External Seagate SATA drive stops working

[RF]

I bought this SATA Seagate 750GB (or thereabouts)
drive and an external case about 18 months ago
and, apart the nuisance of disconnecting it using
Unplug/Eject software every time I had to shut
down the computer, switching the external case off
and then on again after the OS was running, it
worked fine.

Today it was working without problems when I had
to reboot to install a PDF reader and I shut it
down as usual with the software and then switched
it off. As soon the computer was running again I
switched the Seagate on and it started to make
noises a bit like Morse Code. I shut it down and
it started up again but did not appear
on my computer screen as usual. I checked with
Device Manager but could find no trace of it. I
switched the USB connection around to other slots
but it made no difference. The squeaky sounds
stopped and the drive kept running but it is still
not visible from the computer.

Next I took the unit out of the enclosure and
checked the connections - all seemed ok.
There is a circuit board firmly attached to the
HD. I reassembled everything and hooked up but
still no success.

I have a vague recollection that a small card came
with it and some SATA cables. I have the box with
PCI to Serial ATA & IDE Controller written on it.
The card is missing
and I'm not sure it's worth the bother of looking
for it.

I'm thinking of a new motherboard with a SATA
connection and my past experience of boards tells
me to buy an Abit or Gigabyte. Definitely not an
ASUS. I could never get an answer to anything from
them. It seems that only Intel has more that 2 or
3 PCI slots.
My present board is an ATX Intel D845GEBV2 but it
has no SATA. It would be useful to be able to use
my present CPU and RAM.

Comments and experiences appreciated

 

[RF]

I bought this SATA Seagate 750GB (or thereabouts) drive and an external
case about 18 months ago and, apart the nuisance of disconnecting it
using Unplug/Eject software every time I had to shut down the computer,
switching the external case off and then on again after the OS was
running, it worked fine.

Today it was working without problems when I had to reboot to install a
PDF reader and I shut it down as usual with the software and then
switched it off. As soon the computer was running again I switched the
Seagate on and it started to make noises a bit like Morse Code. I shut
it down and it started up again but did not appear
on my computer screen as usual. I checked with Device Manager but could
find no trace of it. I switched the USB connection around to other slots
but it made no difference. The squeaky sounds stopped and the drive kept
running but it is still not visible from the computer.

Next I took the unit out of the enclosure and checked the connections -
all seemed ok.
There is a circuit board firmly attached to the HD. I reassembled
everything and hooked up but still no success.

I have a vague recollection that a small card came with it and some SATA
cables. I have the box with PCI to Serial ATA & IDE Controller written
on it. The card is missing
and I'm not sure it's worth the bother of looking for it.

I'm thinking of a new motherboard with a SATA connection and my past
experience of boards tells me to buy an Abit or Gigabyte. Definitely not
an ASUS. I could never get an answer to anything from them. It seems
that only Intel has more that 2 or 3 PCI slots.
My present board is an ATX Intel D845GEBV2 but it has no SATA. It would
be useful to be able to use my present CPU and RAM.

Comments and experiences appreciated

Geez!, I just noticed that Dan has a problem
similar to mine. Now that I'm awake, I'll read his
thread. Thanks guys for all the info.

 

[RF]

Just checked my BIOS - nothing wrong it appears.
USB Config
High Speed USB - Enabled
Legacy USB Support - Enabled
USB 2.0 Legacy Support - Full Speed

Boot Config
Intel Rapid Bios Boot - Enabled
USB boot - Disabled

My second external drive (far older than the SATA)
is an IDE and works like a champ.

 

[Paul]

Just checked my BIOS - nothing wrong it appears.
USB Config
High Speed USB - Enabled
Legacy USB Support - Enabled
USB 2.0 Legacy Support - Full Speed

Boot Config
Intel Rapid Bios Boot - Enabled
USB boot - Disabled

My second external drive (far older than the SATA) is an IDE and works
like a champ.

So you need to remove the drive from the enclosure, and test the
drive separately. The enclosure power could have failed, the
USB adapter chip could have failed. Checking the raw drive,
by installing it inside the computer, would be another test
you could perform.

If the enclosure had a fan, and the fan stopped spinning, it
could be that the drive overheated.

If the drive is SATA and your motherboard has no SATA connectors,
you can purchase a PCI SATA card or a PCI Express SATA card.
Depending on the type of spare slot your computer has.

Another alternative, is to purchase another external enclosure,
but personally, I'd be more comfortable using my computer
to test the drive, rather than introducing another
variable (new enclosure) to the problem. At least with
my computer, I have a source of +5V and +12V that is
likely to be working well (as the other drives
in the computer are happy, as is the BIOS hardware
monitor screen listing the voltages).

