WD USB External Drive Not Recognized

[leonardmp92]

Hello,

Not sure what happened, but now, I can get my WD USB external HD to be recognized from my USB ports, but the USB mouse is recognized. I went to Device Mgr and all the USB ports are working properly. Any idea how I can troubleshoot?

Thanks.

 

[KSoD]

Have you checked to make sure that the device is connected properly with the power supply and everything? Did you isntall any software that is needed?

 

[carnageX]

Something similar happened to my friend's WD MyBook when he got it...he took the black casing off (plastic piece) and plugged it in, and it was able to be recognized then. You could try that. We never could figure out why it did that either...there wasn't anything on the black casing that we could see that would cause it to be not recognized lol.

 

[leonardmp92]

Just stop being recognized today, has been working fine for the past 2 months. Also, when I open the Vista partition program, it sees the external USB drive. Not sure what is wrong.

No software needed for this, just an external WD passport drive, no external power supply needed. Originally, thought that one of the USB ports was not operational, but that is not the case. Plan to try on another computer also.

 

[carnageX]

If it doesn't work on another computer...try what I suggested.

Can always try updating your chipset drivers, as well.

 

[leonardmp92]

Thanks guys. It worked on another computer. How do I update chipset drivers...just foundout what chipset I have and look for the drivers online? I've also noticed that a USB card reader does not work, but the mouse does...???

Tried another WD external USB drive...same thing. Believe it does have to do w/ the USB ports.

 

[KurrentEweser]

Since those type drives are USB powered there's a chance your USB port power supply has become weak from continued use. If you have more then one USB port then I recommend using a USB power splitter cable to operate external hard drives. I run my external drives from a powered USB hub that's built into a laptop cooler.

 

[leonardmp92]

Well, I got it narrowed down to being the actual WD external drive since I had another WD USB external drive to work. How would I fix this USB external drive?

 

[carnageX]

Well, I got it narrowed down to being the actual WD external drive since I had another WD USB external drive to work. How would I fix this USB external drive?

Try doing what I suggested: remove the plastic casing and plug it in that way. If it still doesn't work, remove the drive from the enclosure (if possible) and then plug it in internally, or in another enclosure (if you have one).

 

[KurrentEweser]

You said that drive worked on another computer? What's the drive connecting to. A desktop or laptop? What type of port. A case or motherboard