USB hard disk not working

Try it in another computer (Mac, desktop, notebook).

It could either be the USB-to-disk-drive interface that has failed,
or the USB cable that has failed,
or the disk-drive inside the casing that has failed.

Try a different USB cable.
Open the casing, and remove the disk-drive, and temporarily connect it as a "slave" disk-drive in a computer, to see if it can be detected.

If the external hard drive is not detected by yur computer, try first connecting the drive on a different USB port so we can test the USB port and then after that if still not yet detected try a different USB cable to test the cable and after that still not detected connect the drive on different computer so we can see if this is already a hardware problem.....

The error PXE-E61: Media test failure usually means the hard disk has failed or the hard disk needs re-seating or the disk controller is faulty.
First - re-seat the hard disk and reboot the computer. If this does not work then reboot and go to the BIOS configuration to see if the BIOS detects the hard drive. If it doesn't detect the hard drive then it could be faulty.
Next - to determine if the hard drive is faulty, remove the hard drive and insert it into an USB hard drive adapter and connect it to a working computer's USB port. If this computer cannot see it as an external hard drive and you cannot open the various folders and files, this confirms the hard drive is faulty.
The hard drive needs to be replaces in the laptop and Windows installed and the laptop's device drivers and your programs etc to get a working laptop again.

If the laptop cannot detect the hard drive. This can be caused by a faulty disk controller, or a faulty disk drive.

1st. Reseat the hard drive and see if the laptop boots up.

2nd. Go into the BIOS configuration and see if the BIOS detects the hard drive.

3rd. If the BIOS can't detect the hard disk, the remove the hard drive and connect it to an USB hard drive adapter and plug it into a working computer's USB port. If this computer detects this drive as an external disk drive and you can see the contents of the hard drive, then the hard drive is OK and the fault is in the laptop.

4th. If the hard drive cannot be detected then the hard drive is faulty, you need to replace the faulty hard drive in your laptop and install Windows to get an operating laptop again.

If the laptop cannot detect the hard drive. This can be caused by a faulty disk controller, or a faulty disk drive.

1st. Reseat the hard drive and see if the laptop boots up.

2nd. Go into the BIOS configuration and see if the BIOS detects the hard drive.

3rd. If the BIOS can't detect the hard disk, the remove the hard drive and connect it to an USB hard drive adapter and plug it into a working computer's USB port. If this computer detects this drive as an external disk drive and you can see the contents of the hard drive, then the hard drive is OK and the fault is in the laptop.

4th. If the hard drive cannot be detected then the hard drive is faulty, you need to replace the faulty hard drive in your laptop and install Windows to get an operating laptop again.

You computer cannot find your hard disk. The hard drive could be faulty or the hard disk controller has failed.
Reseat the hard drive (remove it and install it again), this may fix your problem with the connector on the motherboard.
If reseating doesn't work, the hard drive may be faulty, remove the drive and insert it into a USB hard drive adapter and plug it into a working computer's USB port, if this computer see your hard disk as an external drive and you can see the contents of the hard drive then it is OK and the fault most likely is the controler in the laptop.
If you cannot see the hard drive then the hard drive is faulty. To get your laptop operational again, you need a new hard disk and need to install Windows on the new hard disk together with your

There are two possibilities:

The Mybook USB/ATA controller board is faulty.
In this case you can simply take apart the enclosure and mount the disk into a new enclosure. WD Mybooks are SATA, but double check the hard disk connector to ensure.

The hard disk inside is faulty.
In this case repair may be expensive. You need to locate a data recovery facility with a 'clean room' , the cost is usually more than $800.

If this happened after a power surge, then the problem is most likely a faulty controller board.

If instead you have dropped the hard disk it is possible an hard drive failure, in that case repair will be expensive.

A replacement enclosure will stfrom art about $20 on Ebay or Amazon, and must not necessarily be WD .
Check if your disk is Sata or PATA (IDE) before buying the enclosure.

if you are not getting any broken noise from the hard disk its not ded so ushut down the computer first then connect the hard disk to the power and then connect the hard disk to your system in the usb 2 port then connect the start the system if still dosent detect go to manage by right clicking on the my computer icon the go to disk management check your hard disk shows ther if shows forign just right click on the forigen and say import forigen hard disk if shows the drive helthy and dosent show up on my computer then just right click on the helthy place and say change drive letters and choose one of the letters and should show up on the my computer if still dosent see at all then change the usb cable....
if still dosent work remove hard drive from the external case and put it directly to your computer for this u need a sata cable and a sata power if it detects and work this way your data is safe but you casing of the external hard drive has probs ...
thanks

if you hear a loud click clacking noise then the drive is dead if not try a new usb cable or port or if your desprate to save your data and are wanting to save your self the head ache call seagate technologies and opt for data recovery.