Why doesnt my external harddrive show up in my computer?

[getsystems]

Hello my external harddrive does not show up in my computer and in device manager? I know its plugged in and on and the usb cable in brand new.

 

[whs]

Does it show in Disk Management and is it initialized.

 

[getsystems]

No it does not and if you know what slot does the jumper have to be on the HDD?

Oh and I know its on it has a green light on and I can hear it spinning

 

[whs]

There are no jumpers on Sata drives. Although unususal, it could be that this disk needs a special driver. Check on the manufacturers website.

 

[getsystems]

Its a IDE drive... And there is no branding on it but I remember it used to work...

 

[whs]

Hmm, IDE - if I owned it, I would donate it to a museum, lol.

 

[getsystems]

Haha but l mean I need it working do you have a way?

Oh and just to let you know its made at FOXCONN
And its a seagate HDD

 

[whs]

I understand. But I never owned an IDE disk and know zero about them. But let's see:

how did you attach it - via an enclosure ??

Do you have a driver for it ??

Here are some guys who had the same problem. Maybe you see something that can help.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/302795-28-windows-recognize-drives

 

[getsystems]

Ya its in a enclosure and they're solution dies not work for me and it doesnt show up in device manager or disk management

 

[whs]

Can I assume that this is an IDE enclosure and not a Sata enclosure ?? What is the make/model ??

 

[getsystems]

IDE yes

 

[getsystems]

Yes it is an IDE enclosure

 

[whs]

Then there are only 2 possibilities - either the enclosure does not play or there is a driver problem. As far as jumpers are concerned, I have no experience. Maybe you should try the different settings.

 

[getsystems]

Its probably a driver problem do you know any drivers that might work?

 

[whs]

You would have to check on the Seagate site.

 

[getsystems]

But the case that makes it an "External" harddrive part is not Seagate its the hdd that is seagate with they're driver still work?

 

[whs]

And have a look here:

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/update-drivers-windows-7.htm

 

[getsystems]

Uh well the hardrive is making clicking noises now im starting to thing its a HDD problem..

 

[whs]

Nah, some disks do click at times. That is not necessarily a sign of a problem. But if that disk was never clicking before, then it may be a new problem.

The driver you are looking for could be for the HDD or the enclosure.

What is so important about that disk. Do you have data on it? Else I would just buy a modern Sata HDD. They are relatively cheap these days.

 

[mjf]

Consistent clicking would be a warning to me (not an odd intermittent click). If it is visible in "Device Manager" (not disk management) under Disk Drives you could try right click and select update device driver.
Also, if you have valuable data on the drive you could try a linux distro boot CD like "Puppy linux" and see if that recognizes the drive.