Thinkpad T420 does not recognize external drive

rvcjew said:

This is indeed odd can you try plugging the hdd in while in safe mode on Windows?

It's odd ... and time consuming ! I tried plugging in the hdd in safe mode, nothing changed.
I reckon it must be a BIOS settings somewhere but can't figure out what. I have been told that he could that the Security Chip in the EEPROM detected something weird on the drive, that is why I tried disabling it as explained before but it didn't change anything.
Also somebody was saying that he could be a voltage issue but without giving me any clue on how to check that out and fix it.

Corobori said:

~snip~

So the drive doesn't appear anywhere in the Disk Management? Not even as Uninitialized Drive?
If the drive doesn't show up there nor in the list of devices in the WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic but still work fine on other computers the problem is most probably coming from the system itself.

Do you have other storage devices attached to your system? There may be a signature collision which prevents your drive to work properly.

You may also try removing and reinstalling the motherboard drivers. You can get them from the manufacturer's website.

As a last resort you may try to reinstall the whole OS.

Captain_WD.

rvcjew said:

Did you add later the bios settings (I did not see them before sorry) for sure try it once always charge usb is off. I have had issues with that in the past on a y50p. Though the only port that should stay powered like that should be the yellow one of the usbs (not the power port which is also yellow probably).

Not sure what you mean by that.

CaptainWD said:

So the drive doesn't appear anywhere in the Disk Management? Not even as Uninitialized Drive?

Exactly, nothing, zilch.

CaptainWD said:

Do you have other storage devices attached to your system? There may be a signature collision which prevents your drive to work properly.

Sometimes I am using a Broadband modem thru a USB port, it appears under "Unspecified" in Devices and Printers as Huawei Mobile

CaptainWD said:

You may also try removing and reinstalling the motherboard drivers. You can get them from the manufacturer's website.

I'll see about this.

CaptainWD said:

As a last resort you may try to reinstall the whole OS.

Dam... this is really something I wish to avoid.

Tomorrow I'll go to town (I am living in the countryside) and visit a friend who has got an external drive, I'll try to plug it in to see how it goes.
I'll keep you posted.

Anyways I appreciate the time you guys spent trying to help me on this issue.

[QUOTE=Corobori;3263808]

rvcjew said:

~snip~

OK, one more thing, is the WD Elements formatted as a GPT or a MBR drive? If you can, back the data up on another drive and wipe this drive clean on the other computer with the WD DLG tool (fill it with zeros) and then plug it in the other laptop and see if that makes any difference.

Captain_WD.

Guys, I have solved this issue. On my trip to town I visited a place where they are fixing up notebooks. The guy in charge told me to purchase a dual USB cable, it wasn't easy to find one but I just got it and the external drive is now coming up nice and easy

Corobori said:

~snip~

Hey, glad to see you've resolved it. The single USB must not provide enough power to fully enable the drive to work so the dual-cable should serve you well. :)

Post back if you encounter other issues.

Captain_WD.