External hard drive false contact issue

xav060 Posted messages 3 Status Membre -  
 olichaf -
Hello,

I purchased an external hard drive from the brand Maxtor about 6 months ago https://maxtor.seagate.com/

It's very good, it's very convenient, but here's the thing: half of the time it doesn’t connect to my computer. I have tried unplugging the power, plugging it back in, doing the same with the USB connection, but nothing happens. It’s totally random because sometimes it works perfectly, and if I suddenly restart my computer it doesn’t work anymore. I suspect a loose connection, but I’m not sure... Since it’s still under warranty, should I contact the manufacturer? Or is the problem on my side? Perhaps others have encountered this issue before? It’s quite annoying because I’ve put all my music and such on it, so I’m left with nothing to listen to :)

But if I take it back, will they exchange it for me? Will I lose my data? I don’t have enough space on my computer to transfer them :S,

Thank you all if you can advise me :)
Configuration: Windows XP Internet Explorer 7.0

3 réponses

Anonymous user
 
hi

first, try it on another computer, if it’s the same, it’s definitely your hard drive...

have you tried opening the external case to check the connections?

otherwise, yes, exchange for warranty, but all the data will be lost, because they won't bother, they’ll just give you another one, and that’s it...
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olichaf
 
My response is late for your issue, but I had the same problem and found a workaround just this week... The problem was with a Maxtor 200 GB that would start when it wanted to, eventually not starting anywhere (tested externally). My supplier then advised me to try one last maneuver: find a hard drive of the same model and swap the hard drive's board; since I have a second identical Maxtor, I took apart the faulty board and found that the contacts between this board and the drive were not very shiny (literally). A cleaning of those contacts with a cotton swab soaked in KF contact cleaner (available at any electronics store) and the drive started working again, so I copied the useful data before putting it out of service (a hard drive that acts up is already too much, so you get rid of it!!)
If this can help others...
Best regards
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xav060 Posted messages 3 Status Membre
 
When it doesn't work, I turn off my computer and it works again :) I know it's illogical, but hey, we make do with what we have :):p
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