Toshiba 320 GB external hard drive is not recognized

[Guest]

My new Toshiba 320 GB external hard drive is not recognized by one of my PC's
(with Windows XP and SP2). My other PC's do recognize the drive right away.
What could be wrong with that one PC? What should I look for and how can I
correct things?
Thanks for your help!

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Is the USB port in the PC which won't recognize the drive working with other
devices?

 

[Guest]

Yes, it works with other devices. And the Toshiba ext. 3.5" HD does not work
on non-USB2 ports either. It is always recognized by Windows, but as an
unknown device. Windows asks for a driver but this appears not available, so
in device management it appears as such with a yellow question mark. Toshiba
says that the driver should always be in WindowsXP, but apparently it is not
available on this PC, although WindowsXP is always kept up to date on it. Can
I maybe repair the OS by downloading the missing driver from somewhere? Or
should I reinstall a recent WindowsXP version over the existing one. The shop
where I bought the HD and which also built the PC 5½ years ago is
recommending this. They are willing to do it for me, since the recovery CD
that I got with the PC when I bought it is no longer working properly. But
can I then be sure that all my programs and settings are kept? Reinstalling
them would cost me several days.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

With XP you can do what is called a Repair Installation which keeps the
other programs, files and data intact.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

There are methods to create a CD of XP which includes the most recent SP2,
so that after the Repair, you do not have to reinstall the Service Packs,
you do however have to install all the critical updates that were released
after SP2 came out.

If you still have your original CD, the details instructions are at:
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=49

SP2 (in it's entireity) can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

If you have downloaded and installed IE7, make sure you UNINSTALL it before
attempting to Repair Install.

 

[chacha villanueva]

i have my toshiba external memory which my dad bought abroad but when i plugged it in my USB port it says that it is unrecognizable.. i dont know what is the problem with it.. my port is 2.O port. what should i do?

 

[Pavel A.]

in message

i have my toshiba external memory which my dad bought abroad but when i
plugged it in my USB port it says that it is unrecognizable.. i dont know
what is the problem with it.. my port is 2.O port. what should i do?

Ask your dad.
Try another computer.
Read the user's guide of this thing.

--PA

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Do you mean you have an external hard drive (manufactured by Toshiba) which
is 80gb in size?

Have you tried another USB port?
Is this USB port on the back of the PC, the front of the PC or a hub?
If it's a hub, is the hub powered or unpowered?
Are you using the A/C power unit of the external hard drive?


--
Cari (MS-MVP) Printing & Imaging
www.coribright.com/windows

in message
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[ingeborg oppenheimer]

Toshiba 320 GB external hard drive is not recognized - Cari \(MS-MVP\)
15-Jun-07 12:27:23

Is the USB port in the PC which won't recognize the drive working with other
devices?
--
Cari (MS-MVP)
Windows Technologies - Printing & Imaging
http://www.coribright.com/windows

================
i am not the party who raised the original question but am going through the same issue with a friend's xp computer. here's what i found as i tried one thing after another:

1. my friend's little flash drive and my usb port do fine when plugged into his computer.

2. but the toshiba and two passport external hard drives [80 gb and 100 gb] are NOT recognized. all of these external hard drives work on my own xp and vista computers, but not on my friend's xp computer.

that seems to narrow the problem down to an issue for some computers with external hard drives.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

It could also point to a PSU insufficiency in your friend's XP PC. Are the
external drives running on A/C?