hdd Flash Disk not recognized

Hello all,

Replying to an old thread but you are the number 1 link in Google. There's one more situation where this issue can occur and that's if you connect the drive to another system and don't properly disconnect it. Make sure to follow the proper hardware disconnect procedure.

My particular issue was moving a drive from a Linux system back to XP. So for this situation run:

# umount /whatever
# eject /device path

Problem solved.

On Friday, January 18, 2008 9:27 AM ComputeThi wrote:

Been using this external hard drive for 6 months on the same computer - no
problems. Now it is not recognized. It is a plug and play so no additional
drivers needed. Works in a different computer. It is a Western Digital.
Windows has been updated. I'm very confused. Any help out there? Thanks.


On Friday, January 18, 2008 12:36 PM Lanwench [MVP - Exchange] wrote:

Take a look at your disk management (in control panel | admin tools |
computer management) and see if it shows up there. Could be a drive letter
issue.


On Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:07 AM jengel wrote:

I have the same problem with my Maxtor 3100. Been using the same computer for
1 year and now my USB does not recognize the plug and play external hard
drive. The hard drive is seen on other computers but not my HP run by Windows
XP. I took a look at the Computer Manager already, this is not a drive
letter problem, the hard drive does not show up there. Please help.

"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]" wrote:


On Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:37 AM Bob I wrote:

Perhaps the USB port is dead?

jengels wrote:


On Tuesday, March 11, 2008 2:15 PM Anna wrote:

"Bob I" wrote in message
...


These USB non-recognition problems have been vexing all of us for some time
now. Hardly a day passes where queries similar to the ones above are posted
to this and other newsgroups dealing with XP issues.

We've become increasingly convinced that the relatively large number of
problems in this area involving the non-recognition of USB devices that
we've all been experiencing is an indication that there is something
seriously flawed with respect to either the USB 2.0 specifications, possibly
involving quality control issues affecting the manufacturer of these USB
devices as well as supporting components such as motherboards and other
USB-related components. Then too, we've become increasingly suspicious of
the XP OS as it relates to its recognition of and interaction with these USB
2.0 devices.

We have encountered far too many unexplained problems affecting
detection/recognition of these devices and their erratic functioning not to
believe that something is seriously amiss in this area.

We continually encounter situations where a USB 2.0 device - generally
involving a flash drive or USB external hard drive, will work perfectly fine
in one machine and not in another. And, in far too many cases, we're unable
to determine why this is so since we're unable to detect any
hardware/software problem in the balking machine that would cause this
non-recognition effect.

In any event, we've put together a more-or-less checklist (in no particular
order) for troubleshooting these rather common USB non-recognition problems
that (hopefully) may be of some value to users encountering this type of
problem...

1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so, and
there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive letter to
the device.
2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned drive
letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the submenu.
Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will be listed.
3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer, not via
a USB hub. Try different USB ports should your computer have multiple ports.
4. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
5. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary power
supply) to a USB port both *before* and *after* the boot operation.
6. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device
Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action menu item
and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do the same in Disk
Management Action Rescan disks.
7. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains its own
power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try powering on only
*after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
8. Try a different USB cable.
9. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all the USB
controllers listed and reboot.
10. If the device in question is not a commercial USB external HDD but
rather one in which you installed a PATA HDD in a USB enclosure, jumper the
HDD as Master (or Single if the HDD is a Western Digital disk). A number of
users have reported that jumper configuration corrected their
non-recognition problem. In my own experience it didn't seem to matter how a
USB external HDD was jumpered. But it may be worth a try.
11. If the device in question is a USB external HDD, first check out the HDD
with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it checks out OK,
and you can remove the HDD from its enclosure (without voiding any
applicable warranty), do so and install the HDD as an internal HDD to
determine if there are problems with the drive. (Note, however, that some
HDD diagnostic utilities will not detect a USB-connected HDD; the disk must
be connected as an internal HDD).
12. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try changing the
card's PCI slot.
13. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to determine if
there's any firmware update or info re the problem you're experiencing or
there's any possibility that the USB enclosure itself might be defective.
14. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether there's a
BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.

P.S.
A number of posters have reported they've found useful information re
troubleshooting USB devices on this site...
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
Anna


On Tuesday, March 11, 2008 8:22 PM Ed Covney wrote:

USB is a wonderful way to connect things ... but there are limits.
I have 12 USB ports on an ASUS motherboard, but anyone who
thinks each can handle a device that requires 2 Amps is ... nuts.
In fact the board has 3 groups of 4 USB ports, and each group
is limited to 2 Amps from the motherboard.

Flash drives require almost no power, but external 2.5" drives that
get power from the USB may use the full 2 Amps - pre-empting
using the other 3 in the group so avoid those drives unless it can
be powered separately.

For the same reason, avoid hubbs that aren't separately powered
(externally - a little 5V DC transformers).

You may want to invest in some cheap test equipment. If you're
over-loading your USB ports, you can easily detect a voltage
drop on every port in the group.

If voltages are marginal, each USB port group (on my mother
board anyway) have a power boost setting (a jumper), but use
with caution.

And finally - if you hook up too many devices that require too
much power, the ports may be turning themselves off (which is
better than burning them out). So my best advice: Know how
much power each of your USB devices require (manufacturer's
data) and make sure you spread the hi-power devices among
the available groups.

Ed


On Friday, March 28, 2008 8:53 PM zendi wrote:

"Bob I" wrote:


On Sunday, August 03, 2008 6:54 PM chadwick ray wrote:

Anna,

Your compilation of fixes for USB port issues was awesome. Especially for External HDD issue I was facing with my Western Digital HD. I followed your point 6 and was able to get my HDD revognised on my Dell XP desktop.



6. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device

Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action menu item

and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do the same in Disk

Management Action Rescan disks.



Thanks a bunch!



Chadwick


On Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:53 PM James Katorbo wrote:

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