USB HDD Trouble

[Skeith2005]

I have a SimpleTech 160GB USB HDD, only had it for a few months, but, I was using it at a friend LAN party when we had a network failure. When we sorted it all out, the HDD wouldn't register on any computer. The icon at the bottom (I'm running Windows XP Home) pops up saying "New Hardware Installed" and, occasionally, when I click on it, sometime it'll even say "USB MAss Storage Device" but, it won't appear in My Computer. Anyone know what's wrong and/or how to fix it?

 

[Counter-Strike]

You have to install the driver CD that came w/ it, the installation CD.

 

[Skeith2005]

You have to install the driver CD that came w/ it, the installation CD.

I tried that, but the Drive won't register with the restore utilities or anything. The program reads like it's not connected

 

[Skeith2005]

Also, when I try to reinstall the drivers through windows update, It says under USB Mass Storage Device: "This Device Cannot Start (Code 10)' I remember reading somewhere that code 10 means it's not getting enough power, and that hooking it up to a hub will fix that, but I tried that and it still didn't work

 

[kmote]

It does sound like a driver problem, but if it worked before, assuming that the drivers havn't 'dissappeared' it should still be working now.

I would say that- and heres the technical part-its broken.

did you get warranty?

 

[CJJohnson]

Try connecting it in different usb slots. Sometimes this forces the system to reinstall the drivers.

Does the disk spin up to speed when you plug in the power supply and switch on? If not, the disk/power supply could be dead. You could even check the fuse in the plug.

Lastly, Can you remove the HDD and connect it internally in your computer to see if the disk itself works. Be warned that this will invalidate your warranty

 

[CJJohnson]

Just had another thought.

If it is all running up OK, the computer says there is a mass storage device but won't show the drive in My Computer, you may have destroyed the partition on the drive.

You will need to go in to Control Panel, Administartive tools, Computer Management, Storage, Disk Management and see if the drive is shown. If it is, you may have to format it and set the partition otherwise windows won't display the drive.

If this works you WILL lose all the data on your Hard Drive but you will have the disk back.

MAKE SURE that you choose the CORRECT hard drive before tampering with partitions etc.

 

[anandhp]

this is a very common problem with the usb devices... you can try these steps

press F1 on POST( BIOS) > in bios go to Advanced >> under advanced you need to go to USB legacy mode support- **automatic** by default>> you need to disable it.. then press F10 to save and exit>> once the system boots up connect the usb hdd and i am sure this will work, if this doesn't work try connecting it in different usb drives.

Just let me know if you get confused..

 

[Apokalipse]

not getting enough power...
plug it into one of the rear ports
if you're doing that already, does it have any other connectors (maybe from a PS/2 port or anything) that may provide extra power?

 

[Skeith2005]

this is a very common problem with the usb devices... you can try these steps

press F1 on POST( BIOS) > in bios go to Advanced >> under advanced you need to go to USB legacy mode support- **automatic** by default>> you need to disable it.. then press F10 to save and exit>> once the system boots up connect the usb hdd and i am sure this will work, if this doesn't work try connecting it in different usb drives.

Just let me know if you get confused..

Alright, I checked the BIOS settings (and oin my system, it was under Intergrated Peripherals...) USB Legacy Support was already disabled, with the options of Disable, No Mice and All Device. I'm not sure what No Mice means, but, I turn All Deice on and rebooted. When I did that, it reisntalle the drivers automatically and said it was ready to go, but, it still wasn't in My Computer. So, I went to Device Properties and under the Volumes tab, everything was blank, Partition Style, Size etc etc. It had a Populate option, but I'm not entirely sure what that does. Any other ideas? I'm trying as hard as I can to save the data on the drive, but, it's probably a lost cause now