[todd]

I am experiencing problems with BOTH my PC's trying to get them to 'recognise' external hard-drives, is there a way to 'make' the PCs look for and get them to accept the EHDs ?
I originally had them connected OK and all was up and running 100+AI @ Lloyds but for some reason it all stopped, strangely on two different machines and applications. Another strange thing is they both will 'accept' the EHDs at certain times and then for no apparent reason they will 'lose' them and try as I might I cannot get them back again. In one EHD there is a light that is illuminated and a noise can be heard inside it, so power is getting to it but it still will not work, the other there is no light fitted.

I would be grateful if someone could help me out of this situation, it is driving me mad (mad-er I can hear people say )

Thanks, Jim

[paisleymerchant]

You don't say which OS you are using !

I have a feeling that your external drives could be f****d, you could try

uninstalling the drives

Go into device manager right click on the external and click uninstall once that has been done reboot your PC

The BIOS should recognise the external and reinstall it


Hope this helps

[todd]

Originally Posted by paisleymerchant

You don't say which OS you are using !

I have a feeling that your external drives could be f****d, you could try

uninstalling the drives

Go into device manager right click on the external and click uninstall once that has been done reboot your PC

The BIOS should recognise the external and reinstall it


Hope this helps

My systems are Windows XP and Vista.
What I cannot understand is that they will work on occasion and not on others .. Very strange ??
When I go to the device manager there is no external device registering to enable me to uninstall it. I ahve even thought or rebooting to factory state at least that might enable me to retrieve the photos etc., that are on the EHDs.

Jim

[Tony Morris]

"In one EHD there is a light that is illuminated and a noise can be heard inside it, so power is getting to it but it still will not work'

On my last ship I had exactly the same problem with my EHD, after I pulled out the USB cable while it was still writing (Silly Me!!!). Had to wait until I got home to take it to a local computer shop where they informed me that I had "fried" it, cost 35 pounds for them to access it & transfer the files to another EHD, which I was happy to pay. As long as it was running they could access it but if it had to be opened in a "clean" room then it would have cost 500 pounds to recover the data.

I hope you are lucky enough to get it working again.

Tony

[jimthehat]

Originally Posted by todd

My systems are Windows XP and Vista.
What I cannot understand is that they will work on occasion and not on others .. Very strange ??
When I go to the device manager there is no external device registering to enable me to uninstall it. I ahve even thought or rebooting to factory state at least that might enable me to retrieve the photos etc., that are on the EHDs.

Jim

I am spending hours on google trying to decide what external hard drive to buy have just about decided to go for a werstern digital elements 1TB ,AND then you come up with this!do I throw caution to the wind and buy one OR hold,I thought that they were a simple and easy way to store data.

jim

[Duncan112]

Is it possible that you have connected another device to your PC that has "usurped" your external HDD drive letter - this is very common on networks, if you go to control panel then disk management you may be able to see the drives, if so right click on the drive, select the "change drive letter and paths" option, click on change and then pick another letter - ones near the end of the alphabet are (usually) good. Note that if you are running programs from the drive or linking to the drive for macros etc you will need to change the paths in these too.

All this assumes you are running a variant of Windows.

[todd]

I am writing this just as one of my EHDs has been accepted by this PC. It is not listed as 'device with removable storage' but rather as 'Hard disc drives' ?
I am afraid to do anything in case I lose it again.
Now that it is connected again is there anything I can do to safeguard against losing it again ?

Jim

[Duncan112]

Originally Posted by todd

I am writing this just as one of my EHDs has been accepted by this PC. It is not listed as 'device with removable storage' but rather as 'Hard disc drives' ?
I am afraid to do anything in case I lose it again.
Now that it is connected again is there anything I can do to safeguard against losing it again ?

Jim

As above - control panel>disk management and assign a new drive letter to it and use a different one for the other drive.

[todd]

No sooner had I written my last post than the EHD was 'LOST' yet again.
It is seriously looking like it will be 'DEEP SIXED' any time soon. I am at a loss of what, if anything, I can do---I have tried all kinds of sites/links on 'repairing a corrupt/unobtainable external hard-drive' and they all begin that I have to click on the 'device' in the computer section, unfortunately the device does not show in that location -- if it did I would be able to use the EHD. The real problem would appear getting my PCs to recognise that there is indeed a EHD connected......GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrr & Arghhhh........................................

Jim

[Doug Shaw]

Jim, have you tried using a different USB cable? Sometimes this intermittent problem is caused by a faulty cable or connection rather than by something more complex. Also, it's worth moving the connection to a different USB port to rule out a problem there. Just a thought...

Regards
Doug

[jamesgpobog]

Possibly software/driver issue too? All latest updates? Are you going directly to a computer USB port or through a USB hub? Sometimes devices don't like to go through hubs. Also, sometimes all USB ports on the 'puter are not equal, some are high speed, some are not.

[LTS]

Had the same problem. Removed an EHD the wrong way and afterwards couldn't see the drive in either device manager or even the bios.
Someone gave me a programme called Recover Deleted Files v 3 which is on a bootable disc and boots into low level DOS.
It found the drive and started recovering the data bit by bit which took 3 days for a 500 gig disk but it recovered every byte of info and also fixed the MBR leaving the drive as good as new.
It's a slow process but it depends on how much you value your data.

[todd]

Firstly let me Thank Everyone for their input.
I have tried all USB ports available and am using a Male/Male connector to connect the EHD directly to the PC, the EHD 'light up and there is a continued clicking sound coming from it but still NO JOY I.m afraid.
LTS, Would you have a name for the programme you mentioned ? I will try anything right now.

Regards Jim.

[sparkie2182]

Another route to follow...........

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

i hope it helps.

[todd]

UPDATE:
I have managed to get one of my systems to accept one EHD but am still puzzling with the other.
The one that is working, and incidentally the more important of the two as it has a lot more info on it, is on the Windows XP , unfortunately the other on Vista is useless.(an almost empty 500Gb )
I have no idea why it suddenly became 'active' again - something along the lines of 'Sod's'or 'Murphy's' Law seems to fit the bill.
PS. the one from the Vista PC doesn't work in the Windows XP either ......

Regards Jim.

[Boatman25]

I have hard drive problems to, I slipped on ours and bruised my knee, he he

[todd]

I have come across the following which might explain and help to correct any problems that you may have with EHDs.

http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-...ndows-and-mac/

Hope it will be of some assistance,

Jim

[todd]

SOLUTION....well my solution at least.
I bought a new external caddy (€2.69)for the EHD and installed it again.... Would you believe it all was 100% again...there must have been a 'malfunction' in the electronic gizmoes in the connection to the USB in the original fitting. Maybe due to my removing the EHD without 'permission' from my PC.
A word of advice, if you are going to try this remedy make sure you order the correct fitting ie: SATA or IDE. They do the same job but the connections are different.

Jim.

PS: A lesson learnt, 'ALWAYS MAKE SURE IT IS SAFE TO REMOVE DEVICE' before removing the USB Device.