Portable Harddrive Not Recognized By Windows

[UsernameTaken]

WD Portable HDD Unrecognized

I have a Western Digital Passport portable external hard drive and it doesn't seem to be working anymore. It is a 2.5" drive with a USB connection, no power supply. I plug it in and the light on the drive comes on but it does not appear in My Computer, and in Safely Remove Hardware it is only labeled as "USB device"

I have tried multiple computers (all XP), USB cables, and ports. Is there anything I can do to get the files off it?

 

[RSinger]

Does it show up in the Disk Management?
Control Panel >Administrative Tools >Computer Management >Storage >Disk Management

Did it work previously? Have you added any new devices since you have last used it?

 

[MindoverMaster]

Could be a used letter assignment as well.

 

[UsernameTaken]

Does it show up in the Disk Management?
Control Panel >Administrative Tools >Computer Management >Storage >Disk Management

Did it work previously? Have you added any new devices since you have last used it?

No it doesn't show up in disk management
it worked a few days ago
and no I haven't added any new devices

Could be a used letter assignment as well.

How would I determine / fix this?

to clarify, I don't get any warnings or errors or anything when I plug it in. I hear the noise that occurs when you plug in stuff like thumb drives and also when you remove them.

 

[baih777]

try plugging it in several times to see if it starts again. my Maxtor goes into a battery save mode and completely shuts off. after plugging it in about six times it starts to work again.

 

[MindoverMaster]

 

[UsernameTaken]

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z105/mindovermaster/Compy/cm.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

it doesn't show up there :(