Linux Lite Forums
Hardware - Support => Hard Drives and SSDs => Topic started by: br1anstorm on August 01, 2016, 07:13:47 PM
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I have a 'new' Iomega 320GB USB2 portable hard drive, bought some time ago and not used - I kept it as a spare. Recently I thought to try it out - initially on an old Windows laptop. The power light illuminated and the drive seemed to hum and vibrate (ie it seemed to be spinning).
Windows said it had 'found new hardware' and after a moment said it was 'ready to use'. But it did not appear on the 'My Computer' screen - nor in the Windows 'disk management' screen, although it was listed under 'device manager' alongside the laptop's internal drive.
To cut a long story short, I tried connecting this external drive to other USB ports, and using another known-good USB cable. No joy. I then removed the actual drive (made by Seagate) and put it into a spare caddy which has a known-good USB PCB interface. Still no joy. I then reassembled it in its original Iomega enclosure.
Not wanting to risk a dodgy drive on my normal Linux laptop (I use Lite and Mint...) I thought I would explore it using GParted in a Live CD session of Linux Lite on my older spare computer. I happened to have an .iso of Lite 1.08, so I ran that.
Under Linux Lite, in "System Info", the external drive does not appear as a USB device. Under the Storage heading, the external drive does show up - listed as ST932032 SAS, vendor Seagate, SCSi Controller scsi2, Channel 0, ID 0, LUN 0 (I don't know what these details signify....).
But in GParted, the external drive does not appear at all: only the internal laptop ("C") drive is shown, as dev/sda.
I'm not familiar with command-line working so have not ventured down that route. But if GParted cannot see it , what does that indicate? Is this portable hard drive just dead or faulty despite the various clues that it is running? Is it a driver problem? Or something else?
As I have no data on it, the fact that it doesn't work is not a disaster. I don't want to spend ages investigating it - I am no IT expert. But it is frustrating that I cannot seem to see, far less cure, the problem. Before throwing this HDD away as a useless paperweight, is there anything further (and not too complicated!) I can do to diagnose or resurrect this new, unused portable drive?
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After connecting your external hard drive, perhaps:
(1) In Linux Lite (2.6 and above) use the Disks program. Menu > Settings > Disks.
(2) Within GParted, from its menu, go to GParted > Devices to see if another device is available.
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Thanks, Torreydale. Have tried both routes.
In Disks, the external drive simply does not appear at all. And when GParted scans the drives, it finds only the internal hard drive /dev/sda1. Under "Devices" in GParted, there are no 'other' devices shown: the only options listed are "Create Partition Table" and "Attempt Data Rescue". In GParted under View>Device Information, again only details of the internal drive are shown. The external drive is totally invisible.....
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Unfortunate as it may be, it looks like a dud. Some statistics re: reliability are quite appalling; viz. latest data on HD failure rates:
https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-reliability-stats-q1-2016/ (https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-reliability-stats-q1-2016/)
Moreover, Seagate:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/222267-seagate-faces-lawsuit-over-3tb-hard-drive-failure-rates (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/222267-seagate-faces-lawsuit-over-3tb-hard-drive-failure-rates)
Commodity products do suffer from these issues - if that is a consolation.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2CrJfvVPQc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2CrJfvVPQc)
On this video the drive had disconnected from the sata port in the enclosure.
Was just a matter of clicking it back in.
Might help.
Jocklad
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check your external harddisk with command fdisk -l
if your device detect, try create a new partition with this command cfdisk /dev/sdX (sdX is your drive on result from fdisk -l)
try to mount your harddisk, this is step:
1. Open your terminal and create folder usb in directory /media
# mkdir /media/usb
2. Then, try mounting your harddisk with below command:
# mount -t ntfs /dev/sdX /media/usb
3. If success, try open directory /media/usb
Hope this help!
Regards
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G-parted only shows one disk at a time in the side menu when using external drives. You have to open the disk menu to select the other external disk. Click on the disk name (somewhere in the top menu I forget where, or maybe menu>device>) but you need the action that will produce a dropdown menu with every device listed. The first file you posted is a correct looking disk path for an external USB connected disk so the device is operable and must be listed. It may not show up in USB menu because it configures as SCSI.
TC
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I'm sorry. The disk path is correct looking for a windows naming convention. It still should show up and be accessible from any newer Linux Lite live CD.
TC
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Just a couple thoughts...
Plug in the drive then launch GParted after its launched and has located drives, in the upper right is a drop down (typically defaults to internal /dev/sda) can you drop this to the external? If so, does it list the disk possibly as all unallocated?
