Can't locate my external hard drive.

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by nduarte83, Mar 12, 2010.

  1. nduarte83

    nduarte83 Private E-2

    I'm not totally computer savy but my external hard drive has basically disappeared. i tried plugging it into a different usb port but it still doesn't show up. i've plugged other devices into the usb port that i had the external going into and they've all been recognized. i need some help on getting my external hard drive working again.
     
    nduarte83, Mar 12, 2010
    #1
  2. Toke

    Toke MajorGeek

    Hi and welcome to MG. Have you any notification of the hard drive trying to install driver on the bottom right tray near your clock ??? Go to Start/Control Panel/Admin Tools/Computer Management/Storage/Disk Management to see if it is listed there then post back including the specs of your computer and the Operating System you are currently using.
     
    Toke, Mar 12, 2010
    #2
  3. plodr

    plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

    Brand/model and size of external hard drive? Some brands in certain size have had high failure rates.
    Have you tried the external in a different computer?
     
    plodr, Mar 12, 2010
    #3
  4. nduarte83

    nduarte83 Private E-2

    there is no notification of the hard drive trying to install itself. it is also not listed in Disk Management. I'm running Vista on a HP Pavilion dv6700 notebook PC. i've had it for about 2 years now. the hard drive is a WD 750 gig external. i've also had that for close to 2 yrs.
     
    nduarte83, Mar 18, 2010
    #4
  5. plodr

    plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

    Have you tried the external in a different computer?
    I'm trying to determine if it is the external drive or possibly the ports on your laptop not liking the drive for some unknown reason. I can only narrow it down if I know whether the same behavior exists on other computers.

    If it fails to appear on a few computers then the drive "might" be dead. I say might because if you remove the drive from the case, it might be the drive is good but some connection inside the case went bad.

    If the drive does not appear in other computers, you do not have much to lose by breaking it out of the case, since it is currently a brick.
    The drive could then be connected by an adapter to the USB port and might show up with all your files intact.

    In my limited experience, Western Digital drives are pretty reliable.
     
    plodr, Mar 18, 2010
    #5
  6. savoldi

    savoldi Private E-2

    Unplug it from the USB port and also unplug the power supply to your hard drive. Then reconnect it to the USB port and plug in your power supply. Some of the new WD drives need to be cycled like this or they won't be recognized.
     
    savoldi, Mar 18, 2010
    #6

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