SMulder said:
Was running an external western digital HD that is Plug & Play with
windows
XP when an error pops up saying files can't be written to drive. Rebooted
comp and now windows says it's an unknown device and there are no drivers
installed. Unpluged, un-installed, re-installed all to the same out come.
I've even re-installed windows from scratch, still no go. Web site says no
drivers needed because it's plug & play. Is there a way to re-install
window
drivers for it? Works just fine on another computer so i know it's not the
drive.
Any help please,
SMulder:
These USB non-recognition problems have been vexing all of us for some time
now. We've become more & more convinced that the relatively large number of
problems in this area involving USB device(s) that we've all been
experiencing is an indication that there is something seriously flawed with
respect to either the USB 2.0 specifications, possibly involving quality
control issues affecting the manufacturer of these USB devices as well as
supporting components such as motherboards as well as other USB-related
components. Then too we've become increasingly suspicious of the XP OS as it
relates to its recognition of these USB 2.0 devices.
We have encountered far too many unexplained problems affecting
detection/recognition of these devices and their erratic functioning not to
believe that something is seriously amiss in this area.
Be that as it may, here are some general troubleshooting tips, some of which
may apply to your specific problem. I realize you've probably tried many, if
not most, of the following, but for what it's worth here they are...
1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so, and
there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive letter to
the device.
2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned drive
letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the submenu.
Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will be listed.
3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer, not via
a USB hub. Try different USB ports should your computer have multiple ports.
4. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
5. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary power
supply) to a USB port both before and after the boot operation.
6. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains its own
power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try powering on only
*after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
7. Try a different USB cable.
8. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all the USB
controllers listed and reboot.
9. If the device in question is HD which you installed in a USB enclosure,
jumper the USB external HD as Master (or Single if the HD is a Western
Digital disk). A number of users have reported that jumper configuration
corrected their non-recognition problem. In my own experience it didn't seem
to matter how a USB external HD was jumpered. But it may be worth a try.
10. If the device in question is a USB external HD, first check out the HD
with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it checks out OK,
and you can remove the HD from its enclosure (without voiding any
applicable warranty), do so and install the HD as an internal HD to
determine if there are problems with the drive.
11. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try changing the
PCI slot to which it's currently connected to another one.
12. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to determine if
there's any firmware update or info re the problem you're experiencing or
there's any possibility that the USB enclosure itself might be defective.
13. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether there's a
BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.
And please let us know of your progress (or lack of!).
Anna
