External hard drive recommendation

[Dr. Indera]

hello,

i have a western digital 80 gb external hard drive. for whatever reason it
is not recognized with a drive letter 9 out of 10 times. needless to say,
it's going back.
i was wondering what external hard drive has a better track record for being
recognized by windows xp pro and getting a drive letter.
thank you
indera

 

[Darrell]

Is it a USB 2.0 external hard drive? I have a 40GB ACOM external USB 2.0
hard drive. I've had it for over 2 years. Works fine. I have it powered
from a separate surge protector. I plug all my external devices to that
surge protector and only turn the power on when I want to scan, print, or
use my external ZIP or hard drive. The ACOM hard drive also has its own
power switch so I can power up the surge protector and only my scanner and
ZIP drive are powered. I can then use the individual power switches on my
external hard drive and my printer if I wish to use them. I like it that
way because it helps protect my USB hard drive from viruses. I usually
only power it up when I wish to overwrite the DriveImage 7.0 image of my C:\
drive. That way I can be more assured that my backup image is not
contaminated. It also saves on my electric bill as I have my computer on
quite a bit.

 

[Gene K]

hello,

i have a western digital 80 gb external hard drive. for whatever
reason it is not recognized with a drive letter 9 out of 10 times.
needless to say, it's going back.
i was wondering what external hard drive has a better track record
for being recognized by windows xp pro and getting a drive letter.
thank you
indera

You have an external hooked up either via USB or Firewire [AKA ieee1394 and
i-link]. In either case, the external is only recognized by Windows WHEN it
is switched on (has power). In other words, it won't show in "My Computer"
any time you have it switched off. Both USB and Firewire are essentially
live connections. Check what I say by turning Windows off, then turning on
the power switch of the external drive, then restart and click "My Computer"
and if everything is proper you will see the external with a Drive Letter
assigned.
Check and let us know what you found.

 

[Dr. Indera]

hi darrell.

yes, the wd 80 gb is a usb 2.0 external drive.
this drive is on it's own surge protector also.

i like the idea of having a power button on the external drive. i did some
research and found that one of the maxtor drives has this feature.

i haven't heard of the acom brand. i will look into it.

thank you.
indera

--
* * * * * * * * * *
Don't just live life.
Live life well.


: Is it a USB 2.0 external hard drive? I have a 40GB ACOM external USB 2.0
: hard drive. I've had it for over 2 years. Works fine. I have it powered
: from a separate surge protector. I plug all my external devices to that
: surge protector and only turn the power on when I want to scan, print, or
: use my external ZIP or hard drive. The ACOM hard drive also has its own
: power switch so I can power up the surge protector and only my scanner and
: ZIP drive are powered. I can then use the individual power switches on
my
: external hard drive and my printer if I wish to use them. I like it that
: way because it helps protect my USB hard drive from viruses. I usually
: only power it up when I wish to overwrite the DriveImage 7.0 image of my
C:\
: drive. That way I can be more assured that my backup image is not
: contaminated. It also saves on my electric bill as I have my computer on
: quite a bit.
:
: --
:
: B-58 Hustler History: http://members.cox.net/dschmidt1/
: -
:
: : > hello,
: >
: > i have a western digital 80 gb external hard drive. for whatever reason
it
: > is not recognized with a drive letter 9 out of 10 times. needless to
say,
: > it's going back.
: > i was wondering what external hard drive has a better track record for
: being
: > recognized by windows xp pro and getting a drive letter.
: > thank you
: > indera
: > --
: > * * * * * * * * * *
: > Don't just live life.
: > Live life well.
: >
: >
: >
:
:

 

[Dr. Indera]

hi gene,

yes, the external drive is usb. the external drive does not have an on/off
button.

i did what you suggested. i turned off my laptop. plugged in the external
drive, turned the laptop back on.
the external drive, did not have a drive letter.

i truly believe that there is some setting in windows that gets switched on
and off behind the scenes that is causing this. this drive only worked the
first time i tried to use it. since then, it has not worked.

do you think if i could find an external drive that came with software
drivers, like the good old days, that this would not be a problem?
this usb plug and play seems to be more of a "miss" than a hit.

thanks
indera
--
* * * * * * * * * *
Don't just live life.
Live life well.


: Dr. Indera wrote:
: > hello,
: >
: > i have a western digital 80 gb external hard drive. for whatever
: > reason it is not recognized with a drive letter 9 out of 10 times.
: > needless to say, it's going back.
: > i was wondering what external hard drive has a better track record
: > for being recognized by windows xp pro and getting a drive letter.
: > thank you
: > indera
:
: You have an external hooked up either via USB or Firewire [AKA ieee1394
and
: i-link]. In either case, the external is only recognized by Windows WHEN
it
: is switched on (has power). In other words, it won't show in "My Computer"
: any time you have it switched off. Both USB and Firewire are essentially
: live connections. Check what I say by turning Windows off, then turning on
: the power switch of the external drive, then restart and click "My
Computer"
: and if everything is proper you will see the external with a Drive Letter
: assigned.
: Check and let us know what you found.
: --
: Gene K
:
:

 

[CS]

yes, the external drive is usb. the external drive does not have an on/off
button.

i did what you suggested. i turned off my laptop. plugged in the external
drive, turned the laptop back on.
the external drive, did not have a drive letter.

i truly believe that there is some setting in windows that gets switched on
and off behind the scenes that is causing this. this drive only worked the
first time i tried to use it. since then, it has not worked.

do you think if i could find an external drive that came with software
drivers, like the good old days, that this would not be a problem?
this usb plug and play seems to be more of a "miss" than a hit.

I can only surmise from your recent posts regarding the WD external
USB 2.0 drive, that in all likelihood the drive or interface is
defective. Send it back for a refund or exchange.

As for other drives - I'm currently using a Maxtor 40gb which works
perfectly either on my desktop or laptop. As soon as I plug it in,
it's assigned a drive letter. No software needed. And, it does have
an on\off switch.

 

[Dr. Indera]

hi cs,

i honestly don't know what's wrong with it, but i am calling western digital
in the morning.
i am also going to purchase a maxtor. i like the fact that they have an
on/off button. that way i can leave it plugged in.

indera
--
* * * * * * * * * *
Don't just live life.
Live life well.


: On Mon, 5 Jul 2004 17:21:14 -0400, "Dr. Indera"
:
: >yes, the external drive is usb. the external drive does not have an
on/off
: >button.
: >
: >i did what you suggested. i turned off my laptop. plugged in the external
: >drive, turned the laptop back on.
: >the external drive, did not have a drive letter.
: >
: >i truly believe that there is some setting in windows that gets switched
on
: >and off behind the scenes that is causing this. this drive only worked
the
: >first time i tried to use it. since then, it has not worked.
: >
: >do you think if i could find an external drive that came with software
: >drivers, like the good old days, that this would not be a problem?
: >this usb plug and play seems to be more of a "miss" than a hit.
:
: I can only surmise from your recent posts regarding the WD external
: USB 2.0 drive, that in all likelihood the drive or interface is
: defective. Send it back for a refund or exchange.
:
: As for other drives - I'm currently using a Maxtor 40gb which works
: perfectly either on my desktop or laptop. As soon as I plug it in,
: it's assigned a drive letter. No software needed. And, it does have
: an on\off switch.