Seagate Backup Plus External Not Getting Detected - Help!

n1r0

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attach power/usb and then after 5 secs remove the power and move the HDD slightly - if you feel an intertia pull due to the rotational, it means the HDD is spinning up.
OT: this is called Angular momentum. Fun to experiment with

In this case, shuck the HDD and connect to SATA directly - assuming this is seagate, will have SATA inside unlike WD USB powered which doesnt
Last I checked, branded external hard disks can't be read by PC when connected to mobo directly - they had to be re-formatted first, leading to loss of data.

Same when connecting an internal drive to the branded external enclosure: it wouldn't read without formatting first. Why they did this is beyond me

What internal interface do WD drives have?

Zero power not hibernation.
Hibernation consumes zero power. As I stated before, repeated power ups wears out the drive more than constant running. So if you have a UPS, let the PC shutdown x minutes after power loss instead of going to hybrid sleep every so often

If you don't have a UPS, get a UPS. Sudden power loss can kill more than just your data
 
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guest_999

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Last I checked, branded external hard disks can't be read by PC when connected to mobo directly - they had to be re-formatted first, leading to loss of data.
Which exact model hdd you tried? This can happen if you use of of those "password protection" tool or the hdd comes with "built in/hardware based password protection".
 

n1r0

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Which exact model hdd you tried? This can happen if you use of of those "password protection" tool or the hdd comes with "built in/hardware based password protection".
Can't remember the exact models, but I tried with both Seagate & WD, whenever an external HDD failed.

Was it using a password by default? I certainly did not set one

Also I put one of my confirmed good internal HDD into the enclosure and it wanted to be formatted first before usage
 

Black_Hawk

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So, I also have this Seagate Backup Plus Hub 4 TB External drive:

Seagate Backup Plus Hub 4 TB External HDD

I bought it in January' 2021 and it came with 3 Year Warranty so warranty period is over. Drive is working fine but I was wondering should I shuck the unit and use the HDD inside now as an internal drive? This way it will get better cooling inside my NAS case which will be better for the HDD (it will run cooler) going forward instead of keeping it stuck inside that default plastic case.

I plan to follow this process:


I have shucked External drives before so I should be ok doing it.
 

guest_999

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Was it using a password by default? I certainly did not set one
If the driver advertise "hardware encryption" / "built-in password" feature then it is using a password by default except that password is basically empty/transparent so acts like no password.
 
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vivek.krishnan

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OT: this is called Angular momentum. Fun to experiment with

Yeah

Last I checked, branded external hard disks can't be read by PC when connected to mobo directly - they had to be re-formatted first, leading to loss of data.

Same when connecting an internal drive to the branded external enclosure: it wouldn't read without formatting first. Why they did this is beyond me

What internal interface do WD drives have?

Didnt have issues with mine, cant recall if Seagate or WD. In some cases, the pin needs to be taped off.

WD USB powered cant be seperated from HDD - rest all can and have the SATA port exposed.

Hibernation consumes zero power. As I stated before, repeated power ups wears out the drive more than constant running. So if you have a UPS, let the PC shutdown x minutes after power loss instead of going to hybrid sleep every so often

If you don't have a UPS, get a UPS. Sudden power loss can kill more than just your data

+1, spinup/spindown is another, especially if done frequently.
 
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Black_Hawk

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I'm still contemplating if I should shuck my Seagate 4TB Backup Plus Hub. Shuck it and slap the HDD into my NAS, think that'll be better in the long run as well.
 

guest_999

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I'm still contemplating if I should shuck my Seagate 4TB Backup Plus Hub. Shuck it and slap the HDD into my NAS, think that'll be better in the long run as well.
Performance wise it will make no difference & might even be a bit less as usb port can't match the sata port in terms of stability/speeds so it kinds of act as a limiter to reduce unnecessary stress on such SMR low rpm hdd. Only benefit would be reduced temps assuming better cooling inside nas.
 

vivek.krishnan

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I'm still contemplating if I should shuck my Seagate 4TB Backup Plus Hub. Shuck it and slap the HDD into my NAS, think that'll be better in the long run as well.

If this is the same drive which you are facing issues with - please go ahead and do if the warranty is not void.

If some other drive - If the usage is low then it would not be of much use. If high usage then, yes. Sometimes you may need to tape pin 3 (or correct pin) to make it work
 

panther

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Seagate drive are shit. I have two died on me 1st one bouught new din't even use for months suddenly it died, Another one died also suddenly after 2 years of use.