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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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

Was this answer helpful?

40+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

42 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2010-08-11T14:19:47+00:00

    Thanks for your help.  Always appreciated, and looking forward to giving it a try.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2010-08-11T14:18:55+00:00

    Thank you....I will give this a try!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2010-08-11T03:27:19+00:00

    Having had some problems with external hard drives. Some USB ports do not recognise the hard drives, or they are sometimes recognised but  when copying it hangs.

    But works on laptops with no problems  ( Iused a powered 5 port hub with the laptop as when I had the USB mouse connected and then tried to connect other items to the 2 remaining original USB ports I had recognition trouble and that was solved with the powered hub)

     The difference is that main computers may have a lot of USB ports and many of them being used . Mine has printer , scanner, mouse and occasionally others added such as card reader , web cam.

    I found that use of an external powered USB hub (cost about $20) solved all the problems.  It maybe that with so many internal USB connections that there are conflicts or power problems.  Give it a try anyway, may solve your problem.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2010-05-20T14:51:58+00:00

    LemP

    I will just have to keep trying other solutions as best I can.  I know it is not with the drive, as it works fine on my older computer XP, and a newer computer Vista.  It does exactly what it is supposed to do, except on my computer at home.  Here is what I have done as a temporary solution so that I can at least use the drive.  It really is a way around, rathter than fixing it.  With help, I connected the drives in my two networked computers, so when I plug the drive into the computer where it is seen, I can also see it, on the computer where it does not work!  I have shared the printers and the drive.  It is a great temporary fix until I can find out what is really wrong.  Thanks so much for your help so far. 

    Gratefully,

    bonofan1823

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments