I have a maxtor 120GB external hard drive but no power supply. How do I get a replacement? I tried a switchable power adapter from a local hardware shop and although I set the voltage to 12v it lights up but does not power the drive.

Several things could be happening here:
1. your electronic controller in the hard case has failed.
2. you didn't properly disconnect the external hard drive in Windows > with the
"Safely Remove Hard ware and eject Media" in the task bar.
3. if you have a power supply to the USB drive it may have a damaged power connector or not supply proper power to the device.

Try a different "data" cable between your computer and the external disk-drive.

If there is an external power-supply, borrow a "multimeter", and test that the power-supply is supplying power (correct voltage and correct amperage).

Try connecting it to another computer.

Disassemble it, and disconnect the disk-drive from the USB-to-disk-drive adapter. Connect the disk-drive as a "slave" disk-drive in a desktop computer, and see if the disk is working.

If it still is under warranty, either your local retail store, or Maxtor/Seagate will honour the warranty, and replace it.

The input is USA 110 - 120 Volts AC, Europe, 230 - 250 V AC.

A lot of adapters will work on anything from 90 V AC to 250 V AC, it is clearly indicated on the actual unit itself, if you look. If it is, it can be used anywhere.

You have what is call a USB POWER Y ADAPTER: this is designed to provide extra current to your USB HDD drive from a second PC USB port. Plug the end with two USB connectors to your PC/LAPTOP and the single-ended plug to your drive.
Hope it helps! Let me know how you go.

You can buy a USB to USB mini cable at almost any store with PC accessories, even Walmart. Buy a high quality one since the drive is powered from the USB 2.0 port. Good Luck

I think you might find this link most useful, from the Seagate Community Forums.

http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board/message?board.id=onetouch&message.id=1973

In short, others have had great difficulty buying Maxtor replacement power adapters, however you can buy a generic 12V, 3A DC power supply for $15-20 from a number of sources. Confirm your actual power requirements by referring to the product label on the drive itself.

Hope it helps,
Mike

go to device manager in control panel and scan for hardware changes

thankyou

Hi Josh!

I assume that you've tried plugging in both the red AND black cables? If that is true, and you're still having the issue, then: Good luck.

Maxtor has decided in all their wisdom to no longer offer the power supplies for this (generally cool) little drive. If your drive now fails to mount after updating to OSX.5 (I'm guessing you are a Mac user by your email addy), one solution would be to go to NewerTech and get one of their very sweet "Universal USB2.0 Drive Adapters" (about $19) and connect the bare drive (from WITHIN the Maxtor enclosure, yes, you'll have to take it apart) to your machine using the NewerTech device.

One hard drive failure mode is a power circuit short. Contact MAXTOR support on their web site for a possible warranty replacement. BTW, SEAGATE owns MAXTOR now.

It sounds like your USB ports just aren't putting out enough power for this device. Did the drive come with an external power supply? If so, does it work when you use the external power supply?