How can I make my external hardrive work on my computer?
When I tried using it on my computer, WindowsXP detected the USB device, but it didn't show a drive letter in My Computer. Moreover, the LED indicator on the external casing was flickering. When I put my ear close to it, the drive seems to be clicking. When I went to device manager, the usb mass storage is detected but there is no drive to format. Actually when I double clicked the usb icon on the status bar, and went to the properties of the storage device that is detected then populated the volume, windows says that the device is unreadable. The device works fine on other pcs
Answers:
could be its not partitioned or formatted, i don't think it displays in my computer if its not.
secondly, i was under the impression that usb supplies 5 volts
a standard ide hard drive needs 5 and 12 volts to work
You need to plug in both USB cables. That is how the super-portable Seagate external HDD works.
You can try unplugging it, then plugging it back in. Another thing, Im not sure how your external case is setup, but like the one i have, one USB powers the drive, the other reads the data. On some PCs, I have to plug only the power cord in first, let it "spin up", then plug the data side in, to make it work. You will just have to experiment with your case to see which is which. Try it on a PC your external works on, see which USB allows you to access the data, and which one doesnt.
Not sure.
I bought a mybook 250 gb and it loaded a software.
Did yours come with any software disks?
What about windows update, have you tried that?
is it an ntfs or fat system file format? there are three cable connectors for the drive. one is for your hard drive and the other two are used to connect it to the computer. check also if your usb port works correctly. try to connect other usb device and if others work, better go to the shop where you purchase it and ask.,
I have the same problem with a Maxtor One Touch III.
It has to do with the power to the device. The thing you mentioned about it working on other systems clued me into it.
Basically, try using both plugs on the other USB ports on the system. I have a system that has front USB ports, and the Maxtor drive just sits there and clicks because it is not getting enough power/signal, so I have to use the rear ports directly from the board.
The thing about the drive I have, is that there is an optional power adapter that can be purchased, but this obviously isn't an option for you, so I would definitely suggest trying another set of USB ports on the system (preferably the ones directly on the board). If that won't work, there isn't much you can do, as I have the same problem. If there is a problem where you aren't able to use the rear plugs due to cable length, you can use extension cables, however I haven't gotten any USB hubs to work (even ones with extra power cables) with my drive (same issue as using front USB ports). Also, USB cards, give the same results as hubs.
You could contact Seagate or the external casing maker and see what they say, but I doubt they will be able to help you. If you contact Seagate though, mention the drive above and tell them you are having the same type of problem that drive would without the power adapter and see what they say.
Best of luck.
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