whats this thing called on my external hard drive, i need a new one?

loopy_lass

ok everyone knows im no techie... so... i have an external hard drive, and it seems its not working, the only thing i can see different is the little black box thingy it is plugged into and that goes to the power no longer has a light on it. it says on it switching adaptor and some numbers... now ive looked at the little box my laptop uses to connect to the electric and the fitting is different where there are 3 "things" prongs or holes whatever they are... so i cant steal that one.

so.... im guessing i need a new one.. what do i look for and how do i know if the 3 end thingys will fit.... :rotfl::rotfl::cool:

any advice once you all stop laughing will be appreciated .:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::T:T:T:T:T:D:D:D:D:D:D


loops

BillScarab

You could always check the fuse in the plug before buying anything!

It sounds like you're talking about the Power Supply for your external drive. If youlist the exact brand and model of external drive you are using someone may be able to advise where to get one.

loopy_lass

its an eye-t hard drive, nothing else written on it.. on power supply it says switching adaptor input ac100-240v50/60hz output 12v 2a 5v 2a its says on the black pluggy in bit chaohui ch-211

thanks loops


Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh update... its suddenly started working... but only if i wriggle it... ????

loops

davb

Sounds like a broken wire inside. Which wire do you wiggle to get it to work - the one from the mains plug to the black box (the cheap bit), or the one attached to the black box that goes to the hard drive (the not so cheap bit).

loopy_lass

the bit i wriggle is the round plug thingy which fits into the hard drive... lol.. i know i said it was working earlier, but i can only use it in the shed as it trips the whole house out !!! trip switch in shed ;-) lol ooops

loops

BillScarab

Does it look like this?

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=3915&category_id=503&manufacturer_id=196&tid=ex-hdd2.5

DCFC79

loopy_lass wrote: »

the bit i wriggle is the round plug thingy which fits into the hard drive... lol.. i know i said it was working earlier, but i can only use it in the shed as it trips the whole house out !!! trip switch in shed ;-) lol ooops

loops

does the round thing have so many pins inside

tomsutton529

sounds like a wire is shorting out and that you need a new power supply. You need to get a very close match to the one your using now or you will break the hard drive or it just wont work...

davb

loopy_lass wrote: »

its an eye-t hard drive, nothing else written on it.. on power supply it says switching adaptor input ac100-240v50/60hz output 12v 2a 5v 2a

From the description it sounds like it was originally sold as an external enclosure (with power supply), and somebody has added a hard drive to it and sold it as a complete unit - there's nothing wrong with that.

You could replace the power adapter, but as tomsutton529 says, you have to get a match of both rating and connection size. If you can't get one at a reasonable price, it may be more practical (and similar in price) to get a new external enclosure (with power supply) and swap the hard drive from the old case to the new one. It would need to be the correct type - IDE (PATA) or SATA, and as we are getting a bit techie here, it may be worth asking a local computer shop to quote for supplying and swapping - it's only a 10 minute job.

The other option, which depends on if you have anything you need on the current drive, would be to get a complete new unit - there are 1TB (1000GB) ones for around £60.

loopy_lass

Sorry for delay in replying, work gets in the way sometimes ;-)

thanks everyone, the question does it look like this... well kind of. its that shape but the sockets and plugs and switches are on the side of mine whereas this one looks plain.

and i have all my computer backed up on my external hard drive so it would be disasterous to loose it.

I dont at the moment have 60 to spend on a new one but looks like i mite be better doing that and transferring everything when it does work.

the round plug thingy that goes into the box does have pins in it ...



I bought this one on amazon some 6 yrs ago. so i wasnt aware of the mix and match thing you speak of. can anyone recommend a 1TB drive? i saw one in maplins the other day for around that price...

thanks loops

busenbust

can anyone recommend a 1TB drive? i saw one in maplins the other day for around that price...

I take it you mean - after all the confusion;) - an external drive? If so I always suggest...

Originally Posted by busenbust
I always suggest purchasing one that has both a usb and e-Sata interface - future proofing
Quote:
Originally Posted by busenbust
e-Sata will provide four/five times the speed (such is the claim but there are caveats here) of usb 2.0. I think it's useful to have for future proofing. Having both interfaces is not necessarily an additional expense either.

Fine example of speed/performance here :cool:
Available in 1 or 2 TB. Price range, admittedly, might be out of your range?

Your pc will need to have the e-Sata interface to benefit, but let's say you purchase a new/additional pc later?;)