USB External Hard Drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chuck
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Chuck

I had a HD in an external USB enclosure that was working fine. I had to move
my desktop and I haven't been able to get the drive to work since. I took
the drive out of the enclosure and plugged it in internally to see if the
drive was bad. XP recognized it and gave me access to all of the data. So I
figured I must have damaged the enclosure and tried the drive in a different
external enclosure. It still wasn't recognized unless I installed it
internally.

As Murphy's law would have it, my desktop starting acting erratic. It
started with random reboots, now I can't even get into Windows without an
error message. I tried reseating cards, switched memory chips around, etc.
Nothing is working. I figure my mobo may be on it's last leg and it was time
to make a move. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a laptop.

I can only (occasionally) access the system in the safe mode on the desktop.
I'm lucky that my data appears to be intact on both drives in the desktop. I
hooked the drive in the USB enclosure up to the new lappy, and it was
recognized instantly. However, it said that the device may not work
properly, and sure enough I don't see it listed.

So my problem is, I'm pretty sure my data is intact on the two drives but I
can't get access to it unless I'm in the safe mode on a failing PC. I tried
a different USB enclosure with the drive on the desktop but it still didn't
recognize it externally. I haven't tried the drive in a different enclosure
on the laptop, but that's my next move.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why it's not recognized. I've tried
switching the jumper on drive, still no luck. I assume the jumper pin would
have stayed where it was, but it wasn't recognized by the laptop in any
position.
 
Chuck said:
I had a HD in an external USB enclosure that was working fine. I had to
move my desktop and I haven't been able to get the drive to work since. I
took the drive out of the enclosure and plugged it in internally to see if
the drive was bad. XP recognized it and gave me access to all of the data.
So I figured I must have damaged the enclosure and tried the drive in a
different external enclosure. It still wasn't recognized unless I installed
it internally.

As Murphy's law would have it, my desktop starting acting erratic. It
started with random reboots, now I can't even get into Windows without an
error message. I tried reseating cards, switched memory chips around, etc.
Nothing is working. I figure my mobo may be on it's last leg and it was
time to make a move. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a laptop.

I can only (occasionally) access the system in the safe mode on the
desktop. I'm lucky that my data appears to be intact on both drives in the
desktop. I hooked the drive in the USB enclosure up to the new lappy, and
it was recognized instantly. However, it said that the device may not work
properly, and sure enough I don't see it listed.

So my problem is, I'm pretty sure my data is intact on the two drives but
I can't get access to it unless I'm in the safe mode on a failing PC. I
tried a different USB enclosure with the drive on the desktop but it still
didn't recognize it externally. I haven't tried the drive in a different
enclosure on the laptop, but that's my next move.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why it's not recognized. I've tried
switching the jumper on drive, still no luck. I assume the jumper pin
would have stayed where it was, but it wasn't recognized by the laptop in
any position.
Click to expand...
Do a Repair install of the OS on the desktop.
You need to get your machine working properly, before you
worry about the USB side of things.
Check in the Device Manager to see if the USB shows any errors.
It appears from what you say, that there is nothing wrong with
your enclosure, or ext Hdrive.
 
Chuck said:
I had a HD in an external USB enclosure that was working fine. I had to
move my desktop and I haven't been able to get the drive to work since. I
took the drive out of the enclosure and plugged it in internally to see if
the drive was bad. XP recognized it and gave me access to all of the data.
So I figured I must have damaged the enclosure and tried the drive in a
different external enclosure. It still wasn't recognized unless I installed
it internally.

As Murphy's law would have it, my desktop starting acting erratic. It
started with random reboots, now I can't even get into Windows without an
error message. I tried reseating cards, switched memory chips around, etc.
Nothing is working. I figure my mobo may be on it's last leg and it was
time to make a move. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a laptop.

I can only (occasionally) access the system in the safe mode on the
desktop. I'm lucky that my data appears to be intact on both drives in the
desktop. I hooked the drive in the USB enclosure up to the new lappy, and
it was recognized instantly. However, it said that the device may not work
properly, and sure enough I don't see it listed.

So my problem is, I'm pretty sure my data is intact on the two drives but
I can't get access to it unless I'm in the safe mode on a failing PC. I
tried a different USB enclosure with the drive on the desktop but it still
didn't recognize it externally. I haven't tried the drive in a different
enclosure on the laptop, but that's my next move.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why it's not recognized. I've tried
switching the jumper on drive, still no luck. I assume the jumper pin
would have stayed where it was, but it wasn't recognized by the laptop in
any position.
Click to expand...

if you cannot give the drive a letter using Windoz Explorer Disc Manager try
this bit of software

http://www.explorerxp.com/

when I have same problem with mass storage under XP I use ExplorerXP to give
lost drives a new letter.....not failed on me yet. It should be adequate for
you to see your data and cut/paste it into more accessible area.

dj
 
if you cannot give the drive a letter using Windoz Explorer Disc Manager try
this bit of software

http://www.explorerxp.com/

when I have same problem with mass storage under XP I use ExplorerXP to give
lost drives a new letter.....not failed on me yet. It should be adequate for
you to see your data and cut/paste it into more accessible area.

dj
Click to expand...

Just downloaded Explore XP, looks a good bit of software, thanks
 
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