"USB Devices Disabled" with External Hard Drive on Multiple Macs

[bms259]

I have an external hard drive that's my working drive for photo work. It's a 7200rpm Seagate Drive

I'm using a brand-new rMBP 15in.

I've had some issues with Mavericks restarting with external drives plugged in.

Today, I was rendering some photos, somehow my drive got ejected, and now it get this error message whenever I plug it it: "USB Devices Disabled Unplug the device using too much power to re-enable USB devices." I've tried the drive in different enclosures, with different cords and on difference macs. I've tried plugging it into two USB slots. Still the same thing. Sometimes nothing happens at all, other times the error message pops up instantaneously when plugging it in and other times it takes several moments before the error message popped up.

The drive is new (just over a year) and it's not making any funny sounds and other drives work.

I really need this drive to not be dead. I have all the files back-uped, but I spent all day doing reorganizing and re-exporting my photo library and I really don't want to have to do that again.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

UPDATE: It seems one of the USB ports is no longer working either.

 

[satcomer]

Then just Reset Your NVRAM to get the USB port working again.

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ I really need this drive to not be dead. I have all the files back-uped, but I spent all day doing reorganizing and re-exporting my photo library and I really don't want to have to do that again.
Thanks for any help you can give me. ]]

Does the drive enclosure have an input port for an external power supply block?

Have you tried connecting it with the power supply block plugged in?

If the drive has an input for power, and you DON'T have the power supply, you may be able to find one on ebay, or perhaps use one of those "universal power adapters" -- can be bought from Radio Shack, or try "partsexpress.com".

If the drive needs more power than the rMPB can supply to get "up and running", you're going to get this problem repeatedly.

Also, be aware that there have been some reports of Mavericks not behaving well with _some_ external drives...

 

[bms259]

Found the problem: I plugged in a DC power adapter that was too powerful for the drive, and fried the power board on the drive. Completely fried. All the data was backed up, thankfully. I just lost the days worth of organizing and exporting.

The USB port is completely shot too. Maybe from the drive, maybe not. But Apple is "capturing" it to explore it further and replacing the laptop.

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ Found the problem: I plugged in a DC power adapter that was too powerful for the drive, and fried the power board on the drive. Completely fried. All the data was backed up, thankfully. I just lost the days worth of organizing and exporting. ]]

Yes, that can happen IF you don't match the power supply's output to the drive power port's input.

HOWEVER -- be aware that the drive itself (inside the enclosure) might still be OK. Perhaps only the internal power circuits or the interface board of the enclosure are damaged.

It may still be possible to take the drive OUT OF the enclosure, put it into a "drive docking station", and access the data, or still use the drive.

If you'd like to try this, I suggest you buy a USB3/SATA docking station. They cost about $25 or less. If you want to see what these are, go to amazon.com and enter "usb3 sata dock" in the search box, and you'll see many choices available.

 

[bms259]

[[ Found the problem: I plugged in a DC power adapter that was too powerful for the drive, and fried the power board on the drive. Completely fried. All the data was backed up, thankfully. I just lost the days worth of organizing and exporting. ]]

Yes, that can happen IF you don't match the power supply's output to the drive power port's input.

HOWEVER -- be aware that the drive itself (inside the enclosure) might still be OK. Perhaps only the internal power circuits or the interface board of the enclosure are damaged.

It may still be possible to take the drive OUT OF the enclosure, put it into a "drive docking station", and access the data, or still use the drive.

If you'd like to try this, I suggest you buy a USB3/SATA docking station. They cost about $25 or less. If you want to see what these are, go to amazon.com and enter "usb3 sata dock" in the search box, and you'll see many choices available.

The drive itself was a formally internal lap top drive that was in an enclosure. I tried it in three for four difference enclosures, and same response. Does that cover your suggestion or is there more I could maybe do?

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ The drive itself was a formally internal lap top drive that was in an enclosure. I tried it in three for four difference enclosures, and same response. Does that cover your suggestion or is there more I could maybe do? ]]

Hmmm... after "four tries", I guess I'd have to conclude that the drive had hardware problems of some sort...