External HD

[Bob]

It's been working fine on my Vista machine but suddenly it is no longer
recognized. After trying everything I could think of, I hooked it up to my
XP machine and it works without a problem. Anyone have an idea why this
happened?

 

[Richard Urban]

I have seen this problem with the so called "self-powered" drives that
derive their power through the USB ports.

In my case I added a new USB device that broke the camels back. By
disconnecting all USB devices, except for the Maxtor Mini III, I was able to
again see (and use) the external drive. My M/B did not feed enough current
to the USB ports when everything was connected and being used.

It could also be that something aged on the M/B that decreased the amount of
power that was supplied to the various ports. In any event, when I installed
a new M/B the problem disappeared! The drive is now usable in any port or
combination of ports.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

 

[Bob]

Update: I reconnected the drive to the VISTA machine and now it works. Go
figure.