Paul

 

[RF]

Thanks Paul.

So you need to remove the drive from the enclosure, and test the
drive separately. The enclosure power could have failed, the
USB adapter chip could have failed. Checking the raw drive,
by installing it inside the computer, would be another test
you could perform.

Unfortunately my mainboard has no SATA connection.
I did get a PCI card
with the external enclosure and the HD but it
seems to have disappeared.
Where the drive is located it is quite cool. The
unit was working perfectly when I rebooted the
computer - I disconnected the external unit with
the software before
the reboot. After the reboot the computer could
not find the drive it still can't.

If the enclosure had a fan, and the fan stopped spinning, it
could be that the drive overheated.

It was about 100F when I did the reboot.

If the drive is SATA and your motherboard has no SATA connectors,
you can purchase a PCI SATA card or a PCI Express SATA card.
Depending on the type of spare slot your computer has.

I have lots of PCI slots.

Another alternative, is to purchase another external enclosure,
but personally, I'd be more comfortable using my computer
to test the drive, rather than introducing another
variable (new enclosure) to the problem. At least with
my computer, I have a source of +5V and +12V that is
likely to be working well (as the other drives
in the computer are happy, as is the BIOS hardware
monitor screen listing the voltages).

I know what you mean but I have no SATA connection
on the present mainboard.
Is there any such thing as a good brand in these
external enclosures.
Seems to me that most of what is available is
cheap Chinese junk
with no known brand names.

I am also beginning to get fed up with external
drives and I'm thinking
of a new mainboard with a SATA connection. I just
switched on the
external drive. The light is on but it is not
running.

Thanks again for your comments.

 

[RF]

Thanks Paul.


Unfortunately my mainboard has no SATA connection. I did get a PCI card
with the external enclosure and the HD but it seems to have disappeared.
Where the drive is located it is quite cool. The unit was working
perfectly when I rebooted the computer - I disconnected the external
unit with the software before
the reboot. After the reboot the computer could not find the drive it
still can't.


It was about 100F when I did the reboot.


I have lots of PCI slots.


I know what you mean but I have no SATA connection on the present
mainboard.
Is there any such thing as a good brand in these external enclosures.
Seems to me that most of what is available is cheap Chinese junk
with no known brand names.

I am also beginning to get fed up with external drives and I'm thinking
of a new mainboard with a SATA connection. I just switched on the
external drive. The light is on but it is not running.

Thanks again for your comments.

I made some progress in the past few hours. I
found the PCI SATA card and installed it in the
computer. I found a place for the SATA drive in
the computer and was able to connect the red cable
from the drive to the card. However, I can't see
any connector that could power the SATA drive.
There is a free connector on that drive near where
the red cable is attached but my computer has
nothing to match it. I started the computer and
it recognized the card and asked for the driver. I
installed the dinky CD that came with it but it
can't find the file. The message: "viamraid.sys
driver diskette is needed." Right now I'm ready
to fall alseep. More tomorrow

 

[Paul]

I made some progress in the past few hours. I found the PCI SATA card
and installed it in the computer. I found a place for the SATA drive in
the computer and was able to connect the red cable from the drive to the
card. However, I can't see any connector that could power the SATA
drive. There is a free connector on that drive near where the red cable
is attached but my computer has nothing to match it. I started the
computer and it recognized the card and asked for the driver. I
installed the dinky CD that came with it but it can't find the file. The
message: "viamraid.sys driver diskette is needed." Right now I'm ready
to fall alseep. More tomorrow

I use an adapter like this to power my recently purchased SATA drive.
My adapter came with the motherboard. Only one was included. You might
find this at a local computer store.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186043

Chances are, the chip on your PCI card, is something by VIA (like a VT6421).
At least, if it is asking for that particular file. If you need drivers,
you can visit viaarena.com and their download link.

Perhaps something from this page would work. You can drill down to this
level by using the Downloads link on the page. (Just click the "Click
here for free download" link, not the "Scan Computer..." link. The
Viaarena site is peppered with advertising, so be careful what you
click.)

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=1&CatID=1180&SubCatID=117

One other word of warning about the VT6421. Many VIA chips are
SATA 150MB/sec, and don't cover 150/300. In most cases, you can
mix drives with controllers without a problem, as there is
auto-negotiation. That negotiation is broken with some of the
VIA chips. You need to install the "Force 150" jumper on the
back of the hard drive, to get the communication over the red
cable to work.

