I was using my portable hard drive one minute and then the next it doesn't even register. It's also making a constant noise like it's trying to boot up but it just doesn't. When I do the safely remove it's registered on the computer but not as the name that I created for it. What can I do?
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if you are using it on a notebook, probably there is not enough power comming out of the usb port.
This can be overcome either by the use of Y-cable, means one which goes on one end to the external drive and on the other end there are two usb connectors, or you can use some external powered usb hub.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
It means the drive is dead/dying.
If you can get it to mount, I would copy everything off it that you need, even if it does continue to run for a while longer.
In addition to what ottosykora and winterblood have said, it may be a defective usb chip in the hdd enclosure. It happens more often than one might expect if the drive has been in use for some time. I have three portable usb hdd enclosures here that fail to mount depite the hdd working flawless if installed internal at a sata controller. Two had esata connectors so I could at least continue to use them.
This is not applicable if your drive is new.