Need some help with USB external drive detection

sixer9682

sixer9682

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Sep 29, 2008
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I have an external HDD that's connected via USB and it's no longer detected on my PC and it was previously. It connects and is recognized right away on my wife's PC. I tried a different external HDD via USB connection and it's not recognized on my machine either, but is on hers.

It doesn't matter which USB drive, 3.0, 2.0, front panel or MB in back.

Now here's the weird thing; any USB thumb drive I connect is instantly recognized and I have full access.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the USB Drivers and no change. I've searched for viruses, trojans, etc. and have negative results, thankfully.

So, any suggestions?
 
Plug it in and maybe check if it is getting a drive letter path from the system.

This can be done in Computer Management, in the Disk Manager.

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See if it is showing up in there, missing a drive letter. That can be changed by right-clicking.

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This is what I would try first.
 
Ah, that's the other thing.

The external HDDS are recognized in Device Manager, but not in Disk Management
 
Ok, this is a bit of a stretch...but just in case it helps....my Samsung phone would not be seen by my computers unless I used the usb cable that came with the phone. Weird, but just in case...try the cable that came with the hard drive. My other cables were identical and worked with other hardware, but only the Samsung cable allowed the phone to be recognized.

Good luck!
 
My guess would be to figure out which "generic usb" port and hub its connected to in your USB bus controller. Uninstall and reinstall or scan for hardware changes once uninstall. Could be mapped on a old port (USB 2.0 vs 3.0) and not recognizing it being disconnected.
 
JoeLeb said:
Ok, this is a bit of a stretch...but just in case it helps....my Samsung phone would not be seen by my computers unless I used the usb cable that came with the phone. Weird, but just in case...try the cable that came with the hard drive. My other cables were identical and worked with other hardware, but only the Samsung cable allowed the phone to be recognized.

Good luck!
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I'm using the original cable that came with each external HDD so no joy there.
 
0perator7 said:
My guess would be to figure out which "generic usb" port and hub its connected to in your USB bus controller. Uninstall and reinstall or scan for hardware changes once uninstall. Could be mapped on a old port (USB 2.0 vs 3.0) and not recognizing it being disconnected.
Click to expand...
Already did that and now I can see the external HDD in Paragon (disk management/recovery software) and it's now showing in Device Manager and Disk Managment but I can't initialize either drive due to "I/O error".
 
Or software related with the newer MBs that have the super charge feature for devices on USB connection. Disables data and only pushes power.
 
Oh, and the Toshiba HDD makes a clicking sound....but not when connected to the wife's computer and both these external HDDs work fine on the wife's machine, just not mine.
 
0perator7 said:
Or software related with the newer MBs that have the super charge feature for devices on USB connection. Disables data and only pushes power.
Click to expand...
Yeah this MB has that in one of the back USB ports but none of the front (where I'm trying to connect it) and I did not install that software :(
 
So here's your weirdness for the day. With the WD Passport evidently it was getting too much power via the USB cable so I went to Power Options in Device Manager and enabled selective power suspend. Voila! the drive shows up immediately and Win tells me it needs to initiate the drive.

Now here's the really weird part. The Toshiba 1TB external HDD, according to the forums at Toshiba, isn't getting enough power via the USB cable and the users there recommend a USB splitter...really? How about I just return the Toshiba instead? Fucking Windows!
usb stuff.png
 
Try finding a tool that completely erases the driver for that External HDD, restart and plug it back in to see what it does. Sometimes this happens to me and i just have to either find another USB port or erase the driver.
 
Have you checked the system event log? It could have some messages in there that might give you a clue as to what's happening exactly. Sounds to me like a power related issue. Sure USB 2.0 should be able to supply enough power but who knows. If it came with an external AC power plug I would try that as well.
 
SlickSTi said:
Have you checked the system event log? It could have some messages in there that might give you a clue as to what's happening exactly. Sounds to me like a power related issue. Sure USB 2.0 should be able to supply enough power but who knows. If it came with an external AC power plug I would try that as well.
Click to expand...
Nope, no external power for either one. I did order a Dual USB A to Micro B cable so I'll see if that works.
 
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