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Solve : External USB Hard Drive Has 'Disappeared'?

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Well I went to Best Buy and picked out a nice 2 TB drive and enclosure... And they were having a special on Toshiba 2TB units, that ended up being $45 cheaper than buying a drive and enclosure.

So I figured, eh?, and bought the self-contained unit.

And to think I was all excited to TRY something new, too!It could actually be the port, or maybe you dropped it on floor accidently or something like that. than it might not be recognized.
Other cause could be the cable maybe, if you have out something heavy on it or something than it might be the cable, you could change the cable, but it's hard to find one that fits the specific drive.
Or maybe its the PSU in your computer, maybe it doesn't supply enough power to your drive.As I mentioned in my OP, the drives have been in the exact same place - they are physically secured - for over a year. The cables are the same cables that I've been using all along.

If the computer doesn't supply enough power, how would it explain that NO computers currently supply enough power, YET WEEKS ago the same computers DID supply enough power? Additionally, how would it explain that it works when the computer and drive are both moved to a different house circuit (a recent discovery, posted last Friday)?


btw - Those aren't snarky questions. If they can be answered, then we're on to something. That's just good troubleshooting!

    Hey, it's the time of year where long-lost friends and relatives (and their attendant problems) show up on our doorstep, expecting pie and love. In that spirit, I'm resurrecting this problem child - even though I love them all the same, this one seems to be the one that gives me the most trouble.

    So I took none of patio's advice and have continued using the 1TB drive.

    However, this time, I can't claim "I did nothing". I moved the desk that my drives were secured under, which meant disturbing the drives. I unplugged them, unbundled the cords, and rebundled them - and then SET them in the exact same place, plugged into the exact same power strip, plugged into the exact same wall socket. They're under a futon now - so they're not being moved/disturbed on a daily basis, just during the furniture move.

    And, you guessed it, the 1TB drive isn't MOUNTING. The 80 and 160 GB are, like a charm.

    WHen I plug the 1TB in, it makes the "USB Connecting" sound, and its drive lights flash and do "normal" looking things - and I can hear the platter engage. But it never mounts. When I click on "Safely Remove Hardware", the drive appears to "safely remove" - but it doesn't have a drive letter, just the name of the drive ("WD 1040" or whatever).

    Here's what I've tried:
    • Several USB cords
    • All four USB (2.0 and 3.0) ports on the laptop
    • Checking diskmgt.msc - nothing appears
    • Gone into Device Manager - "Show Hidden Devices" - and deleted all instances of USB and WD "stuff" and rebooted

    I have not tried plugging in to other power circuits yet; wondering if there's anything else to try.

    And, yes, I know, it's time to buy a new drive on Black Friday...!

    Thanks
    [/list]Glad to hear you took none of my advice....

    Also glad to hear it worked out well...Word, patio.

    Word.


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