I ask as you mention it spins up in Windows but nothing shows - possibly this disk has not been used/configure and doesn't have a partition yet??? or not active of sorts?? Might just need to create a partition and format...
Or if you find yourself in WINDOWS - from a command prompt try..
diskpartonce it comes up to DISKPART> type:
list diskThis should list the disks attached (0 should be internal) and if the disk is active and size..
Again just a thought
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Thanks to all who have offered thoughts. I'll respond to the various comments in roughly the same order.
richtea - I think you may eventually be proved right. I'm ready for the possibility. But I want to try and check beyond doubt that the patient is definitely dead, and not just sleeping or hiding!
Jocklad - thanks for the link to that video, which I had in fact already seen as well as a lot of other clips all about various possible reasons for a drive's failure to show. In my particular situation, I have already disassembled the drive (the connections to the PCB were good); I have fitted the hard drive itself into another enclosure with a different PCB interface (and it still didn't show on screen); so I have reassembled it into its original casing again. I don't think there is a physical/connection issue.
Merlin - I haven't yet tried that command line route. But to be honest, I'm not optimistic that fdisk - l will reveal the drive (see below - I tried to do it via command line in Windows and got no joy). If it isn't listed, there's no point in going on to other commands.
trinidad - I understand what you are saying. In GParted, on the top right of the screen there is indeed a dropdown box which should list and show all drives. The problem is that it only shows the internal hard drive of my laptop (as /dev/sda - or what would be the 'C' drive in Windows). There is simply no listing for my portable external drive: so there is no disk name which I can click in order to highlight it and get details of the device. But I'd be interested if you could explain/clarify the matter of a disk path, and the significance of an SCSI-configured connection. Is this a clue as to where I should look, or what I could to, to track down the drive and make it "visible" on screen?
firenice03 - as mentioned above, the dropdown in upper right of GParted screen shows only internal/dev/sda. Clicking on the dropdown does not list any other drives/disks. This "invisible" portable disk hasn't been used: it is brand new, but will have some OEM Iomega software on it so should be initialised, formatted and maybe partitioned. My other - identical - Iomega portable drive certainly was ready to use out of the box and I have been using it successfully for years...
In fact although I did not mention all the details in my original post, when I plugged the drive into a Windows laptop, it said "found new hardware" but the drive did not appear in the My Computer screen. It did show up in Device Manager, but not in Disk Management. It was also listed in the "Safely Remove Hardware" popup. So I did exactly what you suggest: went into command-line, did diskpart and list disk. Only the internal laptop ("C") drive showed on the list. No sign of the external drive.
So I'm still baffled. How come in Windows this portable external drive is listed in Device Manager but not in Disk Management? How come in Linux Lite under System Info>Storage the drive shows up (with SCSI2 as controller), but is not seen - at all - in GParted?
I wonder what to try next - before consigning this un-used HDD to the bin....
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So I'm still baffled. How come in Windows this portable external drive is listed in Device Manager but not in Disk Management? How come in Linux Lite under System Info>Storage the drive shows up (with SCSI2 as controller), but is not seen - at all - in GParted?
Sounds like only the controller/connection is seen... Beside another caddy, have you tried connecting this disk directing to the MOBO (SATA/IDE) if you have ability via a desktop pc.
But seeming more and more like HD failure.. Only other thought that comes to mind would be some sort of Iomega Encryption; more than likely not since never being used prior...
Info: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/268418-32-unlock-iomega-hard-drive-detected-computer
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Sounds like only the controller/connection is seen...
But seeming more and more like HD failure..
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Ah, that's interesting. Also to my untutored mind the most likely conclusion. I didn't know how to interpret the evidence about the portable drive (or bits of it!) showing in some locations but not others. It seems entirely credible to me that the computers are "seeing" the controller/connection/interface (which is working) but not the actual hard drive beyond it (which is dead.....and maybe just spinning in its grave). So richtea was probably right!
I don't think the encryption angle is relevant: the drive is brand new out of the box - I have not been able to see it, never mind put any data on it or encrypt anything.
I can't test it myself by connecting direct to a motherboard, as I don't have a computer which would enable me to do so. But I suppose at some stage I could remove the hard drive and get it tested/checked somewhere.
Until then, maybe that's as close to a solution as we're likely to get. Huge thanks again to all who helped with the detective work.
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Hi,
I'm almost certain the Seagate IOMEGA HD is a SATA drive.
If you have another PC, temporarily disconnect the drive(s) in that.
Plug in the drive from the IOMEGA.
