usb removable drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dale
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Dale

Hi,
I have a dell dimension 2400 running XP Home Ed. and I have a 2.5"
30GB drive which is install in an external USB storage system kit.
When I attach to the USB port windows recognizes the drive but it will
not initialize or format. I've tried to run fdisk but after I reboot
as directed there are still no partitions on the drive. I've even
tried to initialize under Computer Management but it still will not
format.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dale
 
Dale said:
Hi,
I have a dell dimension 2400 running XP Home Ed. and I have a 2.5"
30GB drive which is install in an external USB storage system kit.
When I attach to the USB port windows recognizes the drive but it will
not initialize or format. I've tried to run fdisk but after I reboot
as directed there are still no partitions on the drive. I've even
tried to initialize under Computer Management but it still will not
format.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dale
Click to expand...

Dale:
To the best of my knowledge you cannot partition and format a USB external
hard drive using FDISK and associated Format commands. FDISK will not
recognize the USB external hard drive in order to partition the drive. I
must add that I've heard reports from some users that they were indeed
successful in using FDISK where a USB EHD was involved, but I've never been
able to verify this. At least I've never been successful in using the
FDISK/format commands from a Win9x/Me startup disk to partition and format a
USB EHD.

Since your USB EHD is unpartitioned, you will have to use XP's Disk
Management utility in Computer Management (Start | right-click My Computer |
Manage | Disk Management).

1. With the USB EHD connected and powered-up (if applicable), you should get
the "Found New Hardware" balloon message from XP. Disk Management will show
that drive as "Not Initialized" and "Unallocated".

2. Right-click on the "Not Initialized" area and select "Initialize Disk".
After doing so, the drive will be shown as "Online" instead of "Not
Initialized", but of course it's still "Unallocated".

3. Right-click on that "Unallocated" area and select "New Partition".Work
through the "New Partition Wizard" screens to create your partition(s) and
drive letter(s) and then format the partition(s). Since your hard drive is
only 30 GB, you will be given the option of formatting it in FAT32 in lieu
of NTFS should that be your preference.

I recognize that you've stated you have been unable to initialize and format
the drive using the Disk Management utility. But it is not clear to me why
this process failed in your case. If, after performing the above steps,
you're still not able to partition and format your USB EHD, please indicate
in detail whatever error messages you received or any other information that
you think may be helpful in diagnosing your problem.

I just noted that you're using a 2 1/2" HD in your USB external enclosure.
It occurred to me that I've run into a few recognition-type problems with
this type of drive when used as a USB external device, especially when there
was no auxiliary power going to the 2 1/2" drive (it relying on the
computer's power) as is usually the case with these drives when used in a
USB external enclosure specifically designed for 2 1/2" drives.

Another point - make sure you're connecting the device directly to a USB
port on your computer rather than through a USB hub. It's another area where
I've run into problems involving the system not recognizing the device. I
take it from your query that you are connecting directly to your computer's
USB port, but I thought I'd mention this for the benefit of others who might
be having a more-or-less similar problem.

Art
 
Dale:
To the best of my knowledge you cannot partition and format a USB external
hard drive using FDISK and associated Format commands. FDISK will not
recognize the USB external hard drive in order to partition the drive. I
must add that I've heard reports from some users that they were indeed
successful in using FDISK where a USB EHD was involved, but I've never been
able to verify this. At least I've never been successful in using the
FDISK/format commands from a Win9x/Me startup disk to partition and format a
USB EHD.

Since your USB EHD is unpartitioned, you will have to use XP's Disk
Management utility in Computer Management (Start | right-click My Computer |
Manage | Disk Management).

1. With the USB EHD connected and powered-up (if applicable), you should get
the "Found New Hardware" balloon message from XP. Disk Management will show
that drive as "Not Initialized" and "Unallocated".

2. Right-click on the "Not Initialized" area and select "Initialize Disk".
After doing so, the drive will be shown as "Online" instead of "Not
Initialized", but of course it's still "Unallocated".

3. Right-click on that "Unallocated" area and select "New Partition".Work
through the "New Partition Wizard" screens to create your partition(s) and
drive letter(s) and then format the partition(s). Since your hard drive is
only 30 GB, you will be given the option of formatting it in FAT32 in lieu
of NTFS should that be your preference.

