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maxtor external hard drive unformatted and undesignated by drive letter

5K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  binaryman10011 
#1 ·
xp cannot find it.......disk manager can.....do format and no drive letter help please.....thank you


#1 (permalink)
robtonet
Registered User


Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 1
OS: xp


help trying to initialize an external hard drive on xp home ed

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i may not know enough about the problem to completly describe it...but i will begin......an 80 gig external hard drive was given to me..it was rebuilt on a win 2000 system....my home edition of win xp--reconginzes it....as disk 1- in disk manager....however it is not formatted or able to be found, and does not have a drive letter assigend to it... i logged on as "administrator" ...in safe mode, to see if i could get the drive path settings option to come up in disk manager ...i could not-------does any of this make any sense to anyone?.......that option still does not come up..under user or administrator...in disk managment--so it is unformatted and has no drive letter......thus xp cannot find it......

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model ME051
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 8 GenuineIntel ~1396 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A04, 12/22/2005
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name
Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 96.26 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.20 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys


and here it is.........the maxtor


HID-compliant mouse HID\VID_046D&PID_C03D\6&14CF6B80&0&0000
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2658&SUBSYS_01C91028&REV_03\3&61AAA01&0&E8
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2659&SUBSYS_01C91028&REV_03\3&61AAA01&0&E9
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_265A&SUBSYS_01C91028&REV_03\3&61AAA01&0&EA
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_265B&SUBSYS_01C91028&REV_03\3&61AAA01&0&EB
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_265C&SUBSYS_01C91028&REV_03\3&61AAA01&0&EF
MAXTOR 6 L080J4 USB Device USBSTOR\DISK&VEN_MAXTOR_6&PROD_L080J4&REV_0000\200509111897&0
USB Human Interface Device USB\VID_046D&PID_C03D\5&30F4D41&0&1
USB Mass Storage Device USB\VID_0C0B&PID_2BCF\200509111897
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&4805F35&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&7A43B75&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&160A87EC&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&34013DBF&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB20\4&E2B20A0&0

it is on the system and the system reconginizes it......but i cant find it, click on it, and it is not in my list, when i open start and explore devices...........any help??-------it apparently needs to be formatted with nfts or fat..........i am lost......i am afraid this will be a sort of convuleted email tag deal........so thanks for you help-------robtonet@yahoo.com
 
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#2 · (Edited)
What size is the hard drive?

Do you know what motherboard you have?

STEP 1: CHECK POWER (click for expanded instructions further down the page)


Verify that the drive light and the light on the AC adapter (power supply) is illuminated normally.
It is sometimes necessary to contact Technical Support for troubleshooting and/or possibly to replace the power supply if it behaves unusually.





STEP 2: CHECK CABLING (click for expanded instructions further down the page)



Confirm that your USB/Firewire cable is firmly connected in a port that is on the rear of your desktop computer (if you have a desktop).
Try another USB or Firewire port.
If your drive is powered only by USB, such as the FreeAgent Go, the Maxtor OneTouch mini, and the Seagate Portable drive, then the drive's cable has two USB connectors. Try connecting both of the free USB connectors into a USB port for maximum power availability.
Avoid connecting the drive via a USB hub for now.



STEP 3: WINDOWS SERVICE PACKS


Follow these instructions to ensure that your installation of Windows XP/2000 has been updated to the latest Windows Service Pack.

Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties.

The System Properties window will appear. On the General tab (which will be at the front), see the "System:" information.

For Windows 2000: Update to Service Pack 4.

For Windows XP: Update to Service Pack 2.

Allow your computer to complete the installation of the Service Pack.

Reboot the computer and connect the drive. Turn it on and see if the drive is detected now.





STEP 4: CHECK DISK MANAGEMENT (click for expanded instructions further down the page)


Check Disk Management to see if the drive is detected there.


Right-click on My Computer, select Manage, select Disk Management.

Check the upper window to find whether the drive letter is present.

Check the lower window to find whether the drive is detected (such as, Disk 1, Disk 2, etc).

If it is detected as with a drive letter, verify no other device is already using that drive letter. If it is, change the drive letter of the external drive to some unused letter (click here to see more instructions on how to do so).

If changing the drive letter is not possible or the drive does not have a drive letter at all, attempt to reformat the drive (click here to see more instructions on how to do so). This will erase any data on the drive, but since the drive is brand new, there is nothing to erase on it.

If it is still not detected, proceed to Step 4.




STEP 5: CHECK DEVICE MANAGER (click for expanded instructions further down the page)



Verify that your Windows installation contains the most recent Service Pack.

In the left column of Computer Management, click on Device Manager.

Look for the drive’s model number/name in Disk drives (a category under Device Manager).

It will probably not be there. If it is, test the drive on another computer if you can.

If it is not there, check under Other devices (a category under Device Manager).

If under Other devices an Unknown device appears, double-click on it.

Under the General tab, we would expect to see "This device is not working properly" and either (Code 28) or (Code 10).

If Code 10 appears, the drive has most probably failed.
Double-check that you have installed the most up-to-date Windows Service Pack.
Verify by trying the drive with another USB cable or port, or on another computer.
If none of this gets the drive detected, you can begin a replacement order online, or, since the drive is new, you can usually exchange the faulty unit for a replacement at your place of purchase (please contact the place of purchase for a full explanation of their policy regarding returns).

