I'm trying to hook up a hard drive to back up my files. The driver installs
ok and when 'new hardware' comes up it goes through the install successfully.
Problem is when I double-click on My Computer the external drive doesn't show
up under Removable Drives. I've installed and re-installed the software
drivers and gone through the 'new hardware' install several times and still
no success. The hard drive hooks up into a USB port, which works fine with
other 'flashdrive', my iPod, etc. but for some reason it doesn't list the
hard drive or assign it a letter (should be E). I've gone through all the
trouble shooting and it shows the drivers and the hard drive under 'devices'
as 'working properly', so I know it's there, I just can't see it in My
Computer as one of the drives to select or open. Any idea what's going on or
how to fix it? Appreciate any help I can get on this.

Had the HD got external Power Supply? if not try changing the USB port since
it may be that the port you are using have not got the power to power it, A
port from the back near the keyboard socket is best bet. Are you running
Windows XP?

S.

"Frazzled" <Frazzled@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EAB7A401-C6E7-4775-922E-925BE6E48E72@microsoft.com...
> I'm trying to hook up a hard drive to back up my files. The driver
> installs
> ok and when 'new hardware' comes up it goes through the install
> successfully.
> Problem is when I double-click on My Computer the external drive doesn't
> show
> up under Removable Drives. I've installed and re-installed the software
> drivers and gone through the 'new hardware' install several times and
> still
> no success. The hard drive hooks up into a USB port, which works fine with
> other 'flashdrive', my iPod, etc. but for some reason it doesn't list the
> hard drive or assign it a letter (should be E). I've gone through all the
> trouble shooting and it shows the drivers and the hard drive under
> 'devices'
> as 'working properly', so I know it's there, I just can't see it in My
> Computer as one of the drives to select or open. Any idea what's going on
> or
> how to fix it? Appreciate any help I can get on this.

Frazzled:
It might be helpful if you would provide a bit more information...

1. Is this your hard drive that you're installing in a USB enclosure or is
this a commercial one-piece USB external hard drive?

2. If you installed the HD in a USB enclosure, has it been partitioned &
formatted?

3. Assuming the drive has been P&F, have you tried various USB ports on your
computer, all with the same results? And you're not plugging it into a USB
hub, right?

4. Why has it been necessary, or why do you think it's necessary to install
"software drivers"? Assuming you're running XP w/SP2 (and you *are* running
that OS, right?), there's *no* need for any "software drivers". Similarly
there's *no* need to use Device Manager and have "gone through the 'new
hardware' install".

5. If you've installed the HD, remove it from the enclosure and install it
as an internal HD in your system. See if it functions properly in that
environment. If there appears to be a problem with the HD itself, download
the diagnostic utility from the drive's manufacturer and test it out.

6. Have you tried another USB data cable just in case the one you're using
is defective?

7. Have you tried connecting the device to another computer?

8. If a commercial unit, have you been in touch with the manufacturer?
Anna