Computer doesn't recognize hard drive

USB hard drive is a portable external storage device that works just like a conventional hard drive. The device is simply plugged into a USB port on your computer as you would connect a flash drive. Unlike a flash drive, however, a USB hard drive can store a much larger amount of data. If your computer will not recognize your USB hard drive, you can try troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem.

Plug one end of the USB cable into the port on your hard drive and plug the other end into the USB port of your computer. Ensure that both ends of the cable are connected securely. Open "My Computer" (Windows XP) or "Computer" (Windows Vista/7). The USB device should be listed as "removable disk" once it is plugged into the computer. If it is not listed among the available drives on your computer, proceed to the next step. Ensure that the data cable is working properly. Try another USB cable if you have one available. Disconnect all other USB devices from the computer as they may interfere with the operating system detecting the external hard drive. Reboot the computer if the USB hard drive is still not recognized. Plug the USB cable into another USB port and check to see if the device is detected. If you are using a USB hub, remove the device and plug the external hard drive directly into a USB port. If the computer still fails to recognize the device, the external hard drive itself may be experiencing a hardware problem. Check the status of the hard drive in the "Device Manager" window. Under Windows XP, right click "My Computer" and select "Device Manager." For Windows Vista and Windows 7, click the "Windows" button in the lower left corner of the screen, then type "Computer Management" in the search bar and press "Enter." Select "Device Manager" in the "Computer Management" window. In the Device Manager window, click the "+" sign that appears beside "Disk Drives." If the external drive is not listed, click "Other Devices" in the Device Manager window and see if an "Unknown Device" appears. The external hard drive may have been detected but the device is not working properly. If it is still under warranty, take the device to the computer store where it was purchased to have it repaired or replaced. Hope this helps.

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click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x
right click to reinstall drivers or
if you can see your usb but its not working
ports(com&lpt)right click update driver
sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable,
just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again,

check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems also make sure the computers Ram and Cmos battery are securely seated
if this fails to fix the problem
you might have to install a usb 2 or 3 card they are cheap and easy to install you can buy these on Ebay very cheap
hope this helps
a cnet rview
Pros: Lots of space, very low price, doesn't require outside power
Cons: Sometimes stops working, no firewire (but still a quick transfer speed)
Summary: This doesn't require outside power, but sometimes you need to hook it up to 2 USB ports. The USB cable has 2 heads. Sucks when I only have 3 USB ports on my laptop.

Also sometimes it spontaneously stops communicating with the computer. I don

click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x
right click to reinstall drivers or
if you can see your usb but its not working
ports(com&lpt)right click update driver
sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable,
just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again,

check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems also make sure the computers Ram and Cmos battery are securely seated
if this fails to fix the problem
you might have to install a usb 2 or 3 card they are cheap and easy to install you can buy these on Ebay very cheap
hope this helps

click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x
right click to reinstall drivers or
if you can see your usb but its not working
ports(com&lpt)right click update driver
sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable,
just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again,

check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems also make sure the computers Ram and Cmos battery are securely seated
if this fails to fix the problem
hope this helps you

1. Try a different USB port. If other ports recognize it, then the original port is fried. 2. Try a different computer. If the other computer does not recognize it, then your flash drive is damaged.

Good Luck!

click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x
right click to reinstall drivers or
if you can see your usb but its not working
ports(com&lpt)right click update driver
sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable,
just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again,
check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems also make sure the computers Ram and Cmos battery are securely seated
hope this helps

if your computer came with a motherboard disc the drivers could be on it
click start control panel administrive tools ,computer management ,device manager look through all of your devices if you see a yellow question mark?or exclamation mark ! or red x
right click to reinstall drivers or
if you can see your usb but its not working
ports(com&lpt)right click update driver
just replace the cable of the hard disk, when you plugged the external disk drive you got that windows could recognize the USB device change the cable everything should work fine again, sometimes the wires inside the cable will be damaged due to bending or stretching or placing heavy equipment upon the cable,
check the USB leads that attach to the motherboard usually red-white-green-black make sure they are securely seated and have no dust build up on them dust will cause static and a lot of unforeseen problems hope this helps

please right click computer then Manager under storage, click Disk management. if you see you usb drive there, simply right click on it and format to exfat. fat32,or ntfs. if it doesn't show up, it pretty much shows that it needs an upgrade.

well ur drive is on offline mode... go to disk management and make it online and assign it a drive letter

Change the mini usb cable. Some mini usb cable are for charging and not data. It happen to me and used the externo hard drive usb mini cable and zapppppp my computer nows read the gps and gave it a drive (h:\). hope it works for you.