Solved External Hard Drive not Detected

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paddi23

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I have a small 50gb HHD powered from USB

It will connect to my laptop running windows 7 home premium but not my pc running windows 7 professional

When plugged into my pc by usb the Disk does not power up and spin (the light does come on)

There is no recognition of it in my computer, device manager or disk management

Ive tried

Reinstalling USB ports & Drivers
Updating BIOS
Reinstalling USBSTOR.INF file
Formatting drive on laptop then connecting
Trying different USB cable
Cleaning up all ghost USB device drivers
Connecting before PC startup and while running

Anybody got any ideas of how to fix this?

With it connecting to my laptop im thinking its a driver or windows 7 professional problem but not sure
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
paddi23 said:
Ive tried

Reinstalling USB ports & Drivers
Updating BIOS
Reinstalling USBSTOR.INF file
Formatting drive on laptop then connecting
Trying different USB cable
Cleaning up all ghost USB device drivers
Connecting before PC startup and while running
Click to expand...

Hi,

You didn't specifically mention it, but can we assume you also tried a different USB port on the PC running Professional? Are you sure its the USB2 and not USB3 port?

Do both the laptop and PC run 32 bit or 64 bit?

Do you know the make and model of the external HDD?

Regards,
Golden
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Ive tried all 6 usb ports

they both run on x64

The hdd is from an old laptop in an enclosure

It says seagate momentus 5400.2

Googled it and it says it does not need any drivers so must be a windows problem
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
Hi,

I think its more likely hardware related (the difference between the laptop and desktop). Can you plug it in, then reboot your PC, enter the BIOS and see if the disk is listed as available to boot from? It might show up as an external USB device.

Regards,
Golden
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
The drive does not show up in BIOS

I have 3 internal drives installed maybe this could be the problem?

2 SATA & 1 IDE
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
Mmm. Lets check something else, plug in a different USB drive/flash drive into the same port. Enter the BIOS again, and see if that device is shown as available to boot from.

Regards,
Golden
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Sandisk USB flash drive shows on BIOS
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
Now im thinking it might be a power problem as the HDD doesn't seem to start at all and maybe thats why the PC doesn't recognise it.

There is no power problem with the laptop recognising it

I turned off power management in the USB root with no luck, also connected the HDD with a Y cable GGGGRRRRRR

Running out of ideas here
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
try connecting it through a USB hub
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
custom built
OS
Win 7 Pro 64-bit 7601
CPU
AMD Phenom 9650 QuadCore, revision DR-B3
Motherboard
ASUS M4A78
Memory
5 GB yes I run 2x 2GB and 1x 1GB, different brand, spank me.
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512 Mb, unknown manufacturer.
Sound Card
Crappy Realtek Integrated Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Fujitsu Siemens P19-3P
Screen Resolution
1280 x 1024 x 32 bits @ 60 Hz Oh yeah, 4:3 rocks!
Hard Drives
(1) MAXTOR S TM3320613AS SATA Disk Device (2) STM35004 18AS SATA Disk Device (3) TOSHIBA USB 2.5"-HDD
PSU
whatever, around 450w
Case
Scavenged from old company PC, 10+ years old
Cooling
CPU fan, GPU fan, case fan, nothing fancy
Keyboard
Microsoft, PS/2, white.
Mouse
Optical, logitec.
Internet Speed
effective max speeds: 70-ish kB/s down 30-ish kB/s up
Antivirus
Avira, free edition.
Browser
Firefox with FXChrome to make it look like Google Chrome :P
Other Info
Was discarded by previous owner due to "horrible performance".
Was running Win Xp from a IDE drive. Yeah. Was a pain.
SATA II drive and Win7 and it zips away! Yay!
paddi23 said:
Ive tried all 6 usb ports

they both run on x64

The hdd is from an old laptop in an enclosure

It says seagate momentus 5400.2

Googled it and it says it does not need any drivers so must be a windows problem
Click to expand...

I would suspect the "enclosure". If you don't mind tinkering you can remove the drive from the enclosure and either put it in an external dock or remove the side panel on the computer and hook it direct. This would help determine what was actually at fault
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
BGC (Bob's Garage Crew)
OS
win 7 X64 Ultimate SP1
CPU
I3770K
Motherboard
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
Memory
G Skill F3-14900CL9-4GBXL x 4
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX670 + Intel 4000
Sound Card
Realtek HD 5.1 (MOB)
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus VW224T (1)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
SATA Corsair Force GT 2.5" 180GB (System) Sata 3
OCZ Vertex3 120GB
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB 2.5" SATA II
ST31000524AS 1000.2GB
WD15EARS (External)
PSU
CoolerMaster 1000 Watt
Case
CoolerMaster HAF X
Cooling
CPU -- CoolerMaster 520N
Keyboard
MS Wireless 3000 V2
Mouse
MS Wireless 3000 V2
Internet Speed
Cable
Antivirus
Norton Internet Security
Browser
IE9
Other Info
AMI Bios 1805
OC'd 3%
It cant be the enclosure if it connects & is seen on my laptop

But as i have another enclosure, i will swap to see what happens.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
As i thought all along it was a power problem.

I needed to use the Y cable for power but it needed to be connected to the mother board USB ports

Once i connected 2 of the Y usb connectors into the back of PC and one into the HDD it installed the driver and now works

Thanks to anybody who tried to help me
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 x64
Disk

How is the disk partitioned/formatted? Does it need chkdsk run on it? Are the two operating systems the same?

Too late you already solved. Good!
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
BGC (Bob's Garage Crew)
OS
win 7 X64 Ultimate SP1
CPU
I3770K
Motherboard
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
Memory
G Skill F3-14900CL9-4GBXL x 4
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX670 + Intel 4000
Sound Card
Realtek HD 5.1 (MOB)
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus VW224T (1)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
SATA Corsair Force GT 2.5" 180GB (System) Sata 3
OCZ Vertex3 120GB
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB 2.5" SATA II
ST31000524AS 1000.2GB
WD15EARS (External)
PSU
CoolerMaster 1000 Watt
Case
CoolerMaster HAF X
Cooling
CPU -- CoolerMaster 520N
Keyboard
MS Wireless 3000 V2
Mouse
MS Wireless 3000 V2
Internet Speed
Cable
Antivirus
Norton Internet Security
Browser
IE9
Other Info
AMI Bios 1805
OC'd 3%
Great to hear you fixed it - good job :thumbsup:
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Thank you

paddi23 said:
As i thought all along it was a power problem.

I needed to use the Y cable for power but it needed to be connected to the mother board USB ports

Once i connected 2 of the Y usb connectors into the back of PC and one into the HDD it installed the driver and now works

Thanks to anybody who tried to help me
Click to expand...

It was power in my case too, I did as you say, so I do have to thank you.
For all the other cases where the drive appears in desktop but is not recognized, it is about drivers and that stuff, in our very particular case that it didn't even appear, it was not enough power
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus
OS
windows 7 home premium 64
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