[Denisejm]

Hi,

I have Windows XP, NTFS. I just recently purchased another ext hd. I already have 3 Maxtor One Touch II's ext hd's that are firewired. I also have 3 Seagates and 1 Hammer that are connected using USB 2.0 cables. The new drive is a Western Digital. I disconnected all of my other ex hd's that were connected using USB 2.0 cables and connected the new one to each of those ports with the cable and power supply that came with it. Each time, it's spins up but the drive isn't recognized in My Computer nor does it appear in Disk Management. I also tried connecting it by Control Panel > Add/Remove Hardware but the wizard can't find the new hardware.

Do you think it's a defective drive or is my pc not recognizing it because it's connected to a port that's been reserved for a different ext hd?

Denise

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USB ports aren't 'reserved' for anything. Windows should simply detect whatever is plugged into the port at each startup, and request a driver for it unless Windows has it's own internel driver which it installs automatically. Since your other ext drives work, I,m inclined to say the WD one is faulty, but see if you can plug it into a friends PC to confirm that before returning it.

[pip22]

USB ports aren't 'reserved' for anything. Windows should simply detect whatever is plugged into the port at each startup, and request a driver for it unless Windows has it's own internel driver which it installs automatically. Since your other ext drives work, I,m inclined to say the WD one is faulty, but see if you can plug it into a friends PC to confirm that before returning it.

[Denisejm]

Thanks for replying . . . one more question. I'm trying to cover all bases. Could it possibly be incompatible with my pc? These were the specs for it:

Capacity/Speed: 250GB 7200RPM
Buffer Size/Cache: 8MB
Casing Material: Aluminum
Size: Just over 3.5"
Interface: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 or 1.1
Operating System : All Mac & PC OS
Average Seek Time: 12 ms
Max transfer rate: 480MB/sec USB
Condition: New Case/Drive factory recertified

"What comes with the device":
250GB 7200 RPM External USB 2.0 Hard Drive
USB 2.0 Cable
Stand to sit drive vertically or horizontally
CD-Rom with Drives (These are not needed in Windows XP or above)
Easy Hard Drive Formatting Instructions
Product generally ships within 24hrs
30 Day Money Back Guarantee**

I see no reason why it would be incompatible but sometimes things can be worded to give a false impression.

Denise

[Denisejm]

Hi,

I returned the original hard drive that I posted about and exchanged it for the same exact brand but the new one doesn't show up under Disk Management, and Control Panel > Install New Hardware can't find new hardware connected to my pc. If I hadn't already connected 7 external hds, I would think that it was me, but since I have experience doing this and my pc doesn't "see" it, I don't know what else could be causing this. It spins up but that's all it does. I tried connecting it to all of my USB 2.0 ports and I turned the power and cable going into the hard drive both ways. I also used different USB 2.0 cables. When I returned the first one by mail, I was told that they would make sure this one works with no problems before they sent it out to me. The hard drive isn't incompatible with my pc, according to the specs. I gave the specs below of my pc. These are the specs and features of the ext hd:

Your drive comes with:

High Speed USB 2.0 Drive, USB 2.0 Cable, External Power Supply, Drivers and Utility CD, Silver Color, Compact, Stylish Design, Ice blue indicator light, Maximum Transfers up to 480Mbps

Features include:

Hot Swappable - Plug & Play, Aluminum design to keep your drive running cool and quiet.
Add extra storage to your computer without opening up your computer case.
Easily share one hard disk drive between multiple computers

Are some external hard drives just not compatible with a pc, no matter what, or is there a logical explanation that just isn't yet apparent?
Denise