WD Passport Not Recognized on 2 USB Ports

[EXCellR8]

Having kind of a strange problem with my external HDD. I have two USB ports on the front of my case which I normally use to connect the drive (Passport 250GB). For some reason when I plug it in to either of these ports the drive does not work. It powers on but I can hear clicking and nothing happens on-screen. Plug it into one of the rear ports and it works fine! I don't get it. All of my other USB devices (thumb drives, USB headset, card reader) work fine on these two front ports so it's not making any sense. I use this drive primarily for school, and my rear ports are in use for other devices, so I would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

 

[SNGX1275]

Do you have anything else connected to those front ports? That drive gets all its power from USB, it may be that those ports can no longer provide enough power for the drive. The ones directly from the motherboard (like the ones on the back) are able to provide the power required by the drive. So if you have anything else connected to those front ports, disconnect it and see what happens.