VIA does now know how to build working SATA 300MB stuff. My
current motherboard has a VT8237S Southbridge, and it works
at both 150 and 300. Too bad it took so long for them to
figure it out. I don't have to use the jumper with my drive,
but have tested my Seagate drive both with the jumper and
without it, and it works in both cases. But VT6421 is an
older design, so you'll likely need the "Force 150" jumper
for that. (Hitachi drives have no jumpers, so post back
if you have a brand with no jumper block.)

Example of a "jumper block". Every brand does something different.
Force 150 is on the left on that drive (1.5gigabits/sec).

http://www.seagate.com/images/support/en/us/cuda_sata_block.gif

PDF page 11 here is where I got the info about VIA. See Figure 6b.

http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/...uides/dm_11_sata300_installation_guide_en.pdf

Paul

 

[RF]

I use an adapter like this to power my recently purchased SATA drive.
My adapter came with the motherboard. Only one was included. You might
find this at a local computer store.

I believe I have it but haven't started searching
for it yet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186043

Chances are, the chip on your PCI card, is something by VIA (like a
VT6421).

Mine is almost that - it's VT6421A.

At least, if it is asking for that particular file. If you need drivers,
you can visit viaarena.com and their download link.

Perhaps something from this page would work. You can drill down to this
level by using the Downloads link on the page. (Just click the "Click
here for free download" link, not the "Scan Computer..." link. The
Viaarena site is peppered with advertising, so be careful what you
click.)

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=420&OSID=1&CatID=1180&SubCatID=117

I dnloaded that file (you were right about that
page being a minefield) and, under NT5 (I have
Win2K) there is only one 32bit file - videX32.sys
and it doesn't like that one. The other files
there are: videx32.cat, vminiide.inf, xfilt.sys
and ...64.cat and ..64.sys.

I tried the device manager and it indicated that
viamraid.sys is needed. It is NOT on the
CD nor on the web site.

One other word of warning about the VT6421. Many VIA chips are
SATA 150MB/sec, and don't cover 150/300. In most cases, you can
mix drives with controllers without a problem, as there is
auto-negotiation. That negotiation is broken with some of the
VIA chips. You need to install the "Force 150" jumper on the
back of the hard drive, to get the communication over the red
cable to work.

VIA does now know how to build working SATA 300MB stuff. My
current motherboard has a VT8237S Southbridge, and it works
at both 150 and 300. Too bad it took so long for them to
figure it out. I don't have to use the jumper with my drive,
but have tested my Seagate drive both with the jumper and
without it, and it works in both cases. But VT6421 is an
older design, so you'll likely need the "Force 150" jumper
for that. (Hitachi drives have no jumpers, so post back
if you have a brand with no jumper block.)

Example of a "jumper block". Every brand does something different.
Force 150 is on the left on that drive (1.5gigabits/sec).

http://www.seagate.com/images/support/en/us/cuda_sata_block.gif

PDF page 11 here is where I got the info about VIA. See Figure 6b.

http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/...uides/dm_11_sata300_installation_guide_en.pdf


Paul

I'll search for the adapter and will report back
soon. My board is an Intel.
Thanks for all your efforts

 

[Paul]

I believe I have it but haven't started searching for it yet.


Mine is almost that - it's VT6421A.



I dnloaded that file (you were right about that page being a minefield)
and, under NT5 (I have Win2K) there is only one 32bit file - videX32.sys
and it doesn't like that one. The other files there are: videx32.cat,
vminiide.inf, xfilt.sys and ...64.cat and ..64.sys.

I tried the device manager and it indicated that viamraid.sys is needed.
It is NOT on the
CD nor on the web site.


I'll search for the adapter and will report back soon. My board is an
Intel.
Thanks for all your efforts

The http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/windows_v-raid_v580c.zip download
has a viamraid.sys in it. You'd use the installer, rather than
copying just one file. Preferably, you want it to be uninstallable,
in case you want to try another version. Copying single files
could result in a version mismatch.

Paul

 

[RF]

The http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/windows_v-raid_v580c.zip download
has a viamraid.sys in it. You'd use the installer, rather than
copying just one file. Preferably, you want it to be uninstallable,
in case you want to try another version. Copying single files
could result in a version mismatch.

Paul

Thank you again Paul.

That link was just what I needed. I set up the
driver and then hopped on my bike
to a local computer store and paid a WHOPPING ;-)
$2.50 for the adapter.
After I rebooted, Win2K spent about 90 mins
checking the drive that I transferred from the
external enclosure. To my relief it was ok. Then
it rebooted and my drive was finally running in
the computer. Never again will I use a SATA drive
in an external enclosure. I guess they are on the
way out already.

Thanks again. I owe you a beer or two