I recognize that you've stated you have been unable to initialize and format
the drive using the Disk Management utility. But it is not clear to me why
this process failed in your case. If, after performing the above steps,
you're still not able to partition and format your USB EHD, please indicate
in detail whatever error messages you received or any other information that
you think may be helpful in diagnosing your problem.

I just noted that you're using a 2 1/2" HD in your USB external enclosure.
It occurred to me that I've run into a few recognition-type problems with
this type of drive when used as a USB external device, especially when there
was no auxiliary power going to the 2 1/2" drive (it relying on the
computer's power) as is usually the case with these drives when used in a
USB external enclosure specifically designed for 2 1/2" drives.

Another point - make sure you're connecting the device directly to a USB
port on your computer rather than through a USB hub. It's another area where
I've run into problems involving the system not recognizing the device. I
take it from your query that you are connecting directly to your computer's
USB port, but I thought I'd mention this for the benefit of others who might
be having a more-or-less similar problem.

Art
Click to expand...
Art:
I appreciate your reply. I have tried to initalize from the Disk
Management utility. The drive doesn't list in the top right window but
exists in the bottom right window as Disk 1 with a red circle w/minus,
unknown type, 27.94GB, not initialized.
When I right click on this drive I get an hourglass for a few seconds,
otherwise no change. The first time I right clicked on the drive I got
an error message directing me to the system viewer which indicated

Event Type: Error
Event Source: LDM
Event Category: None
Event ID: 2
Date: 10/20/2004
Time: 1:58:50 PM
User: N/A
Computer: DJFQZW41
Description:
Unspecified error (80004005).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

The link above is no help.

Also everything in Device Manager says "This device is working
properly"

Thanks
Dale
 
Dale said:
Art:
I appreciate your reply. I have tried to initalize from the Disk
Management utility. The drive doesn't list in the top right window but
exists in the bottom right window as Disk 1 with a red circle w/minus,
unknown type, 27.94GB, not initialized.
When I right click on this drive I get an hourglass for a few seconds,
otherwise no change. The first time I right clicked on the drive I got
an error message directing me to the system viewer which indicated

Event Type: Error
Event Source: LDM
Event Category: None
Event ID: 2
Date: 10/20/2004
Time: 1:58:50 PM
User: N/A
Computer: DJFQZW41
Description:
Unspecified error (80004005).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

The link above is no help.

Also everything in Device Manager says "This device is working
properly"

Thanks
Dale
Click to expand...

Dale:
I honestly don't know at this point. The only times I've run into problems
involving the inability to partition & format a hard drive using XP's Disk
Management Utility is where the hard drive was defective or, in the case of
a USB external HD, the enclosure was defective. (Actually in the latter
case, it was a defective USB cable that came with the enclosure).

Can you remove the HD and temporarily connect it in your computer? I note
that it's a 2 1/2" HD so you'll need an adapter to facilitate this
connection if the install is in a desktop computer that uses 3 1/2" drives.
Since you have a 2 1/2" drive, perhaps you have a laptop/notebook that you
can use to temporarily install the drive. In any event, if you can hook it
up directly to a computer, you can try to partition & format it using the
fdisk & format commands on the floppy boot disk you apparently have. If you
are unable to do so, that would be an indication of a defective hard drive.

Have you been in touch with Dell's tech support re your problem? I haven't
used them myself but I hear from others they're generally responsive.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out. I've made a note of your
email address so if I come up with any other ideas, I'll be sure to let you
know.

Art
 
I have no problems accessing and formatting my external usb HDD using fdisk.
Starting at the beginning is the OP's drive being recognized by the bios at
boot up? If it isn't that obviously is the starting point.

Other than that he could try 'gdisk' that has greater 'capabilities' than
fdisk but if the drive is not being identified in DOS there seems little
chance it will be accessible in WINXP.
 
Dale said:
Hi,
I have a dell dimension 2400 running XP Home Ed. and I have a 2.5"
30GB drive which is install in an external USB storage system kit.
When I attach to the USB port windows recognizes the drive but it will
not initialize or format. I've tried to run fdisk but after I reboot
as directed there are still no partitions on the drive. I've even
tried to initialize under Computer Management but it still will not
format.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dale
Click to expand...

Have you tried formatting it without the external enclosure? Say, put
it in the notebook and format it, only then you install it into the
external enclosure.

http://www.removable-storage-guide.com

Hope this solves your problem.
 
Thanks to all who gave comments and suggestions. As it turned out my
drive enclosure kit was bad as Art had hinted to. Once again Thanks,
Dale
 
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