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General discussion

Cant figure out how to get my external hardrive to work.

by gbcgirl Sep 10, 2007 1:30PM PDT

A friend of mine gave me a used SimpleTech 160gb portable external hardrive. I connected the it to my laptop but nothing happens. Do I need to buy a power cord or what do I do? I really want to use it because I'm running out of space on my laptop and I don't want to buy a new external hardrive. Any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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We don't know. . .
by Coryphaeus Sep 10, 2007 10:13PM PDT

1.) What laptop?

2.) What operating system?

3.) Does the drive have a power cord outlet?

4.) Did the drive work before you got it?

5.) Are there any error messages?

6.) Can you see the drive in Explorer?

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Simple Tech 160gb...
by Papa Echo Sep 12, 2007 9:42PM PDT

That external drive is USB powered. No power cord is required. How were you connecting it to your computer ? Did you use a USB cable ? When properly connected, the power indicater light on it should light up. The drive is also plug & play for Windows XP. You may be the appropriate drivers for older systems or SimpleTech 160gb Vista BTW, are your USB ports enabled ? Are there other USB devices ? Also try connecting via a USB hub (can be powered or not).

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SimpleTech
by gbcgirl Sep 14, 2007 4:03PM PDT

I was using a USB cable and the indicator light did not light up. Well I am running Windows XP, and my USB ports are enabled, they detect everything but the external drive. But I will give the USB hub a try.

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The 2.5" external I have requires power from 2 USB
by VAPCMD Sep 15, 2007 2:40AM PDT

ports to work. In other words, I have a 'Y' cable with 2 regular USB to PC connectors that connect to the PC or HUB and the other is a mini USB peripheral connector for the hard drive.

Depending on your drive...you might be able to hook up AC power but you'd have to check the product manuals.

VAPCMD

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