Help with hard disk!!!

[J.C.H]

Hi! I have a problem with a hard disk and maybe someone can help me. I had a Rioriot mp3 player that has a Fujitsu MHR2020AT 2.5", 20GB hard disc, but the player screen died so I took out the hard disk. I bought a usb case for it, but my pc isn´t detecting it correctly. It is found and apparently installed, It even said that the new hardware found is installed and ready to use, but it doesnt appear on My PC... It does appear on the hardware list on Hardware assistant. What can it be?!?! Maybe Its the format?

[jimbo1763]

What operating system are you running and, if W2K or XP, are you on the NTFS file system?

Do you know how your device is formatted?

[Shinma]

Format the HDD for use.

[J.C.H]

Thanks so much for your answers. I have a PC with Win XP, and a Mac 10.3.9, the mac doesnt even detect it, and I guess i am on the NTFS file system... how do I exactly know?
Sadly, I dont know how it is formatted.

[J.C.H]

Thanks Shinma, but I have no idea how to format it, I have tried with a lot of different applications and utilities but not one of them detect the disk.

[Shinma]

Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Managment,
Right-click on the disk in question,
Click Format...

For additional information,
You can check out the following link:

• Partioning Hard Drives in Windows XP

[J.C.H]

Hm.... it doesnt appear there, only my C: drive....

[Shinma]

?
That being the situation,
I think you need to clarify your previous comments.

... It is found and apparently installed, It even said that the new hardware found is installed and ready to use, but it doesnt appear on My PC... It does appear on the hardware list on Hardware assistant...

[J.C.H]

Ok yes I didnt explained right, sorry. It only appears when I right-click My Computer, select Properties, Hardware tab, click on Device Manage. It appears as USB device, and when I see its properties it says UNREADABLE

[Shinma]

Plenty of pitfall situations described at How to Build an External Hard Drive
Such as the following,

Warnings

* If you buy a bare enclosure to use with your choice of HDD, use an old, small (max 40 Gb) disk, found from a dismantled pc/laptop. There has been numerous accounts of disks broken (the heads making the famous klak-klak noise, rendering it unreadable/unwritable). These may happen due to cheap enclosures with bad controllers, plastic cases that do not let the disk's heat get out, and the constant power on/off. Do not use it as your permanent storage. These enclosures are meant for data trasportation (get your huge files from/to house/office/school). If your files do not exceed 1 Gb, get a usb stick instead...

[J.C.H]

Yes, that may be tha case I guess. Even thought it doesnt make any strange noises and when plug in it sound right.

[Shinma]

As I said,
The link above includes various descriptions, pitfalls that can occur.
Another that does not appear to be listed at a glance,
Whether the enclosure is actively powered or not.
Those relying solely on the USB and/or Firewire connection may not be up to the task.

[J.C.H]

Ok!!! thank you so much! Im going to test it with another enclosure to see what happends.

[Shinma]

Good luck.
Hopefully it was just the enclosure and not the HDD itself.