unable to see external drive with windows explorer on windows 8.1

I am unable to see my external drive with windows explorer. I am using windows 8.1. I checked the internet for a solution. All i could find was to disable firewire 1394. I checked my device manager and don't see firewire 1394.

I have been running this PC for a couple of weeks now with no problems reading the external drive until yesterday.

I am confused. Any ideas (aside from going back to win 7)?

 

Do you have the drivers installed for that firewire card? Did it work with Windows 8, before installing 8.1 preview? I have found over using 8.1 for a month that it was just cropping up issues left and right, and a lot dealt with Network shares.

I had no choice but to blow away the install, and reinstall the "Out of the Box" Toshiba Windows 8 again.

What is the manufacturer and model # of this computer you are having issues with, along with the external drive?

 

I don't think I have a firewire card. Win 8 was never installed. Itwas 8.1 from the getgo. I see windows 7 on the horizon

 

You cannot just install Windows 8.1 Preview, without having Windows 8 already installed. Windows 7 is downgrading. Again from the beginning, what is the manufacturer & model number of the machine.

As for this external drive, is it Firewire, USB, eSATA, what type of connection. What is the manufacturer & model number of that device. Without answering these two simple questions, I look at this thread dying very quickly.

 

I'll get them tomoorow

 

Plodr, the OP does not know what they have, so really even if they did get 8.1 Preview from say a mom & pop shop, there is nothing wrong, with running it.

We really need to figure out what is going on, not just jump to a conclusion and get ahead of this person on this matter.

 

That is only for the Enterprise download, that you can download as a ISO, but you have to have the key from Microsoft. Again, you are jumping ahead, and all it is going to do is confuse the OP.

 

I appreciate the work you guys are doing. I'm running a HP compaq. with amd 64 athlon dual core processor. It came with win xp but win 8.1 pro preview with media center was installed replacing xp. The external drive is a western digital wd2001fass 2 tb.

 

I show that drive as an internal drive, not an external. So I do not see how you are stating that it is a Firewire drive. I am missing something here.

Going back to the beginning, are you having problems with specific hardware that you cannot find drivers for that hardware, for Windows 8? If you cannot, it is due to what we call in the industry "Planned Obsolescence".

 

I have an internal hard drive in the pc but I also have the western digital as an external. All of the other peripherals work fine. The only reason I think it is not firewire is I can't see anything like that in the device manager. Keep in mind I am not real savvy at this, so I may be missing something obvious. I am at the mercy of others, and grateful.

 

Again, is the drive that is an external unit Firewire or not? Do you have anything that needs Firewire on the computer? Is there a physical Firewire card or interface on the computer?

What is the exact model# of the HP Computer that you have? If you do not have a Firewire interface on the motherboard, or a add-on PCI card that has firewire on it, yes it will never show up in the device manager, regardless what the Operating system is. If there was, it would show up as an Unknown device with a Yellow ! on top of the device.

 

Well, the external drive uses a usb port. I don't think anything uses firewire, but I don't know how to check. I don't think there is a firewire card, but I don't know how to check that either. I will get the exact model number to you when I get home in a few hours.

Later, PMM

 

You look in Device Manager for devices. If there is no Firewire port, you have nothing that uses it, then it is a moot point at this time, and this is where it ends finally.