Getting Windows XP to detect a usb 2 external hard drive

[bigfoot57]

Hello

I have a 120gb segate barricuda hard drive with windows XP already installed on it but the drive has about 100 gigs free which I want to use as additional storage for dumping old vhs recordings in captured video format using a capture program then convert them to vobs for burning onto dvd's that's what i want to do execpt that windows XP refuses to even detect this drive in the 1st place so how do I do it

I have used the computer manager & disc manager through the control panel etc but it can't even find an entry to attempt basic's such as format the drive should that be required of course Bill Gates could have included the command in his system add drive but maybe that is to plain & simple for his way of doing things


Any Idea's

Thank You

[Cobra]

bigfoot57,

I don't suppose you could take a little extra time with your next post and use some full stops, could you? It's just that your post was a bit hard to read.

The first question I will ask is the most basic - does the USB port on your computer work? Try plugging in another USB appliance that you know works into that port. If it doesn't work then the port is the problem.

Secondly, does the cable you are using work? Again, try it on something else that you know is working, or try another cable.

Failing these two, it might be your hard drive. I have used an external drive before - they are plug and play, or should be. Did it come with any drivers? Try searching on Seagate's website for drivers.

You could try plugging it into another PC to see if it works there.

You should also check to make sure your BIOS is set up correctly to support USB plug and play devices. If you have USB2.0 (I assume the hard drive is USB2.0) then ensure your ports are set to "HiSpeed" and NOT "FullSpeed". "FullSpeed" is 12Mbps, full-speed USB1.1 and "HiSpeed" is 480Mbps USB2.0. Tricky naming, isn't it? You might also have an option for "Plug and play OS" - enable this. I don't know if it will make a difference, but you can try.

For more detail on your BIOS options, consult your computer manual or the manufacturer's website. Please don't touch anything you do not fully understand - you could cause a lot of trouble and/or hardware damage!

Hopefully there will be someone else around here who has seen this before, and who can supply an answer. I'm just shooting blind, since I don't own one of these.

Good luck to you! Hope you get it going!

Cobra

[bigfoot57]

Thanks for the info Cobra sorry about punctuation will try harder this time OK checked the cables with another external usb drive that I know works and it still works with these other cables as well so i guess that rules out the cables.

The bit about the driver & bios is what puzzles me as this drive was my main drive in my laptop originally untill I replaced with another so this other drive has been configured to work with XP and has XP OS installed on it.

My other pc is only usb 1 enabled so as for checking it out on that it's probally a non starter at the moment I haven't any ideas left to try as you say mucking around with bios settings is not reccomended unless you know what you are doing.

Bigfoot57

[bigfoot57]

Hi

Remember me the usb 2 non detecting external drive well guess what forgot all about jumper settings yep simple as that the segate drive has 4 sets of pin 2 in each set original setting was on 2nd set of pins move jumper to 1st set and hey presto instant new usb 2 external drive maybee this might help somebody else with similar problems


Goodbye for now