External drive not recognised by PC
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 668
Likes: 0
From: Adelaide
External drive not recognised by PC
I have a Toshiba External HDD, USB 3.0 that shows up in device manager ( no volume info available though ) but is not otherwise accessible. It appears to have no drive letter allocated, I've done some web trawling and other than send us some $ for our software or perform a data recovery, I've not found a fix. My PC is a Win 7 OS.
Any help appreciated
SF
Any help appreciated
SF
Last edited by SeldomFixit; 14th October 2014 at 01:35. Reason: added info
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: Sydney
I had something similar a while ago on an XP machine. In the end it came down to the drive letter that the External drive was using had been mapped by something else, and as a result of the conflict the external drive lost out and never appeared.
I can't remember exactly where I deleted the unwanted mapping , but look for unused drives in the F-H range ( your PC may be different ) and remove them It may allow the HDD to by properly found
Good luck
D.
I can't remember exactly where I deleted the unwanted mapping , but look for unused drives in the F-H range ( your PC may be different ) and remove them It may allow the HDD to by properly found
Good luck
D.
Chief Tardis Technician
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 554
Likes: 0
From: Western Australia S31.715 E115.737
Yes, more than like a drive conflict. Happens all the time with memory sticks that are used and have been mapped on another machine.
Try re allocating you last drive to a free letter ( with new drive disconnected ) then plug the other drive in. If that works, re letter the new drive to a free letter then put the old one back.
Its a bit of messing around, but should fix it.
Try re allocating you last drive to a free letter ( with new drive disconnected ) then plug the other drive in. If that works, re letter the new drive to a free letter then put the old one back.
Its a bit of messing around, but should fix it.
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 380
Likes: 0
From: Wengen
Drives
Best to update all drivers before installing.
It's the USB slot needs updating.
Then connect your external drive and see if that's ok.
If not, relaunch driver updater with the external drive attached.
Use Driver Genius, Driver Detective or Driver Booster in that order to troubleshoot.
It's the USB slot needs updating.
Then connect your external drive and see if that's ok.
If not, relaunch driver updater with the external drive attached.
Use Driver Genius, Driver Detective or Driver Booster in that order to troubleshoot.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 668
Likes: 0
From: Adelaide
Thank you all for the suggestions
Drivers are all up to date - Disk manager won't allow drive letter rename on the problem HDD. I renamed my PC's "F" and reattached the external - still not recognised. Under disk manager it doesn't show a file system but properties shows it as being FAT32. There is no Volume name available and continues to confound me. It's possible that it may have been attached to a MAC previously but with the file system being FAT32...?
I'll attach it to a MAC and see what happens.
Again - thank you all. Enlightening and appreciated.
SF
Drivers are all up to date - Disk manager won't allow drive letter rename on the problem HDD. I renamed my PC's "F" and reattached the external - still not recognised. Under disk manager it doesn't show a file system but properties shows it as being FAT32. There is no Volume name available and continues to confound me. It's possible that it may have been attached to a MAC previously but with the file system being FAT32...?
I'll attach it to a MAC and see what happens.
Again - thank you all. Enlightening and appreciated.
SF
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
From: East sussex
W/xp as does W/7 uses the NTFS file system for HD I imagine the HDD might need to be formatted to NTFS. This link might help.............
Comparing NTFS and FAT file systems
Daz
Comparing NTFS and FAT file systems
Daz
Plastic PPRuNer
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,902
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From: Rochechouart, France
Some external enclosures have problems dealing with big drives.
I've had one that flinched at anything over 2TB and two (including a USB3 box) that became confused with 4TB drives.
Mac
I've had one that flinched at anything over 2TB and two (including a USB3 box) that became confused with 4TB drives.
Mac
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
From: Idlewild Peake
I had a similar Toshiba external HDD with the same problem. Tried everything I, and others, could think of - no joy. Returned it to the place of purchase-computer shop, full of experts-they tested it on their computer - same problem. Told me that they have had lots of returns of these so gave me another one, different brand, which works perfectly.
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,290
Likes: 9
From: BHX LXR ASW
If you decide on a new hard drive think about an SSD. They're coming down in price, they're much faster and in my view an excellent investment. It saves me buying a new Macbook Pro. Mine is 500gb and cost £159.
Official PPRuNe Chaplain
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,498
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From: Witnesham, Suffolk
I was about to say the same - try EASEUS.
If you can't allocate it a drive letter using Disk Management, then something is adrift. It may be power - USB-powered hard drives can be a pain. EASEUS will tell you, and may be able to format it for you.
If you can't allocate it a drive letter using Disk Management, then something is adrift. It may be power - USB-powered hard drives can be a pain. EASEUS will tell you, and may be able to format it for you.
