External Hard Drive Not Detected

[lrt]

I have a western digital mybook (WD5000C032-002) that for some reason is not being detected by Windows 7 RC. It is a USB connection straight from the mybook to one of the motherboard's usb ports. All my device drivers are up-to-date. If I go into "Devices and Printers" and click on "Add a device"... I get a window that says "Searching for devices... Make sure your device is discoverable." It stayed on this screen for up to 1/2 hour and then I gave up and clicked Cancel. Doing this this shouldn't be necessary anyway, because as soon as I plug in the mybook it should be detected automatically, if I'm not mistaken. By the way, I can confirm that this mybook is detected by an XP machine.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!

 

[Digger]

wondering if you are connecting it via usb 2.0 port. Tho technically it SHOULD still find the drive, i have noticed win7 reporting fits here if anything like a hdd is not plugged into a 2.0 port here. Most of mine are 2.0, all but one set, and when the 2.0 gets filled up at times, this is my choice, and what i have seen.

Not much to really offer you here, i dont think THIS SHOULD be a problem, and it might not be. I just notice 7 complaining alot on 2.0 use or nonuse of actually.

Do any other usb devices work, like a printer or ipod etc?

 

[lrt]

should have done this before posting... it looks like the port i was connecting to has malfunctioned... i tried another port and now it works...

 

[Beelzebub]

Hi Guys

Have read through this post, I have similar problem though I'm more confused now.
I have 3 External HD and one Semi-External (backup unit HP). None of them works through USB ports (none of my 8 ports).
Not even the four Mem sticks I have tried works.

W7 says unknown devices.
1. I have tried all ports.
2. I have tried on Vista and XP on other machines (no problems).
3. I have had these units working on this hardware before (in vista).
4. I have the latest of everything as it seems.. (i think).
5. I have reinstalled with them plugged in and not like 4 times..
6. I have tried several updates and even tried with old USB drivers..
7. I found a writing on a 4 step check and did that to (power management, uninstall, checking power etc.. )
8. tried different cables
9. ...


What the H...

My keyboard works (W-less).. My Camera works.. ? on all ports..

Any one have similar problems ?
This is driving me crazy ..

Best Regards
Harry

 

[tockki]

You are not alone

Have the same problem with the computer not recognizing external hard drives. Everything else works... even flash drives and external hard drives with separate power source but for me external hard drives without external power source are not recognized. The disk spins and led light is on but the computer doesn't recognize it. The hard drives however works in XP! Tried the disk management thingamajig and device drivers but no go... Hope someone finds an answer soon...

 

[nate42nd]

Have the same problem with the computer not recognizing external hard drives. Everything else works... even flash drives and external hard drives with separate power source but for me external hard drives without external power source are not recognized. The disk spins and led light is on but the computer doesn't recognize it. The hard drives however works in XP! Tried the disk management thingamajig and device drivers but no go... Hope someone finds an answer soon...

I would get a USB cable that lets you plug into 2 USB ports on your computer and the other end into your external drive. Sounds like it's not getting enough power. You can get those pretty cheap.

 

[ebert]

Fixed Mine

I had this same issue and it was driving me crazy!! I checked everything I could think of!! Until I thought I would check it out in the computer management..
Go to:
Control Panel
Admin tools
Computer management
Disk management
And sure enough there were my drives that I couldn't access. I had to right click on the drive header and select 'Online'
And now sure enough I see all my drives in the 'Computer'

 

[toglenn]

Are you running Professional 64 bit?

If you're running Windows 7 Professional 64 bit the problem may be software (or firmware) related.

I have an Eagle-Tech external hard drive unit which uses two 1TB drives. It worked fine while running Windows 7 Beta and RC, both 32 bit versions. After I loading Windows Professional 64 bit one drive disappeared. Going to Control Panel/Adminstrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management/ both drives are displayed but one shows no label, no data and no free space.

I sent the drive for repair and it was returned with the same problem. I tested it on two other computers running Windows Home Premium, 32 bit and 64 bit, and both drives were displayed with all files showing.

Some SSD drives are reported to have problems with Win 7 Pro 64 bit and Intel is to introduce a new firmware update to solve the problems. My new Intel SSD is not as fast as I expected but I have to see if the new firmware improves performance.

In the meantime Eagle-Tech support is working on the problem and I'm waiting for an answer. You might want to check with your external hard drive support.

 

[Ezura]

Hello,

My problem here is my external hard disk cannot be detected by my PC if I don't connect it when starting the Windows. So I have to restart my PC again so that it detects. There was no "Unknown Device" or "AutoPlay" and specification.

Also I cannot eject or remove safely the device. Always give the "Generic volume........" message.

I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Details in my profile. I hope far a little help from any one of you guys. (I just got this PC recently, before using Dell Inspiron 640m Windows Vista)

 

[bronxalien]

I think its explorer

I think the issue is with Explorer.exe. Obviously everything else works that has been suggested here...they all detect the external drives...however explorer.exe does not no matter what anyone does here. I have three external drives...no matter what I do every part of the system detects the drives except explorer.exe

now i have to allocate partition space on my main drive to make up for the loss just because Microsoft has a MAJOR bug on their Windows 7 x64 and x32 for that matter. Someone PLEASE tell these buttt-holes at Micro to hurry up and create a damn fix cause at this rate anything you connect to a usb is going to fail and Windows 7 isn't such a big deal to hurry to after all....(what a waste of OS).

 

[karlsnooks]

ezura,
Since there are several people with several different problems, posting a new thread giving your problem and your system specs will help us keep people and problem together.

 

[toglenn]

Update on External Drive Problem

My problem with external drives appears to be solved. ASRock released an updated BIOS that now allows me to see all external drives. My MB is the ASRock X58 Extreme and the updated BIOS is Version 1.90.

 

[karlsnooks]

toglenn,
glad to hear problem is solved and many thanks for passing on the solution.

 

[tennasota]

RE: Fixed Mine...

THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you, eBert.

I spent almost a week pulling my few hairs left out of my head over this issue.

You were SPOT ON!!! I followed your steps and bata bing-bata boom it was fixed.
I did have to disignate the drive letters to for my 3 HHD's to remain on the system after a reboot. (J) (K) (L) Works like a champ!!! I have no problems when these WD hard drive go into standby and power down, Comes right back up when I need to read or write data. I have 3 WD 1.5 TB My Book Home Editions with USB/Firewire/eSata ports. Thank you again eBert.

Respectfully,

]: ) Tennasota

I had this same issue and it was driving me crazy!! I checked everything I could think of!! Until I thought I would check it out in the computer management..
Go to:
Control Panel
Admin tools
Computer management
Disk management
And sure enough there were my drives that I couldn't access. I had to right click on the drive header and select 'Online'
And now sure enough I see all my drives in the 'Computer'

 

[jorikirk]

Another possible "simple" solution

It may be the sequence in which you power up the USB device and connect it to the computer, and a power management setting in Device Manager. This applies to devices that are self-powered, although the power management setting might more aptly apply to port-powered devices.

I had 2 self-powered devices that wouldn't detect in Windows 7 (Seagate FreeAgent pro external USB drive and anything connected via a Dynex 7 port USB hub) -- no ding for USB detection, nothing in device manager or anywhere else.

Here's what didn't work for me, but took a lot of time with countless reboots. Used Device Manager to update drivers (not needed according to OS) and to uninstall and redetect USB host controllers and Root Hubs. I unplugged and replugged USB connectors to all the computer's USB ports. I tried registry hacks. Zippo, nada.

Pinultimate thing I did was disable power management on the USB Root Hubs (properties in Device Manager), which may help. Last thing (always the last thing, doh) I started to play with the power connection to the devices. They had always been powered up (at least they glowed with a power light), but apparently early on I connected them to the computer (with the computer on) before powering up the device. As such, they got into the mode of pulling power from the USB port (not enough juice for these puppies), even after I connected them to external power. I had to reset them by disconnecting them from the computer and power. Let them sit for several seconds, then power them up, sit for another few seconds and connect to the computer. Voila -- case solved. I could reproduce the problem by just reversing the sequence.

 

[shorty920]

It may be the sequence in which you power up the USB device and connect it to the computer, and a power management setting in Device Manager. This applies to devices that are self-powered, although the power management setting might more aptly apply to port-powered devices.

I had 2 self-powered devices that wouldn't detect in Windows 7 (Seagate FreeAgent pro external USB drive and anything connected via a Dynex 7 port USB hub) -- no ding for USB detection, nothing in device manager or anywhere else.

Here's what didn't work for me, but took a lot of time with countless reboots. Used Device Manager to update drivers (not needed according to OS) and to uninstall and redetect USB host controllers and Root Hubs. I unplugged and replugged USB connectors to all the computer's USB ports. I tried registry hacks. Zippo, nada.

Pinultimate thing I did was disable power management on the USB Root Hubs (properties in Device Manager), which may help. Last thing (always the last thing, doh) I started to play with the power connection to the devices. They had always been powered up (at least they glowed with a power light), but apparently early on I connected them to the computer (with the computer on) before powering up the device. As such, they got into the mode of pulling power from the USB port (not enough juice for these puppies), even after I connected them to external power. I had to reset them by disconnecting them from the computer and power. Let them sit for several seconds, then power them up, sit for another few seconds and connect to the computer. Voila -- case solved. I could reproduce the problem by just reversing the sequence.

I made an account JUST so I can tell you how MUCH I appreciate your post. Yes, it IS a simple solution and something very trivial, and yet, it fixed my problem! I run Windows 7 x64 bit and my WD 1.5 TB Elements external hard drive now works because of a simple power issue. THANK YOU SO MUCH

 

[jorikirk]

So glad it solved your issue. You just made my day, knowing I helped someone by sharing.

 

[shorty920]

^ Haha well if I didn't see your post I would've had to return it for a replacement or looked for another harddrive at a high price because I got mine on sale. You definitely made my day

 

[LASolow]

This worked -- a small difference in Win 7 Starter

I had this same issue and it was driving me crazy!! I checked everything I could think of!! Until I thought I would check it out in the computer management..
Go to:
Control Panel
Admin tools
Computer management
Disk management
And sure enough there were my drives that I couldn't access. I had to right click on the drive header and select 'Online'
And now sure enough I see all my drives in the 'Computer'

THANK YOU! Note that in Windows 7 Starter, the command in disk management changes to:
Assign/Change Drive letter

After doing this, it found the original names and data of my existing partitions.

 

[falken]

It may be the sequence in which you power up the USB device and connect it to the computer, and a power management setting in Device Manager. This applies to devices that are self-powered, although the power management setting might more aptly apply to port-powered devices.

Thanks for your tip, I fortunatelly spend with this trouble ony few hours, but still it maked me slighly nervous while upgrading to new approach with Win7 x64 on internal SSD and more virtualboxed images on external disks. Now it seems that Win7 needs to force rescan SOME HUBs with attached drives. I really dont know if such rescan is done after devicemanager view "by connection", which I used to look for things, but my case is described here at MS answers too:
USB drive not accessible

I simply repluged nearest hub uplink and drive was detected. In XP, all was ok for years ...
But still it does not work after reboot, so I ended with laptop "battery removal" dance too,
as I noted here too:
External (USB 2.0) hard drive shuts down USB port and is not recognized until port is disabled and then re-enabled

Thanks again a LOT! Hope my survey helps to someone too.
Falken