Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk

boubabix · 08-18-2008, 02:08 PM

hello. I just bought a 320 Gb WD hard disk and I am having trouble with my windows xp coccinelle. At first I noticed it is a 2.0 usb hard drive so I downloaded the drivers for my motherboard ASUS A7N8X-E deluxe seeing that the service pack 2 for windows did not do the trick. The problem there is that all of my 4 usb ports do not see the device. They work however when I connect other usb devices on them. It is not the hard disk's problem either as I manage to connect it to a friend's portable pc. Can anyone spot the problem??

Thank you very much
a very desperate girlie :D

**kev1952** · 08-18-2008, 02:18 PM

Is the drive separately powered? If so is it plugged in? Does ANYTHING happen when you plug it in?

boubabix · 08-18-2008, 02:25 PM

no it is self powered by the usb cable. Nothing happens when I connect it.

**kev1952** · 08-18-2008, 02:39 PM

It just sounds like you are not getting power (or enough power) to it. What PSU do you have in the computer?

boubabix · 08-18-2008, 02:49 PM

a 400W ... but I dont think that is the problem when I connect the hard disk I can hear it spin once and then tick plus its light is on. That's new though I never though of the possibility of not enough power :)

**kev1952** · 08-18-2008, 02:57 PM

You said you tested it on a friends machine and it worked okay. What PSU has your friend go in his system? You *could* also try using a split USB cable for it (you plug the drive into 2 USB ports) that will allow you to use power from one and data from the other.

Note about the PSU - 400W is very low power for modern machines. To illustrate - I have a spare machine that gets used for a number of things. It had a 400W PSU in it. I went to install a 2nd hard disk in it and it would simply slowed to a crawl during boot. Disconnected the drive and away it went. Nothing wrong with either drive so I installed a new PSU (550W and reputable brand), re-installed the drive and it worked like a charm. What I'm getting at is that there does come a time when the PSU doesn't have enough output for all the devices you connect.

08-18-2008, 02:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
boubabix Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: win xp coccinelle SP2	Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk hello. I just bought a 320 Gb WD hard disk and I am having trouble with my windows xp coccinelle. At first I noticed it is a 2.0 usb hard drive so I downloaded the drivers for my motherboard ASUS A7N8X-E deluxe seeing that the service pack 2 for windows did not do the trick. The problem there is that all of my 4 usb ports do not see the device. They work however when I connect other usb devices on them. It is not the hard disk's problem either as I manage to connect it to a friend's portable pc. Can anyone spot the problem?? Thank you very much a very desperate girlie :D

08-18-2008, 02:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
kev1952 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Townsville, Australia Posts: 1,007 OS: Win Vista Home Premium	Re: Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk Is the drive separately powered? If so is it plugged in? Does ANYTHING happen when you plug it in? __________________ Cheers.... Kev *"The Definition of an Upgrade: Take old bugs out, put new ones in."* Please don't send me PM's for support. Post in the forums for everyone to benefit.

08-18-2008, 02:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
boubabix Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: win xp coccinelle SP2	Re: Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk no it is self powered by the usb cable. Nothing happens when I connect it.

08-18-2008, 02:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
kev1952 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Townsville, Australia Posts: 1,007 OS: Win Vista Home Premium	Re: Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk It just sounds like you are not getting power (or enough power) to it. What PSU do you have in the computer? __________________ Cheers.... Kev *"The Definition of an Upgrade: Take old bugs out, put new ones in."* Please don't send me PM's for support. Post in the forums for everyone to benefit.

08-18-2008, 02:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
boubabix Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: win xp coccinelle SP2	Re: Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk a 400W ... but I dont think that is the problem when I connect the hard disk I can hear it spin once and then tick plus its light is on. That's new though I never though of the possibility of not enough power :)

08-18-2008, 02:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
kev1952 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Townsville, Australia Posts: 1,007 OS: Win Vista Home Premium	Re: Windows cannot see my external WD hard disk You said you tested it on a friends machine and it worked okay. What PSU has your friend go in his system? You could also try using a split USB cable for it (you plug the drive into 2 USB ports) that will allow you to use power from one and data from the other. Note about the PSU - 400W is very low power for modern machines. To illustrate - I have a spare machine that gets used for a number of things. It had a 400W PSU in it. I went to install a 2nd hard disk in it and it would simply slowed to a crawl during boot. Disconnected the drive and away it went. Nothing wrong with either drive so I installed a new PSU (550W and reputable brand), re-installed the drive and it worked like a charm. What I'm getting at is that there does come a time when the PSU doesn't have enough output for all the devices you connect. __________________ Cheers.... Kev *"The Definition of an Upgrade: Take old bugs out, put new ones in."* Please don't send me PM's for support. Post in the forums for everyone to benefit.