 312100
$39.99
 
jojo said:
Hi,
I have a new dell laptop running XP pro.
I have an 'old' maxtor 7120 AT hard drive I put in an
external HD case.

The laptop can see the hard drive, it is listed in the device configuration
and shown as working properly.
I have research jumpers and have tried every master/slave configuration, but
the drive
is NOT listed in the disk management portion.
I just cannot access this drive.
Click to expand...

Your jumpers should be configured as the manual for the enclosure suggests.
One suggestion was that the drive is too small and that my BIOS may not be
able to handle it.
Could this be the case?
Click to expand...

I don't think so. The problem with BIOSs is that it cannot see all of a
*large* drive, so it's not that it could ever be to small. Also, this
limit should be determined, in your case, by the enclosure itself.
Again, refer to the manual for details.
I can get another 40+ gb HD for the external case. Should this solve the
problem?
I don't want to go buy another HD to find that this is not the problem.
Click to expand...

Had your drive been previously formatted and in use? ie, do you know
that the hard drive is ok?
Also, is there anyway to access this 'old' drive if my laptop cannot access
it? There are things
I'd like to get off of there.
Click to expand...

Ok, well that partly answers my previous question, but still, how do you
know that the drive is in good shape?

If it's just an EIDE/ATAPI drive, you could put it in an existing PC
(desktop) as a slave.
 
Grinder said:
Your jumpers should be configured as the manual for the enclosure suggests.

I don't think so. The problem with BIOSs is that it cannot see all of a
*large* drive, so it's not that it could ever be to small. Also, this
limit should be determined, in your case, by the enclosure itself.
Again, refer to the manual for details.


Had your drive been previously formatted and in use? ie, do you know
that the hard drive is ok?


Ok, well that partly answers my previous question, but still, how do you
know that the drive is in good shape?

If it's just an EIDE/ATAPI drive, you could put it in an existing PC
(desktop) as a slave.
Click to expand...

I have the jumpers configured per the case (ie, master) I tried other
configurations
as a troubleshooting measure.
There is no mention of drive space limits in the case manual.
The drive was in use until I got a new desktop. I pulled the HD out of the
old computer
and put it in a box on a shelf till now. It was working fine last I saw it.
I don't have a working desktop. My latest on won't boot and I'm trying to
access
this HD with my laptop.

Thanks,
jojo
 
I have the jumpers configured per the case (ie, master) I tried other
configurations
as a troubleshooting measure.
There is no mention of drive space limits in the case manual.
The drive was in use until I got a new desktop. I pulled the HD out of
the old computer
and put it in a box on a shelf till now. It was working fine last I
saw it. I don't have a working desktop. My latest on won't boot and
I'm trying to access
this HD with my laptop.

Thanks,
jojo
Click to expand...
Your old drive is probably partitioned and formatted non-standard from
the old system. This means you can access your data from the old system
because it knows the peculiar BIOS settings or translators that may have
been installed. Best action would be to borrow a known good drive from a
more modern system, (no disk manager or EZbios translators), to test your
enclosure for sure.
 
after much discussion and advice as to what to do about this,
I put the old Maxtor 7120AT back in the drawer and bought
a barracuda 40GB. The guy I bought if from formatted it for me and
delivered it to me for $30.00 (he is a gem!) I put it in the external case
and plugged it in
this morning and had a drive:e immediately!

The same guy who sold me the barracuda has an old computer in his shop.
He will put the Maxtor in it and burn everything on it to cd for me, so
both problems are now solved!

Thanks everyone for your help and advice!
jojo
 
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