External harddrive no longer reconized

[chriskmee1]

So i have this little Maxtor One Touch 160GB external that used to work fine with my computer, but now my computer refuses to recognize it if i just plug it in, but here is where things get interesting.



I have tested with at least 5 other computers, they have no problem.

If i take the drive out of its case and plug it in via sata directly to the mobo, it works fine

If i plug it in through a usb hub, it works just fine and the computer recognizes it.



I have reformatted my system since then and nothing has changed. This issue started right when the usb adapter internal to the case came loose, the female mini usb thing just popped right off the board. I had a friend solder it back into place and then the current issue happened. When i plug it in, sometimes Windows says device not recognized, and sometimes it says nothing. The light on the case of the external drive blinks rapidly for about 2 seconds then just sits there. This happens on all 8 rear USB ports and the 2 front ones.

Its almost as if my motherboard blacklisted the device, but i didn't get anywhere searching that on Google.


Any help would be appreciated, its bugging me that i cannot figure out why this is happening.

 

[detox1]

I think your listing the problem. USB plug came off motherboard....does any other USB device work?

 

[chriskmee1]

maybe i wasn't clear. The harddrive has a mini board inside its case, that board converts the drive's sata to a female mini usb, that is the usb that came off. When i removed that board and plugged the drive via sata to my computer's motherboard, it worked fine.

My friend repaired the external's board by re-soldering the usb back on, it works for everyone else's computer but mine unless i use a usb hub.

 

[detox1]

ahh, that sounds alot different than your first post. so now this sounds like a connection problem. have you tried a different mini usb plug?

 

[chriskmee1]

I should also mention that although its a mini usb in the device, the cable that pugs into the computer is a normal usb plug. I have tried it in other computers and it works just fine.

Whats really weird is that if i plug it into a usb hub then into the computer it works just fine, but i can't just connect the drive directly to my computer.

 

[sjw40364]

Try reinstalling the usb drivers.

 

[chriskmee1]

I did try that already, and I know good drivers are installed since it works normly through a USB hub

 

[sjw40364]

It is strange that it works on other computers without a usb hub, but only on yours with one. Was it plugged into the usb port when it came apart? Do other usb devices besides the hub work in that port on your computer?

 

[chriskmee1]

It is strange that it works on other computers without a usb hub, but only on yours with one. Was it plugged into the usb port when it came apart? Do other usb devices besides the hub work in that port on your computer?

it was plugged into the computer normally when it came apart, just plugged it in, moved the drive out of the way, and it went. I usually avoid that usb hub since its not powered and probably not even usb 2.0. I used to use it for stuff like mice and keyboards to free up some usb ports on my laptop a while back.

every other device works fine with all the ports on the computer, and my external works on none of the 10 or so usb ports on my computer without that hub. Its almost as if the mobo noticed something wrong with the drive and blacklisted it, but that Google search got me nowhere.

 

[sjw40364]

I have no idea if what I about to suggest is even feasible, but perhaps Windows has tied that devices ID to that hub and now only recognizes it as a drive when the hub is present? I know at times when I reboot my cable router I have to restart my computer so it recognizes the new IP. It's just a suggestion, but perhaps it is tied into the registry address of the drive.