# Vantec NexStar USB HDD Dock Not Working



## PHNX1 (Jun 5, 2009)

I just got a Vantec Nexstar 3.5 USB HDD Dock and a 500GB HDD today, and hooked it up as instructed... but it isn't recognized in either My Computer, or Disk Management... also there are no "?" in the device manager

I checked the disk management, it wasn't listed. I even pulled a smaller 160GB drive from my (currently boardless) desktop, wich i know for a fact still works, and it showed up automatically and installed and so on, shows up in the disk management... but as soon as i turned off the dock, i wasn't able to get it back.

I have searched all over the internet but all I can find is testimonials, "This is such an amazing device, so simple to install" TCHYA and I have a tail... that speaks mongolian

plz could anybody help me? I am going to try and get ahold of vantec customer support but i heard they're not very good so i posted here just incase.

Oh yea, almost forgot, I'm using a Sony Vaio model no. PCG-FRV26 Pentium 4, 2.8GHZ, with 448mb ram


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## jgrahl (Jun 5, 2009)

There might be some certain order in which you turn on and plug everything in.  I still haven't messed around with the hdd dock enough.


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## freaksavior (Jun 5, 2009)

PHNX1 said:


> I just got a Vantec Nexstar 3.5 USB HDD Dock and a 500GB HDD today, and hooked it up as instructed... but it isn't recognized in either My Computer, or Disk Management... also there are no "?" in the device manager
> 
> I checked the disk management, it wasn't listed. I even pulled a smaller 160GB drive from my (currently boardless) desktop, wich i know for a fact still works, and it showed up automatically and installed and so on, shows up in the disk management... but as soon as i turned off the dock, i wasn't able to get it back.
> 
> ...



Thats your problem.

boot the machine in safe mode and try that. 

Make sure the disk is spinning. 

You might have a faulty drive or encloser


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## PHNX1 (Jun 5, 2009)

I tried safe mode, but nothing.

the drive is getting power and spinning, sometimes even clicking, but it just won't showing up.

why is my machine a problem? does it not recognize sata? cuz i thought this converts sata to usb.


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## freaksavior (Jun 5, 2009)

PHNX1 said:


> I tried safe mode, but nothing.
> 
> the drive is getting power and spinning, *sometimes even clicking*, but it just won't showing up.
> 
> why is my machine a problem? does it not recognize sata? cuz i thought this converts sata to usb.




that says it right there. bad drive, if it clicks problem solved. dead drive.

also im not a sony fan. there crap is over rated and more expensive than it should be


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## PHNX1 (Jun 5, 2009)

no no no not a click like OMG MY HARD DRIVE IS TALKING TO ME, I mean the very silent clicks that you normally hear from a drive that is currently in use... i hear my laptops drive do it all the time and thats obviously working.

EDIT: now that i think of it... the clicks may actually be coming FROM my laptop and not from the docked drive... suppose that would make more sense


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## freaksavior (Jun 5, 2009)

PHNX1 said:


> no no no not a click like OMG MY HARD DRIVE IS TALKING TO ME, I mean the very silent clicks that you normally hear from a drive that is currently in use... i hear my laptops drive do it all the time and thats obviously working.
> 
> EDIT: now that i think of it... the clicks may actually be coming FROM my laptop and not from the docked drive... suppose that would make more sense



fill out your system specs. links in my sig


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## PHNX1 (Jun 5, 2009)

Ok, I filled out my specs... cept for the motherboard and lcd... its late and i dont feel like taking my system apart right now.

Also, news: I was able to get my 500GB drive to work, opened it and checked how much free space there was, about 30 seconds after it was recognized, it made the "USB Removed" sound... ya know the 'BEE DOO' noise. So I shut off the dock and turned it back on and nothing. Very irritating.


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## freaksavior (Jun 5, 2009)

you didn't tell it to show your system specs.

what do you mean you opened it up and it recognized it?

and i'm just covering basics but you DID try multi ports right?


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## PHNX1 (Jun 5, 2009)

K showed specs, sorry bout that

I turned on the dock, the drive was recognized, I opened the folder (G:/), right click -> properties, used space 1.24MB freespace 498MB, "BEE DOO" (it deactivates itself... on its own)

by multi ports i am assuming you mean "tray all my other usb ports" if so then yes


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## twilyth (Jun 5, 2009)

I have 2 of those and they work perfectly.

It could be the unit is bad.  Before you call Vantec, call tech support for the vendor you bought it from.  If there are issues with the unit, they will probably have already heard about it and can give you a leg up.

Other things to check.

Is it plugged into a USB hub?  This shouldn't matter, but some drives are picky about that - don't like sucking the hind teat.

What is power management set to?  If you have windows set to power down drives after 20 minutes or whatever the default is (actually think it is "never"), then there might be a problem with the logic on the units controller where it will power down but not power back up.

I have one external enclosure - a 2-bay JBOD box - that will disappear from the explorer listing after maybe 10-20 minutes of inactivity.  But if I'm actively reading/writing from the drive, it will stay active indefinitely.  I have to power it down and back up to get to the drives again.

But my first guess would be that it's a bad unit.  Those puppies are pretty popular so maybe production quality has gone down since I got mine.

edit - oh yeah, and make sure it's seated properly.  I've never had an issue with this though.  if it isn't seated, it just won't work.  but it's worth checking.  As long as the button pops up all the way, it should be fine.


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## PHNX1 (Jun 5, 2009)

to twilyth: no it is not plugged into a hub.. im using the built in ports, power managment is set to hibernate after 30 minutes and all else never

as far as a bad unit... it crossed my mind. I bought it from ThinkGeek, i think they have a number on their front page

also, yes i have made sure it is seated properly

EDIT: i was wrong about the number, its on their Contact Us page... but they're closed now


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## twilyth (Jun 5, 2009)

Never dealt with thinkgeek tech support, so can't tell you what to expect.  I get the impression that they are pretty customer service oriented so I would be optimistic.

Good luck.


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## TrankaBoogie (Jul 28, 2010)

*Eureka?*

Hi,

I just signed up to respond to this thread, I didn't even check how old this thread was... Have you tried swapping USB cables? I'm sittin here at work trying to get this thing to mount and before I tried this on another computer I swapped USB cables and it worked perfectly... Hopefully this helps you, and I'm using the cable that came with the dock FYI.


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