External drive not recognized by laptop, but OK with PC.

  • Thread starter Thread starter JoKing
  • Start date Start date
J

JoKing

I have an Acom external drive which I use on both my desktop and laptop.
This morning I hooked up to the laptop (Win XP) and got the message "The
disk in drive J is not formatted." I tried it back on the desktop (Win98)
and it works perfectly as before. I did a search through Google and found
that a number of people have had this problem, but I haven't seen any
solutions. I am sure that it isn't a problem with the drive, as it works
fine with my desktop. Perhaps an XP problem?

I've reinstalled the drivers and checked for conflicts, but diagnostics come
up clean.

Anyone? Anyone?
 
JoKing said:
I have an Acom external drive which I use on both my desktop and laptop.
This morning I hooked up to the laptop (Win XP) and got the message "The
disk in drive J is not formatted." I tried it back on the desktop (Win98)
and it works perfectly as before. I did a search through Google and found
that a number of people have had this problem,
Click to expand...
but I haven't seen any solutions.
Click to expand...

Probably because they didn't follow up on the suggestions handed to them.
I am sure
Click to expand...

Wanna bet?
that it isn't a problem with the drive, as it works fine with my desktop.
Click to expand...
Perhaps an XP problem?
Click to expand...

Bingo, but the problem that it is (likely) having with is on that drive.
I've reinstalled the drivers and checked for conflicts, but diagnostics come
up clean.

Anyone? Anyone?
Click to expand...

Well, let's see if *you* can follow up on a suggestion:

Run Findpart.
 
I have an Acom external drive which I use on both my desktop and laptop.
This morning I hooked up to the laptop (Win XP) and got the message "The
disk in drive J is not formatted." I tried it back on the desktop (Win98)
and it works perfectly as before. I did a search through Google and found
that a number of people have had this problem, but I haven't seen any
solutions. I am sure that it isn't a problem with the drive, as it works
fine with my desktop. Perhaps an XP problem?
Click to expand...
I've reinstalled the drivers and checked for conflicts, but diagnostics come
up clean.
Click to expand...

What's the story with the power for the external drive ?

If its powered from the data cable, the laptop may well not be
producing enough power.
 
From the acomdata website (note you can probably ignore the part about
formatting the drive, just get it running):

--------------------------

I do not see my Drive listed in the My Computer window, but it does
appear in the Device Manager list.
A: Solution: Right-click on My Computer. Select Manage in the pop-up
menu. In the Computer Management window, select Storage, then select
Disk Management. In the Disk Management window, you should see a list
of available storage devices. Look for the Disk that has a capacity
closest to your AcomData External Hard Drive. Right-click on the
right-hand box; in the pop-up menu select Delete Partition. Once you do
this, it will say "Online" & "Unallocated". Right-click on the box
and select Create New Partition in the pop-up menu. When the Partition
Wizard appears, select Primary Partition and click on Next. You will
see a default value for the Drive; click Next. You will then see a
drive letter (you can change this drive letter if you wish); click
Next. You will then be asked to format the Drive.

or:

When I try to format my Drive on Windows 2000/XP I get the message:
"Could not complete format."
A: This problem can occur if you are using a USB 2.0 or FireWire card
to connect the Drive. Plug the Drive into a USB or FireWire port on
your computer and try the format again. You may also come across this
error if you are using Windows 2000 or XP and you try to format the
Drive using the FAT 32 file system. If reformatting the Drive and you
do not need Mac compatibility, Windows 2000/XP users should use the
NTFS files system.

or:

The drive is not showing up on My Computer or Explorer.
A: For Windows 2000/XP
a. Right Click on My Computer
b. Go to Manage..
c. Go to storage - disk management
· A wizard should appear if the drive has never been connected to
your machine. Follow the direction, selecting the drive not checked.
· If the wizard does not appear, Right click on Disk X (X being the
drive that is unknown), select "Write Signature.." or
"Initialize..". Click OK.
d. Right click on the unallocated disk
e. Select Create Partion
1) A wizard will appear
2) Click next
3) Select Primary Partion
4) Select size of the partion (use the default value to use all of
the drive)
5) Specify drive letter (it is recommended to use the default)
6) To format use:
· NTFS - if for use on Windows 2000 only. This is the only option
if the drive is larger than 32 GB. Windows FAQ
· FAT32 - if for use on both Windows 98/ME and Windows 2000/XP if
the drive is less than 32 GB. Windows FAQ
7) Click finish
f. When finished formatting (100%) exit the utility

For Win 98/ME
Set the drive as removable

------------------------

See if any of those help.
Irwin
 
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