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Laptop won't recognize external HD
-Spitfire-
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
OK, so I've had this desktop computer for quite a few years, and a couple of weeks ago it just... died. It says "please insert system disk" and when I insert the disk, it says "please insert system disk". So, whatever. A few months prior I had purchased a laptop (which is about twice as good as the desktop was) so I'm not without a computer, but I am without all the files I need from my old compy.
So I thought to myself that there had to be a way to make the old harddrive into what amounts to an external drive for the laptop. I described my situation to the gentleman at the computer store, who sold me a housing unit. I got it all assembled and so forth, but when I connect it to the laptop, it doesn't appear on the list of "drives" on my menu. My device manager lists it as a "USB Mass Storage Device" so the computer obviously knows there's "a big thing with lots of stuff" connected to it, but it won't let me in. It is also listed under "Disk Drives" with a location of "0". They also all say "this device is working properly".
Obviously I am doing something wrong, or possibly off completely in left field with the whole idea (always a possibility!)
I'm running Windows XP Pro.
So I thought to myself that there had to be a way to make the old harddrive into what amounts to an external drive for the laptop. I described my situation to the gentleman at the computer store, who sold me a housing unit. I got it all assembled and so forth, but when I connect it to the laptop, it doesn't appear on the list of "drives" on my menu. My device manager lists it as a "USB Mass Storage Device" so the computer obviously knows there's "a big thing with lots of stuff" connected to it, but it won't let me in. It is also listed under "Disk Drives" with a location of "0". They also all say "this device is working properly".
Obviously I am doing something wrong, or possibly off completely in left field with the whole idea (always a possibility!)
I'm running Windows XP Pro.
-Spitfire- on
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Have you tried a different HD in the same enclosure yet?
... is there a difference?
It died one day while I was surfing my own website - froze and stopped responding. It gave me the error when I rebooted.
Can I get the data back?
The answer is to use two USB ports.
Some external drives/enclosures come with a special USB cable to address this problem - it has one USB connector for the drive, and two for the PC - a way of making sure it gets enough power. You just need to find one of those and it should work.
I also heard that it can take some time for the drive to register, but it's been overnight and still nothing.
EDIT: to a previous reply - I haven't tried another HD in the enclosure yet, simply because I don't have extra ones lying around. I haven't tried connecting it to another computer either, for the same reason.
First, see if there's chipset or USB drivers for your laptop on your manufacturer's website, and install those. Occasionally, that can be the issue.
If that doesn't help, put the drive back into the desktop it was previously in, and boot off a Knoppix LiveCD (set the CD/DVD drive as the first boot device in your BIOS). If you can't access the HD that way, it's probably dead.
Does the desktop's BIOS recognize the old drive?