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I have a seagate 1 TB external portable HDD which all of a sudden stopped working one day. If I connect it, it doesn't show in my computer or Disk management, but i get a usb device icon in taskbar. Device manager doesn't show any storage device but USB ports has a storage device connected which if I try to uninstall drivers the Device manager hangs. If I boot with the drive connected windows doesn't load and system stalls with a black screen. The same for different USB ports and multiple pcs/laptops.

What could be the problem? Thanks in advance! Tried only on windows 7.

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    With the issue occurring across multiple devices, I would suggest the HDD is dead. The reason you likely see the USB in the Task Bar is because the SATA to USB conversion board inside the enclosure is still functioning.
    – Mike Soule
    Commented Sep 15, 2014 at 19:45

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Your external drive has two parts/devices, a USB/storage "controller", and an actual hard drive.

The controller in the external enclosure handles the interface between the drive in the enclosure and the USB connection you'll use to attach it to a computer.

If the controller still works yet the drive itself is dead, you'll see the USB controller as a USB device, but no drive will show up (because the actual drive in the enclosure is dead).

So IMO your drive is dead, either replace the whole external unit or open it up and replace the drive inside.

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  • thanks for your answer, but what about the device manager? does it appear in the ddevgmgt.msc based on the USB Controller or the actual HardDrive?
    – philx_x
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 11:08

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