If Code 28 appears, you will need to test the drive on another computer. If the drive works fine on another computer, follow the procedure in this Knowledge Base article’s Step 11.




STEP 6: CONNECT TO ANOTHER PC (click for expanded instructions further down the page)


The final troubleshooting step is to rule out any problem with the computer itself. This is most easily accomplished by connecting the drive to another computer that has either Windows Vista or XP/2000 (not 2000 Server or 2003 Server). If similar symptoms follow the drive to the 2nd computer, the probability that the drive is faulty is increased.
If similar symptoms do not follow the drive to the 2nd computer, the problem may well lie in the original computer. You will then need to start further troubleshooting on the computer itself.
 
#4 · (Edited)
so what is the deal kids??----i am not getting much help--- this guy wants to know the size of the drive and it is in the first sentence of my description.........so you can pretty well disregard him......anyone else..have a clue................thanks, i think..robtonet@yahoo.com
I'll let ya slide on the above statement bro! The answer can be found on your hard drive itself... Look at your hard drive; the manufacture put a little white sticker with some information, like the the Model. It appears like the drive lost its partition structure and formatting. You might want to call on maxtor support and obtain a new disk from them, the one that would come with a new external hard drive> O wait you have a used one! Sorry about that, hand-me-downs S_ _ _ !



If you treat someone’s question as a dumb/stupid one, then you’re in for a surprise! No question is ever dumb or stupid... Sometimes the stupidest questions can give us the answer... Be a little nicer next time bro ya never know who's going to help you. O and next time you might want to put the type of hard drive you have S/N and model number. Yes we know it's a maxtor 8ogb, But what Maxtor?
 
#6 · (Edited)
The other reason I want some more info on your hard drive is you might be using one for a Mac only or did you think of that already? Hmmm It could be set up for a Mac and you need the disk it came with to make some needed adjustments or I could be so wrong altogether, remember I'm just a dumb asssss but I'm not having trouble with mine.........haha
 
#8 ·
thanks, that is much better........i have posted all info about the drive and my laptop that i think is available to me to pass along........so you know more about it than i do..........i think the answer is give this drive back to the person who gave it to me......and get one that is known to work.........so if anyone else posts the same problem that is my response.....it is for sure workable and no hassle............thanks you all.......
 
#10 ·
no----i may not be competent enough to do that--though, i can read the ms troubleshooter instructions and if i was confident enough that i thought it would work i would spend the time and effort and give it a try.......however i cannot get anyone on this forum to acknowledge that this is a common problem( and therefore has a common solution)--so that is my hesitation!!-in reading up on it.......it appears to be a common problem with xp-----if so, there should be a common solution..........

.but none forthcoming........so i am not going to spend a huge amount of time and effort in screwing around with something i don't think will work. -in disk manager it shows up as disk 1(no drive letter and no options to assign one...i logged on as administrator in safe mode.......and still no option to assign drive letter and drive paths..........clear?--my solution is to give it back to my kid---and get one that i know will work on xp.........but thanks .............
 
#11 ·
In post #1 you stated that the drive was moved from a Windows 2000 system - therefore it was assumed the drive had been formatted before.
Did you try rewriting the partition table/MFT?

Or - right click the drive in XP's disk management. That should bring a menu where you can format the drive (and wipe any data on it).
 
#12 ·
I may be off base here, but if you ask for help you should be appreciative of volunteer help, eneles you are a better man than me, i wouldn't have helped him after the snide comment.

the best idea for fixing this if you have no critical data and just want the drive, format it from a bootable disk
 
#13 ·
thanks both, that menu did appear--it came up but didnt allow me to use it.....therefore i logged as administrator......and tried it...same thing....(the menu was there but faded)

according to what i read...it is more or less and xp issue.....again, thanks......and again it appears it be a fairly common problem(according to what i read) and it looks like no common, well known resolution....but thanks....it seems to be a lot more difficult than it should be......my solution is to use one that is proven to work with xp----(and the issue remains unresolved!!--thanks all
 
#14 · (Edited)
If you can't fix the problem, blame bill, works for me.

I've worked on xp machines for 5 years, as a pc tech i have found that there are common problems with some equipment, but more often than not, the problem is just a fluke, and almost always requires a good look at the problem, and a desire to actually find the problem, If you can't see the disk in disk manager, check if bios or post picked it up, if bios sees it, and disk manager does not, check the jumpers again, if that doesn't work, see if a boot disk sees it, if it does, format the joker. if the drive was formatted hpfs and not ntfs, this is not a files system that xp supports, the fact is that if you have a problem with a drive, the MOST likely issue is with the drive, or the file system, not bill and his team of expert software developers. I know that windows has its problems, all OSs have them, just different ones, let's see if you can make it work instead of giving up, calling it common, and blaming bill.

your system sees the drive, when that happens, and no drive letter or info is available for the OS, you need to format, the drive may have a corrupt file system, or any number of issues. but you describe a partition that can be seen, but not recognized, a simple format should work.
 
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