external hard drive is absent?

Question

HI,i had to reinstall windows and all was well until i discovered my external hard drive is not on pc even though it is connected.Did i do something wrong when i reinstalled windows xp?....Thanks for reading.

Answer 1

If the external HD is connected via USB test another usb device to ensure that your USB drivers are working properly.

If the HD is set up firewire do the same thing.

If the HD is set up as a NAS then make sure that you have put that computer on the network and have allowed the proper sharing / setup that you did when you hooked up the external device before.

Answer 2

ok well first of all i think everyone above me is wrong and this is what i think happend
you were wiping your pc and left the external plugged in and when you got to the partition screen you deleted all partitions and one of them was the external drive if so then you've lost all your data on that drive but you can still get the drive to work all you need to do is put in the windows xp cd again and go back to the partitions screen and find your external(it should be plugged in now) and make a new partition on it and when it ask you what size you want to make it then just select the what ever your allowed its normally just typed into the box anyway then hit enter then turn off the pc by holding in the power button for 5 seconds and then turn it on again and leave it boot up properly as normal and it should show up in my computer.
anymore questions email me [e-mail]

Answer 3

not an expert, but I think you have to reinstall the external hard drive software on your pc. Shut down computer, reboot, does it reconize new hardware? if so ..go from there on hard drive installation.

If that does not work, you may need a driver reinstalled. Ok, ask someone else cause this is just stuff I would do first before I asked someone else..like my computer multimillion dollar husband...I hate it when he tells me what to do with my computer

Good Luck

Answer 4

There may be a drive letter interfering with the old external.
This assumes you can hear the Ba-Bing when you plug in the USB drive, but not drive appears in Explorer:

In windows explorer:
1) right click My Computer, select Manage
2) click Disk Management
3) scroll down on the bottom right window until you can see your external hard drive.
4) right click on it, and click Change Drive letter...
5) click Change,
6) pick a new letter.
7) then a bunch of OK's...

and voila!!
If you need more help, let me know!

Answer 5

If you have put on a fresh installation of XP you will need all the relevant drivers for your hardware.

Try turning off the PC, disconnecting the Drive and rebooting.
Then try re-connecting and see if windows recognises it.

Good Luck



:~}

Answer 6

From Control Panel, Classic view, double click on "Add Hardware".
Windows will try to find your drive and either ask you for the installation disk or will use drivers already on the computer.

If Windows does not find it, check your USBs first, and if they are OK, you will need the manufacturers installation disk.

Answer 7

while your computing gadget is on, attempt unplugging it, wait 10 seconds and plug it lower back in. you do not point out what working equipment you utilize. Assuming you're utilising windoze, if the hot hardware shows up yet tension does not take place in the two Mycomputer or in explorer (record supervisor), then the disk is in all probability corrupt. attempt plugging it right into a different port in case you have extra suitable than one. attempt unplugging it whilst your computing gadget is on. turn your computing gadget off. turn it lower back on. Wait till at last the os boots up. Plug it lower back in. look interior the form log archives. There might desire to be an blunders message there which will lead you interior the the terrific option direction. while utilising windose, that's tricky to diagnose issues like this. while you're utilising Linux, enable me know. that's truly consumer-friendly to remedy once you're utilising Linux.

Answer 8

you may have to re-install any software if any cam with the external drive. otherwise, do a search for hardware from the start menu under printers and other hardware. once located install the sytem on it, or you may want to install the full windows program on it.

Answer 9

It sounds like your external hard drive is hooked via USB. Make sure you install the drivers for your USBs.

Answer 10

click start, control panel, click classic view, select device manager, and look to see if you see any thing with a question mark or exclamation mark next to it. if there is, right click on it and select properties, then select to reinstall or install the drivers for it. if windows can't find any, then you may need to go to the manufacturer's website and download and run them.