Hi,
I have a couple of 500Gb WD Elements USB drives. But my laptop (Acer Aspire 5920G running Vista Home Professional) has stopped recognising them. It registers that a mass storage device is attached, but doesn't assign a drive letter or show them in 'My Computer'.
Its not a problem with the drives, or the cable, because my work laptop (Acer Aspire 5720 also running Vista Home Professional) will recognise them.
Its also not a problem with my laptop not recognising any USB drive, because it will recognised my other USB drive (500 Gb WD Passport).
And, finally, its not a low power issue, because the Elements drive (not recognised) is powered, but the Passport (recognised) is not.
I'm guessing that there is some kind of specific driver issue, but any help with what it might be would be appreciated.
Try going to Disk Management and see if they show up there.
If your computer is recognizing a mass storage device they should show up in disk management and you can just assign them a drive letter.
Testimonial: "Brilliant solution. Worked like a charm. Thx."
I add "absolutely brilliant" too. My computer only showed "USB Storage Device" but not what kind of device. I was not sure if my WD Elements External Hard Drive was functioning properly or if the driver was working properly for the device. I followed your instructions. "Incredible!" I found my external hard drive listed under "Disk Management". Although it was not listed by the other hard drives, I found it down under the list of hard drives in a row of disk spaces listed. I found it because it was the only large amount of disk space without an assigned drive space. I clicked on it, then clicked on "Properties". I found that Windows had indeed recognized the exact type of the external hard drive, and the drivers installed were properly working. I clicked "ok", to close the "Properties" box. I clicked on it again, then clicked on "Partition". I clicked on "primary partition" then I assigned a letter for the drive, and clicked on "ok" for the type of partition listed. It will automatically choose the type of partition for you. Finally, my external hard disk drive was listed with an assigned drive letter with all the other drives. I only had to "Format" the drive to use it. To "Format" the disk drive, "click on it or click on "Actions" at the top of the "Disk Management". After it formatted, I did have to format it again, and remove off all my files. I did not mind since I had over 930 GB still on it to use which is why I purchased it. Last, I opened "Windows Explorer", found the external hard drive, and renamed it "WD Elements". Now, it is no longer listed as "USB Storage Device", but it is listed as "WD Elements (G:)" and I can transfer files to it now. Two Thumbs Up! Thank you so much. I would have never found the solution.
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I devised these simple steps that tend to remedy quite a few issues with most USB portable / external hard drives and OTHER devices (though not always)
A few things to check but assumes USB and Windows for other interfaces / operating systems (mac/ Linux) similar steps may be adapted to suit.
1. Ensure it is connected directly to the computer to a USB 2.0 port not a USB 1.0 port as this can have effects on performance and reliability
2. Use only the cables that came with it NOT one that fits that may have been lying around or is longer. Not all USB cables are equal even though they should be)
3. Do not connect through an external USB HUB unless that hub is USB 2.0 AND has its own power supply.
4. Use ONLY the power supply that came with it if it has an external power supply Don’t use any other unless you know it has both the same voltage and current rating e.g. 12V 500mA anything rated below that would not work properly.
5. Always use the same port for connecting your devices. Some devices do not like being switched about. If switched they may want to install software / drivers again. This can be especially true if you move a HUB to another port
If you checked and fixed anything there and still have issues then check your hardware from CONTROL PANEL / SYSTEM / HARDWARE.
Any exclamation marks by hardware need fixing before you investigate any further
USB flash drives can fail for no apparent reason.
Sandisk Cruzers are especially bad for this.
USB hard drives should be treated with extreme care.
This is a real hard drive ! and knocks and bumps can quite literally kill them.
It is possible to remove drives from the enclosures in most cases and connect directly inside a PC to fully check it.
Note that if you hear a drive clicking or pinging this could be the worst thing you would hear.
Known as "The Click Of Death"
If none of the above steps help look at updating the drivers from the manufacturers web site in the support section.
My WD Elements drive was sometimes recognized, sometimes not, on boot. I changed the boot sequence in BIOS, so that the HD (internal) drive booted 1st, then the CD/DVD, and 3rdly the FLOPPY (which contains the USB boot). Originally, the FLOPPY was booting first. Because I could always get the WD Elements recognized by unplugging it and replugging it AFTER everything else booted, I figured by making it boot last, I might get a good result. This worked for me.
How to fixs wd elements se 500gb usb device not recognized
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