Stick a Live USB stick in that PC and boot it, can you then see the IOMEGA Drive.?
Just a thought.... GL
ps
It does sound like the HD is toast though.... :(
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The disk path is listed the way it is (basically prepared for editing) so you can configure the correct disk path from a windows command line disk utility, i/e sda0 sda1 etc. and configure the bus start up conventions, however that will still not be correct if you attempt to run it from another computer. Your best bet is probably to try the windows command line, and if you can get to mount properly clear it with the windows partition manager. Then go to a Linux disk utility and format it however you like. Right now it is being seen as storage in linux because it is SCSI on a USB. You might be better off to buy a 10$ SCSI to SATA adapter as suggested if you cannot use the windows disk manager to configure the disk order and convention in order to mount it. It's not mounting in Linux so the volume itself maybe using a proprietary paged startup convention, which only allows it to appear correctly in the windows build it was set up for, or it has an older windows security feature enabled, or it is using a striping convention for an older dated raid setup. Redo Backup might be a solution too. It's hit or miss as to whether the disk is still operable, but if it was working when you stopped using it, it is probably still operable, unless you had it in a high dust or high humidity area.
TC
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Sorry again. I just noticed you said you never used it. Do you have the initial paperwork shipped with the drive? Start there if you do, and the serial number from the drive on the outside of the case.
TC
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Try this tips, visit link below this
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/external-drive-not-recognized-this-is-how-to-fix-it-in-windows/
Regards
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Your best bet is probably to try the windows command line, and if you can get to mount properly clear it with the windows partition manager.
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You might be better off to buy a 10$ SCSI to SATA adapter as suggested if you cannot use the windows disk manager to configure the disk order and convention in order to mount it. It's not mounting in Linux so the volume itself maybe using a proprietary paged startup convention, which only allows it to appear correctly in the windows build it was set up for, or it has an older windows security feature enabled, or it is using a striping convention for an older dated raid setup.
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It's hit or miss as to whether the disk is still operable, but if it was working when you stopped using it, it is probably still operable, unless you had it in a high dust or high humidity area.
TC
Thanks trinidad for those further thoughts. Not sure I have fully grasped all the detailed tech advice (I'm no expert in configuring, mounting, bus start up conventions, and all the other procedures you mention - and unaccustomed to command prompts in Windows and also command line working in Linux).
But what I can say is that, using some online advice (youtube...) I did try to find or see this pesky drive in a Windows laptop using command prompts (diskpart and list disk). It didn't show up. And I have no idea how to "get it to mount" in Windows. The disk clearly won't mount in either Windows or Linux, although both seem to see the SCSI controller and list the device as a USB device - with the reference ST 932032 5AS (which seems to be the ID or model number for the Iomega 320GB portable HDD, as my other external drive, which is the same Iomega model, has the same ref number...).
I don't quite understand the "SCSI to SATA" adapter comment. When I took the actual hard drive (its a standard 2.5 HDD just like those in most laptops) out of the Iomega enclosure and tried it in another caddy, it was clear that the drive had the standard SATA connector. This plugs into the PCB interface/adapter in the caddy which enables the USB connection.
I have all original packaging, instructions and serial number. The drive doesn't have any fancy configuration or encryption: it is supposed to be usable out of the box on Windows or Mac. My other identical drive is configured NTFS, works fine with Windows and Linux. The packaging says some proprietary EMC Mozyhome online backup software is preinstalled. I have tried contacting Iomega Customer Service (now owned by Lenovo). Their answer was 'can't help, it's out of warranty' (even though it is new and unused).
So I fear this may be a lost cause. Unless or until I can get to see the drive in either Windows or Linux, I can't format, initialise, or do anything else with it on the lines of those tips in the link kindly provided by merlin. There is no personal data on the drive which I need to retrieve. With regret, I'm coming to the conclusion that the HDD itself is faulty or dead and that there is no easy way to bring it back to life.
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My last thought on this is that the drive may be formatted as exfat. This was common a few years back on MS storage devices.
You could try: sudo apt-get install exfat-fuse exfat-utils
best of luck
TC
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My last thought on this is that the drive may be formatted as exfat. This was common a few years back on MS storage devices.
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Thanks for your continuing interest! But no, the paperwork confirms that it shipped formatted NTFS (the user leaflet even includes instructions on how to reformat for use in a Mac).
I think it's definitely R.I.P. for this deceased Iomega drive!
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If you have another PC... put the drive only directly in that, boot LL Live and see if you can see it..??
That will prove the drive is Kaput... You said you have already ruled out the caddy...