Western Digital External Hard Drive not Recognized by Windows XP: Does not show up in My Computer or Device Manager.

Anonymous
2010-05-13T01:16:46+00:00

My external hard drive does not run automatically when plugged into my USB port on my computer.  It is not recognized in my computer and it does not show up in Device Manager.  I have applied a hot fix for this problem and it was stated that problems are detected but after applying the hot fix the problem still exits!  HELP.  I went to Western Digital for this problem and they stated in their FAQ's that it is a Windows problem and that the drivers might be corrupted.  This is probably true as the device works perfectly on other computers.  Now what do I do?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2010-08-11T06:46:44+00:00

Here’s the actual steps needed to get your external USB drive assigned a letter in Windows XP if it does not show up in Windows Explorer:

1)     Right-click on “My Computer”

2)     Click “Manage”

3)     Double-click “Disk Management”

4)     You will probably see Disk 0 and Disk 1 for your primary hard drive. Go to lower right portion of box and scroll down until you see Disk 2. It is probably your USB drive without a letter.  It should show the size of the drive.

5)     Right-click in the left portion of that drive box (Disk 2)

6)     Click “Initialize” and “OK” in the next dialog box. This takes just a few seconds and it should now say “Online” in the “Disk 2” box.

7)     Right-click in the box to the right side of the “Disk 2” box (where it shows your disk drive size and says “Unallocated”.

8)     Click “New Partition” and a “New Partition Wizard” will open up.

9)     Click “Next”, then select “Primary Partition” and click “Next”.

10) Verify partition size (use entire disk size available unless you are creating multiple drives) and Click “Next”.

11) Assign drive letter (“F” is typical if CD-Rom is E) and click “Next”.

12) Format this partition with “NTFS”, “Default”, “New Volume” and click “Next”.

13) Then click “Finish” to exit the wizard and start formatting.

14) Be patient… this can take awhile (it took just over an hour for a 320GB drive).

15) When done, you should see an icon for your drive in Windows Explorer!

Hope this helps!!

Doc

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  1. LemP 74,990 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2010-05-16T18:33:51+00:00

    Try the USB port in the back of your computer.

    Also, as I wrote earlier, disconnect all other USB devices from your computer except your mouse and keyboard. Your external drive gets its power from your computer's USB port.  There is only a limited amount of power available from the internal USB hub. If you have several USB devices drawing power, you may exceed the capacity of the hub.

    When you connect your drive to a USB port, is there any indication (sound or popup) that Windows has detected that you connected it? Please report any messages verbatim.  If there is no indication that Windows has detected your drive, then with the drive connected, open Device Manager, right click on the entry for USB controllers and click "scan for hardware changes." Do the same for each of the USB Root Hubs as well.

    General USB troubleshooting help is here . You may have already tried most of these suggestions.

    There are several "USB device not detected" hotfixes from Microsoft. Some of them are specific to certain service pack levels of Windows XP.  Was the hotfix you installed appropriate for your version of Windows? Have you installed sp3?

    There are many entries in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for Windows XP and "USB not detected." Some may not apply to your configuration, so read them carefully before using.  See, for example, this one. Please read it all the way through before using the automated fix.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-05-16T17:36:36+00:00

    My external hard drive is a 250 GB, My Passport Essential.  As I stated above it works on other computers.  The hotfix was from Microsoft, but I can't locate it at the moment so I cannot provice a link.  I will look and try to provide that for you.  It was in an answer from another user who was having the sameproblem.  I did the above in step 2, and nothing worked.  I have to try the USB in the back of my computer and see if that works.  I do  have not power supply to this drive as it is quite lightweight, it just plugs into the USB Port and would normally run automatically.

    I went to Western Digital, and it stated that there is no driver from WD, that the drivers are provided for this product by Windows.  I have been in touch with their techs and have done what they told me to do, which was uninstall and re-install, the drivers for each USB hub and this did not work either.  HELP 

    This is what I have done so far.  Any other suggestions?   I am really at my wits end!  LOL  Thank you for any help at all!

    Sincerely

    bonfan1823

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  3. LemP 74,990 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2010-05-16T00:24:20+00:00

    If the drive doesn't show up in Device Manager, the steps in that article are not going to help (as you noted).

    First, make sure that it isn't the USB port. Try connecting the drive to a different USB port, one which you know works (because another USB device works there).  Also, if this particular WD drive does NOT have its own power supply, disconnect from the computer as many USB devices as possible (obviously, you'll have to leave a USB mouse and/or keyboard).

    [Where did you get the "hotfix"? From Microsoft or WD? Please supply a link.]

    If connecting to a known good USB port doesn't solve the problem, try the following:

    1. Disconnect the drive and turn it off.
    2. Follow the directions here to make "phantom" devices visible in Device Manager. Uninstall all instances of your external USB drive. Report any entries in Device Manager that show a yellow exclamation (!).
    3. Go to Western Digital and IF there is a USB driver (which is not the case for most of WD's external drives), download it and follow WD's installation instructions. You didn't specify which model WD disk you have or what WD FAQ you looked at.  If this is the FAQ you are talking about, see the "Important Note" (in red type). Unless you have one of the WD drives listed in the table as requiring a driver, it is highly unlikely that the driver has been corrupted, regardless of what WD says.  That same driver is used for all of your hard drives, including the internal one(s). If the file was corrupted, you would likely have a lot more problems than just not being able to see your external drive.
    4. Plug the drive's power supply directly into a wall outlet, not a power strip or Uninterruptible Power Supply (you can try plugging it into a power strip or UPS later, once you know it works, but this may cause problems). Connect the USB cable directly into the computer (not into a USB hub). Connect the other end to the drive.
    5. Report the messages that pop up while you're doing Step 4.  Please don't paraphrase. Also, please identify which WD drive you have.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-05-15T23:23:30+00:00

    hello

    i hope it works out for you

    thank you for your response

    Please click the Check Mark As Answered On This Page If this post helps to resolve your issue as it helps others who need quick access to Answers THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK

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