I have the 250GB elements external disk drive. The problem i have is the windows (xp) doesnt recongize it when i plug it in.
I dont belive it is a problem with the usb port as my memory stick and mp3 player can still connect. I have tried plugging it into a different computer where it also wouldnt recongize it.
The only thing i have noticed, is that theres no 'drive' sound from the unit when plugged in.
Any help would be greatly appreciated... i have all my music on there which i cant access!
Uninstall the USB Universal Host Controller, in the device manager, then scan for hardware changes.
Dose the blue power light come on?
Do you get a error code?
Try Unplug the USB drive from the new USB port and plug it into the original port. Windows will reset and recognize the device.
Hiya dtwhite... I would suggest that the hard drive has died.. "Elements" are notorious for giving up the ghost, and normally around the 13months mark! I had a 320gb hard drive with exactly the same symptoms. Lost a helluva lot of music and photos!
One sure fire way of eliminating, whether it is just the leads at fault, or connections.. on the unit .. which very rarely it can be.. is to take out the hard drive and connect direct to your pc.. as a slave.. ( Do you know how?)... you may get lucky and find it still works... I would suggest though that if you are.. move evrything off ASAP on to something a little more reliable like a Western Digital... Never had a prob with this brand.. or indeed Toshiba! who are relatively new to the hard drive world. Use your Elements purely as an absolute emergency backup drive.
Remember to earth yourself and comp before removing or replacing anything.. or it will turn out to be an expensive exercise.
You require any help with jumper settings let me know
regards Faggly
Hiya .. My apologies.. I thought we were talking desktop pc ... The easisest and least expensive way of finding out is to find a "good" friend with a desktop.. and either them letting you, or them doing it for you, when it comes to connecting it as a slave! Its fairly straightforward, but thats my suggestion if you are inexperienced at the mo!
If you are Uk based, you could get a "local" comp shop to try and retrieve the files for a modest charge.. around £15-£25...
I personally would not recommend you taking apart your laptop, unless you are a competent and confident techie. A lot of them now have fixings which require "specialist" tools... and are more bother than the basic computer person can cope with.. Its obviously your choice.
I would resign yourself to possibly losing the data, and write it off to experience,, we have all been here!! Remember in future to always back up your files to disc.
There are specialist software utilities to recover files and data, but you will pay for them! But either way you need to get the drive to a desktop com as a slave... ideally
If you do get the opportunity to try the drive as a slave, and recover the files... think of it as a bonus
I,m sorry I cant be more upbeat about... but as I state.. we have all been here at some point!
Regards Faggly
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Faggly, Thanks for ur quick response.
How do i go about taking it apart and connecting as a slave as you suggested? i need to try anything.
Is there no possible way of retrieving all my data even if the drive is broken? Sometimes you just cant win... I moved all my data and music to this hard drive thinking it would be safer there.. and this happens. damn the bad luck!
Also, you mentioned about earthing myself and the laptop... ? am i likely to get an electrical shock??
And jumper settings? not sure on this either. excuse my computer in-experience!
Thanks again for ur help.
Hard drive not detected and New Hardware Wizard appeared asking me to install software for USB device
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