external hard drive not recognized
 

hi folks! me having another problem again when will i learn!
you have all been very helpful in the past hope you can be again! im still a noob to linux..
so here is my problem

i have just bought a 250gb external hard drive, when i plugged it in it was saying unable to mount, i managed to transfer 1 file to it and then it disappeared and my computer wont recognize it like as if its not even plugged in!
i tried swapping around the cables i tried different usb ports as i have a few. tried turning my computer off then back on with it plugged in all sorts..

I have a compaqu laptop, running on linux , zorin

please help me you wonderful wizards of linux


this is mt termainal output

iam@liam-Compaq-Presario-CQ60-Notebook-PC:~$ sudo fdisk -l:
[sudo] password for liam:
fdisk: invalid option -- ':'

Usage:
fdisk [options] <disk> change partition table
fdisk [options] -l <disk> list partition table(s)
fdisk -s <partition> give partition size(s) in blocks

Options:
-b <size> sector size (512, 1024, 2048 or 4096)
-c switch off DOS-compatible mode
-h print help
-u <size> give sizes in sectors instead of cylinders
-v print version
-C <number> specify the number of cylinders
-H <number> specify the number of heads
-S <number> specify the number of sectors per track

For starters, with the external hard drive connected and powered up run:

$ sudo fdisk -l

not:

$ sudo fdisk -l:

The ouput will tell you if the hard drive is being recognized.

Also,... The brand and model of drive would help...

Not all external USB drives are created equally. I once got a WD 1TB drive, only to find out that it's electronics did some kind of funky behind the scenes stuff that wouldn't permit me to reformat the drive to a Linux filesystem... It got taken back and exchanged for a Seagate (same cost & capacity). I learned my lesson,... check before you buy!!!

ok thank this is what i got
 

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000cd8eb

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 19230 154456064 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 19230 19458 1831937 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 19230 19458 1831936 82 Linux swap / Solaris
liam@liam-Compaq-Presario-CQ60-Notebook-PC:~$


its refurbished hard drive bought from ebay so its in a case with no relevant information about the hdd sorry i cant be more helpful im not up on my technology is there anything else u need to know to help me

also it make allot of beeping noises and what not and this

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 19230 154456064 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 19230 19458 1831937 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 19230 19458 1831936 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdc: 250.1 GB, 250059348992 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc0e0c0e1

Well, there it is,...

/dev/sdc

So report what appears when you do;
fdisk -l /dev/sdc

If it makes unusual noises I would assume that it simply is faulty. Please unplug the device, run the command and the plug it in again. Post the messages that appear now.

Make sure to plug it in using a USB Y-cable that it usually comes with. One end is for power, the other for data, and both should be plugged in.

If the drive is not detected at all, it could be dead.

liam@liam-Compaq-Presario-CQ60-Notebook-PC:~$ sudo tail -f /var/log/messages
[sudo] password for liam:


nothing come up weird..
i got it to work breifly today i formated it to factory settings on a windows comuter worked for a minute then went again

liam@liam-Compaq-Presario-CQ60-Notebook-PC:~$ fdisk -l /dev/sdc
Cannot open /dev/sdc
liam@liam-Compaq-Presario-CQ60-Notebook-PC:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdc
[sudo] password for liam:

Disk /dev/sdc: 250.1 GB, 250059348992 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc0e0c0e1

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 1 30401 244196001 0 Empty
liam@liam-Compaq-Presario-CQ60-Notebook-PC:~$

can i just add you people in the linux forum are so great thanks for helping me and for your effort allot nicer than the people in the other linux forum