External drive problem

[llebrez]

I hate to ask questions when often I give answers. But this one I have no clue as to why...: Got an external drive connected by USB2 Formated it with NTSF and made it to show in device manager and in disk manager. There it says that it is Healthy and on line. But it does not show in Windows (XP home). Then I plug the disk in a laptop, and it works!. So I get another external disk, put it into the desktop that does not show the first disk, and it works! So far I have run out of things to check. Have made all that is in the book, swaped disks, connected the drive directly to the SATA in the motherboard, and nothing! It does not show in Windows, but it does in other PC's, and other external devices are recognized by this PC! Is it possible that the impossible is happening? Any ideas?

 

[Larrymoecurly]

This may be a long shot, but some larger external USB devices have trouble communicating with front mounted USB ports. Try using a rear USB port.

 

[john259]

Possible cause: the range of possible drive letters has been restricted in Tweak UI's My Computer > Drives option.

Possible solution: run Powertoys Tweak UI. In its My Computer > Drives option, tick all the drive letters.

HTH, John

 

[llebrez]

Larry: I am aware of the "sometimesproblem" of the front and back USB ports. Yes, I tried both and is the same. John: I will try your suggestion, but I don't understand why, if I plug an existing external to the same connector, Windows recognizes it. If I plug the new one at the same place, it does not, however, both are seen in the disk manager as healthy and online! So, the new one works well in two other computers!, but not on this one! If and when I get a solution, I will let you guys know, for the sake of knowledge to humanity..

 

[Winterpaw]

if you can get into the windows disk manager you should be able to see the drive itself, whether or not it has a drive letter assigned, and determine if its usable by windows.

My Computer->right-click->Manage->Disk Management

It may be flagged as a hidden drive. (some disk utilities do this, like Partition Magic)

 

[storminn]

Sometimes the cable makes a difference. I have several USB HD (200Gb+) that work with some cables, but not with other cables. I don't know why because all the cables work with lower capacity USB Jump Drives and other USB devices. Even "cheap" USB cables sometimes work better than "expensive" cables.
Question for John Whelan: is there a "power" component to a USB cable that perhaps is not carrying the full power???

 

[john259]

Does Device Manager report it as working?

Update:

USBView might be useful. It's a Microsoft utility which reports information on USB devices connected to a computer. It's normally only distributed in an SDK but is available here.

USB cables do carry power as well as data. If the external drive hasn't got a mains adaptor that could be a factor, especially if you're using a USB unpowered hub to expand the number of ports. In that case, try connecting the drive directly to the computer with as many other USB devices as possible disconnected. A short cable might also help.

John

 

[llebrez]

Found the problem!! : No it is not a problem with cables. Remember that I connected it directly to SATA port in the mother board. The problem was that it did not have a letter asigned to it. The menu to do this is somewhat hidden or not so obvious, but is somewhere in the disk manager. Somehow the other computers in my house had the letter already assigned (by default?), but this one from a fresh Windows installation was not. Thank you all for the support: Everyday we learn something new, yes? Anyone wanting an exact way to do it, just ask.