Laptop USB drivers?

I just got a 2.5" HDD and an external USB 1.1 and 2.0 case, and it doesn't work on my IBM thinkpad R32. I tryed it on both my desktops and it worked as soon as i pluged it in but when i pluged it into my laptop it didn't even know it was connected so i though it was the USB drivers, so i download windows xp service pack 1 and a BIOS update and an intel chipset update and it still didn't work. Can anyone please help me

Most external hard drives are plug n' play in Windows Me or higher.

Chances are, there is something wrong with the drive, enclosure, cable or the drive settings.

Cable select doesn't work with most enclosures, which I assume is not the probelm considering it is a laptop hard drive.

Aside from that, there shouldn't be much else that can go wrong.

Thanks a lot i've fixed the problem

How did you fix it?

Some laptops / drives require an external power source too, such as an additional 5v PS/2 or USB cable.

This is a symptom of that, so possibly this was the problem?