Windows Explorer Not seeing external drive

[D.H. Cesare]

I'm using the same version of XP Pro SP2 on both machines, "A" & "B".
"A" is 2.8GHz with 1024MB RAM and "B" is 500mHz with 640MB RAM.
Both have large HDDs and storage drives.
When I plug my 120G Western Digital HDD into the "B" machine's USB 2.0 port
it works just fine; no problem transferring files, etc.
When I plug the external drive into my "A" machine I get the connect
confirmation, but when I open Windows Explorer the drive's not there.
Device Manager shows the device to be there and working properly. I've
uninstalled and reinstalled the driver.
I've run the Add Hardware Wizard and it shows the drive to be there and
working properly.
Why can't I access the WD drive in My Computer or in Windows Explorer on the
"A" machine?

 

[Paul Mckenna]

You probably need to assign it a drive letter, if you Right click 'My
Computer' then go to manage and select 'disk management' you should see it,
right click the partition to either assign it a drive letter or to change
the letter if it's already in use on your A pc.

Let me know if you need a more detailed instructions.

Paul

 

[Anna]

You probably need to assign it a drive letter, if you Right click 'My
Computer' then go to manage and select 'disk management' you should see
it, right click the partition to either assign it a drive letter or to
change the letter if it's already in use on your A pc.

Let me know if you need a more detailed instructions.

Paul

D.H.
Hopefully, as Paul points out, it may be just a matter of assigning your USB
device a drive letter using the Disk Management utility. Hopefully.

If you peruse this and related newsgroups for a while you'll come across
numerous postings similar to yours. This non-recognition of USB devices
(particularly external hard drives & flash drives) has reached epidemic
proportions in the XP environment.

We've become increasingly convinced that the relatively large number of
problems in this area involving the non-recognition of USB devices 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 and other
USB-related components. Then too, we've become increasingly suspicious of
the XP OS as it relates to its recognition of and interaction with these USB
2.0 devices.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's a listing of some "troubleshooting tips"
we've prepared that hopefully will be of some value to you if the Disk
Management drive letter assignment isn't the problem...

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
4. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary power
supply) to a USB port both before and after the boot operation.
5. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device
Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action menu item
and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do the same in Disk
Management > Action > Rescan disks.
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 not a commercial USB external HDD but rather
one in which you installed a HDD in a USB enclosure, jumper the HDD as
Master (or Single if the HDD 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
HDD was jumpered. But it may be worth a try.
10. If the device in question is a USB external HDD, first check out the HDD
with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it checks out OK,
and you can remove the HDD from its enclosure (without voiding any
applicable warranty), do so and install the HDD as an internal HDD 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.

You might also want to take a look at
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
Anna

 

[D.H. Cesare]

The drive does not show in Disk Management. "C" is Disk 0, "F" is Disk 1,
"D" is
CD-ROM 0, CD-ROM 1 is the DVD burner, and that's all that shows. I ran
"rescan disks" with negative results. What's next?
Thanx

You probably need to assign it a drive letter, if you Right click 'My
Computer' then go to manage and select 'disk management' you should see
it, right click the partition to either assign it a drive letter or to
change the letter if it's already in use on your A pc.

Let me know if you need a more detailed instructions.

Paul

 

[D.H. Cesare]

There are no "jumpers" to set on this WD USB external drive. I've tried
most of the rest of this stuff with negative results. The XP operating
system is identical on both machines, same updates and everything. If you
have any other ideas, they're appreciated.
Thanx

 

[Paul Mckenna]

OK, as you have two PC one it works on and one it doesn't. I'd go to device
manager on the PC it's working on and click 'view devices by connection'
(while it's plugged in) and expand Pci bus then you should see some USB
ports if you expand each one till you find the hard disk then do the same
thing on the non working PC and see if everything is the same.. i.e. it's
using the same driver + same name + driver version + description etc.

..

 

[Anna]

There are no "jumpers" to set on this WD USB external drive. I've tried
most of the rest of this stuff with negative results. The XP operating
system is identical on both machines, same updates and everything. If you
have any other ideas, they're appreciated.
Thanx

I assumed from the way you described your USB external HDD that you were
using a 120 GB Western Digital HDD that you installed in a USB enclosure. If
that *is* the case (and you're *not* working with a commercial one-piece
USBEHD unit), then the HDD is accessible, is it not? If so, check the jumper
configuration and try it two ways - as Master and as Single. As I indicated
in the listing of "tips" I provided above, a number of users have reported
that by so doing their USB non-recognition problem was resolved.

Also, when you say you tried "most of the rest of this stuff" were you able
to install the HDD as an internal HDD in your machine? No problems that way?
Anna

 

[D.H. Cesare]

I assumed from the way you described your USB external HDD that you were
using a 120 GB Western Digital HDD that you installed in a USB enclosure.
If that *is* the case (and you're *not* working with a commercial
one-piece USBEHD unit), then the HDD is accessible, is it not? If so,
check the jumper configuration and try it two ways - as Master and as
Single. As I indicated in the listing of "tips" I provided above, a number
of users have reported that by so doing their USB non-recognition problem
was resolved.

Also, when you say you tried "most of the rest of this stuff" were you
able to install the HDD as an internal HDD in your machine? No problems
that way?
Anna

There are no jumpers on the external drive and no way to install it as an
internal HDD, that I know of. I have no idea what a USBEHD is. This is
just a drive in it's own little case that hooks to the computer by USB 2.0
connection and has a power light and a "working" light on the front.

I just plugged it back into the "B" machine and it doesn't show there
anymore, either, and it's always worked on the "B" machine. Now I really
don't know what problems I have. I appreciate your assistance but this is
going to have to wait until I get it working on the "B" machine again so I
at least know the drive is good.

 

[D.H. Cesare]

I plugged it back in the "B" machine and now it doesn't work there, either,
and it's always worked on the that machine. So I plugged it back into the
"A" machine and got an error bubble saying the device was not working
properly. When I clicked on the bubble it opened a small window showing all
the USB ports/hubs and it showed an "unknown device" NOT working properly.
So for the time being I need to somehow try and determine if the drive is
working properly. Probably need to take it to a friends house and plug it
in to see if it works there.
Thanks for your assistance.