Top 20 SimpleTech SimpleDrive   STI-USB235/160 160 GB Hard Drive Questions & Answers

data may be hidden in your drive due to viruses. for windows Xp, follow thes steps

1. From my computer menu bar click on tools
2. then click folder option
3. in view TAb click on show hidden files and folders
4. scroll down the list of view TAb
5. uncheck the option "Hide protected operating system files (recommended)"
6. after this check your driver. there might be some file and folders

format it, if you do not know the recovery password.

http://www.softwarepatch32.net/ hope it helps :

cashekian

If the drive is not being detected this is a sign that ether you just need to map the drive or that there is a problem with the drive encloser.

These links will help you map the drive letter to the drive. Also you might try the drive on another computer so times the the drive will not get safely removed and the drive state needs to be reset.

How to change your drive letter in Windows Vista and Windows 7

How to change your drive letter in Windows XP

If you still have trouble with the drive you may need to look at replacing the encloser for the drive or connect the drive directly to your computer. If you know the drive is working and you want to replace the encloser the link below will have the encloser that will work with your drive.

Let me know if you have any more problems or questions

Issken
http://www.fixya.com/users/issken

Unfortunately, I think you're toast! Depending on how much you need/want those photos, you might be limited to relying on an expensive 3rd party data recovery process. The noise indicates that the read/write head is scratching along the surface of the disc platter. Even if you could install a new read/write head, the physical damage to the disc platter may prevent any data recovery anyway. Check around on the Net and in your local area for data recovery services. They might be able to provide a better diagnosis of the problem, and possibly suggest a quote if they think they could recover any data for you.

jkc48

In most cases the drive encloser on external drives will go bad before the drive does and you will have to replace the encloser for the drive. The thing you have check is the size and the type of the drive to make sure you get the right encloser.

I checked the model on this drive and it is a 3.5 form factor. However I could not confirm that the drive was IDE or SATA. So I found the encloser at the link below that supports both for your drive.

http://arstillwater.com/store/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=2665&category_id=32&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=11

Let me know if you have any more problems or questions

Issken
http://www.fixya.com/users/issken

Hello

OK, at the link below you will be directed to a tip i wrote on this exact error.

Click HERE.

Feel free to let me know if you have any further questions.

Kind regards
Andrea

Most Techs on here blame the A/C adepter on these units to be a failure BUT. However I as of yet agree with there opinions to be FACT. Sure try a adapter but I feel its the usb/sata controller inside that has given out.

Most Simple tech external drives use Seagate or maxitor depending on what version , however these drive are extractable from the unit witch can be put in a free drive bay and thus the data can be worked off them now, if the drive is clicking called the click of death then your chances are neal on getting the data unless you take it to a data recovery center.

Hope this information does help

please do not forget to leave a feedback/Rating before you go today. Thanks for keeping this side of fixya FREE by leaving a rating. Btw, I’m available to help over the phone in case u need at https://www.6ya.com/expert/edwy_1a56970cf1ea4620

Check the cable or if possible change the usb cable for another one.

Hello

Okay , so there are some steps to figure out what is wrong with your external.

Firstly , if your computer makes a sound when you plug in your external , go to Start-Control Panel-Administrative Tools-Computer Management-Disk Management , and see if your external drive is listed here with your local drives. If it is listed , right click on the drive and change the drive letter to make it appear in "my computer".

If your drive does not make a connection sound when connecting to your computer and also does not show up , please follow the next step.

Remove the hard drive from the casing if possible and install it in your computer case or another external case.If the drive works , the problem is with the casing and you can ignore the drive.

Now , if the problem is with the casing , there are still 3 possibilities.

1. The USB cable between the drive and the computer may be damaged.
2. The circuit board which connects your drive to the interface of the external may be blown.
3. The power supply (if applicable) may have a blown transformer.

The latter is the easiest to diagnose , does your external light up at all when you plug in the power? If not , then this is probably your problem. On the bottom of the adapter is a label which you will be able to use to have a new adapter made at your local electronics shop and this will cost about $30 max. They will also be able to test the adapter with a clamp meter to see if this is really the problem and this should be free.

The second component you want to test is the USB cable. If you have a printer , swop out the cables and see if your printer functions normally. Most externals use the same connector so you should be able to test it in this manner. If the cable works go on to the last step. If the cable is defective , replace it with a new one which you can find for about $10 at most electronics and chain stores.

The last component to test is the circuit board. This is a bit of a grey zone as you probably won't be able to spot the blown component unless it failed really badly. With the casing already opened , locate the external's circuit board and check to see if you have any blackened components or fluids leaking from some components. If all the other components of the external worked perfectly , then this is the faulty part. It is not really economical to replace the circuit as most of the time it is out of production by the time you need to replace it and it still costs a lot even if it is available so if your drive is working perfectly when connected via sata or IDE on your computer , the best is to buy a new casing and place your old drive in the new casing.

A casing costs about $50 and you could get it at most tech shops and big chain stores like Best Buy.

I hope this solves your problem and please reply if you need more help.

Kind Regards
Andrea

Yes, you should turn the HD off when not in use. The direct drive mechanism is constantly turning when current is applied. Turning off the unit will preserve it. Four years is quite a long time for a hard drive and may need replacement soon.

go to simptec site and try to expean you rproblem they will help

there site is

http://www.simpletech.com/commercial/products/simpledriveexternalpininfarina.html

You might try here: http://www.retrevo.com/samples/Simpletech-Storage-manuals.html

you can get the driver at the products web site

After some of your entries, I had an idea to switch power cables because I have two SimpleTech drives. The other drive was working fine. When I connected the other power cable to the drive that was having the problem it fired up like a charm. I tried the bad cable to my good working drive and the same problem occurred. Wow! It's nice to know it was only the power plug. How do I order anothr power cable but both drives are working. This is great! I have my valuable data back.

Thanks....

No. It is not that way. how it is read is as under: 1 K is 1024 bytes 1 MB is 1024 K bytes 1 GB is 1024 MB 1 TB is 1024 GB. As per books. BUT, when it comes to selling HDDs 1 TB is 1000,000,000,000 bytes. the extra 24 bytes at each lelvel have been overlooked. Thats where you loose so much of disk space.

try reloading the drivers, might have to run a search for the product and delete all softwere first, but just try to reload drives and go from there. If nether of these work it may be a registry error wich I can help with but lets try this first.

If it was running at the time it fell, the heads crashed into the platters, and the buzzing you're hearing is the dents left in the platters spinning by 7200 times a second.
Not good. Likely will need a professional service to recover the data.

scan your harddriver for errors
chkdsk hard_drive /f /r