External HD problem. PLEASE HELP :(

[@rtless]

I have a weird problem:

I bought a new harddisk for my laptop so i also got an external harddisk-case (called "Icybox") for the old one. But I could not get it working, so i got my money back and bought a different one (Revoltec Alu Book Edition 2). But i have the exactly same problem with this one. This is what happens:

I put the harddisk in the alu-casing as described in the manual (very simple) and plug it in the computer. The harddrive spins up and "Ping-pong!" windows (XP Pro) detects it and installs the software. Great. I go to My Computer but there is no drive here... Hmmm... Then i go to Administration and diskmanagement to format it and create new partitions. But it is not here either!
Then i downloaded a partition manager program, and it can see the drive but creates a "read/write error" when i try to do something with it. If i put the HDD back in the computer i works perfect.
I have tried: Setting the jumpers to master, slave and Cable Select. Putting it in the computer and format it. Putting it in the computer and just partition it. Putting the extra USB power cable in it. Wiping it with shredder-software (in the computer). Tried it on 4 different PC's and a MAC.
I do not think there's a problem with the casing, cause it was the same with the first "Icybox".

PLEASE HELP! I'm going insane...

Here are the specs on the different things:

HDD for the casing: 2.5" Hitachi Travelstar ATA-100 60 GB (hts421260h9at00) Power: 5V 1.0A

Casing: Revoltec Alu Book Edition 2 (compatible USB 2.0 and older) "supports ALL 2.5" drives" http://www.revoltec.de/english/produkte/rs025.htm

Computer: Acer Travelmate 2414 (where the HDD was originaly)


P.S. sorry about the bad english...

[rchadwick]

I'm a lazy guy, so I haven't looked at the specs of the external case. However, I have an idea. The USB port can't supply enough current to run a 2.5" hard drive properly. That doesn't stop people from selling external 2.5" drives and enclosures. They usually either get around the problem by adding a DC in jack (Never mentioning you need to buy an external power adapter, and sometimes not even telling you what specs it should be), or use a special USB cable that has two USB connectors. If you plug in both connectors into your computer, you in theory get double the current, which often is still not enough to run the drive properly. To make things more difficult, some computers, mainly laptops, don't supply as much current as they should. Bottom line, if you want to use a 2.5" drive reliably, you need an external power supply.

[@rtless]

Thanks for the reply rchadwick!
I've tried looking around the house to find an extra power source but with no luck, but maybe I need to spend some money on one. I sure hope it is as simple as that. In theory you can take out 500ma from an USB and then 2 USB's must make 1A, but I know that theory is theory, so i guess i have to try it out. I will return when I find out if it works. Again thanks for the reply!

[@rtless]

OK. so i finally found more power for it. I took a charger for some Apple product that had USB for charging.
It delivered 5V. 1A. so i was very confident it would work...

...but no...

still no luck just the same. AAARG!! IT CAN'T BE THAT COMPLICATED! I think i have tried everything! If anyone can think of ANYTHING that i haven't tried please reply...

[rchadwick]

It could be a bad external enclosure, or it's chipset isn't compatible with your chipset, or the moon is in the wrong position. I haven't had a great deal of success with off-brand USB-IDE adapters. Usually they're unreliable at best. It could also be a bad cable. Since you now have a real power supply, you can ditch the 'Two USB Port' cable, and try a better quality one. Then, there's all the standard advice... Try plugging it into another USB Port, Try finding and downloading new drivers (That might fix a hardware problem). If you have a desktop, try installing a USB PCI card. If Possible, try connecting it to another computer.

[craig6928]

could be there not a lot of power to the power supply

i notice with some external encloser the
power supply that comes with them are not powerful at all.
other meaning crap.
allso the power chip can give the same fault
windows see the drive then it disappears

possible other option your looking at a faulty hard drive itself
the power is breaking down.