WD SmartWare External Hard Drive Will Not Turn

[jessie73018]

I have a "My Passport", portable external hard drive from WD SmartWare. I have never had a problem getting it to work with my Dell Studio Laptop. My USB ports are 2.0.

When I plug the hard drive in, it does not make any noise and is not recognized by my computer.

The original power cord that came with the laptop broke, and I had been using it for a long time. I knew that the computer was not getting full power and it gave me messages that it was not at "optimal performance" because of the unidentified power cord. Figuring this was the problem, I bought a universal power cord. My computer is working much better, but the hard drive still won't work.

IS there any way I can get the hard drive to work so that I can backup my files and retrieve the ones that are on it?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Have you tried this on a different system?

If it is not supplying enough power, you could try a USB Y-cable.

Amazon.com: StarTech.com USB2HABMY1 1 Feet USB Y Cable for External Hard Drive - USB A to mini B: Electronics

It will use 2 USB ports for power instead of one.

 

[jessie73018]

awesome, thanks so much, I will try that!