Hard drive inaccessible on new PC

Hi, i recently just got a new computer with windows 7 and I can't get my hard drive to work.

The hard drive is a Seagate Barracude 7200, 10. I'm using a SATA HDD Enclosure and I want to recover files from the hard drive. The hard drive was originally in my old computer, I unplugged it and put it straight in the enclosure.

The hard drive that was originally in the enclosure (a WD1200) works fine, I've reconnected it and it still works like it should.

I can see it under device manager as a disk drive, called "ST325082 5QE3ZC78 USB device", but there's nothing in disk manager.

I did get disk manager to work at one point, I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it worked, but when I tried to allocate a disk number it lagged and the window became unresponsive, it has not appeared in disk manager since.

I've tried to look for a solution on dozens of other forums but I can't find anything, please help
 
Try hooking up the drive to the PC's internal connections, make sure you support it so no part of the pc case is in contact with the hard drives circuit board. There is usually a spare power supply connector and you will have the old SATA connector from your old PC. You should then be able to transfer the files you need and format the drive for future use. I am not sure why you cannot read it in the external enclosure but this is probably due to it having your old operating system on it.
 
Try hooking up the drive to the PC's internal connections, make sure you support it so no part of the pc case is in contact with the hard drives circuit board. There is usually a spare power supply connector and you will have the old SATA connector from your old PC. You should then be able to transfer the files you need and format the drive for future use. I am not sure why you cannot read it in the external enclosure but this is probably due to it having your old operating system on it.

I'd rather not hook it up internally if possible, I don't want to void the warranty as the computer's brand new. I don't know about the OS, I've tried it on a computer with windows XP, which was on the old computer.
 
Could it be that the hard drive has failed? What was the reason you took it out of the old computer in the first place? Did the PC fail to boot? If so, it might have been the hard drive that was responsible.
 
That might well be the case, I came back from a two week holiday to find that the computer didn't turn on, this had happened before but it usually recovered after a while.

I suspected motherboard failure but I never though of that, thanks.
 
I'd rather not hook it up internally if possible, I don't want to void the warranty as the computer's brand new. I don't know about the OS, I've tried it on a computer with windows XP, which was on the old computer.

I doubt you will void the warranty by removing the side panel, it is only if you leave obvious signs that the PC has been tampered with that there could be a problem. If you wanted to fit an extra hard drive or CD/DVD drive you would have to do the same and that should not void the warranty.

What happened when you hooked it up to the old PC?

Does the old PC have another drive in it with the OS on it?

Hooking it up internally is by far the easiest method for transferring files and a lot faster than through a USB port.
 
I doubt you will void the warranty by removing the side panel, it is only if you leave obvious signs that the PC has been tampered with that there could be a problem. If you wanted to fit an extra hard drive or CD/DVD drive you would have to do the same and that should not void the warranty.

What happened when you hooked it up to the old PC?

Does the old PC have another drive in it with the OS on it?

Hooking it up internally is by far the easiest method for transferring files and a lot faster than through a USB port.

There's a nice big sticker on the side which peels off if you open the side panel, clearly stating that if I open the panel it'll void the warranty :/

I couldn't access it on the old computer because I couldn't turn it on, I'd gotten replacement power packs and mothboards countless times, just got fed up and bought a new one

That was the only drive in the old computer, so I'm guessing it has the OS on it

Thanks for your answers though :)
 
OK, I understand the problem with that sticker on the PC. Your only other option is to get the use of a friends PC.

You mention power packs, that tells me the old PC was a laptop, if this is the case you can get a "laptop hard drive adapter" that will make it possible to connect it internally to another PC. Without the adapter you won't be able to do as I suggested.

You will have learned from this experience the importance of making regular back ups to an external device or CD/DVD's.
 
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