External hard drive not picking up on Windows 7

[Fidget321]

Hi all,

I have been having issues getting my 1.5 TB Toshiba external to work with my Lenovo laptop. I am running Windows 7 64bit. When plugging the external into the laptop, nothing happens, it does not show up in device manager, and can't be seen anywhere. I have tried this over and over, switching the external on and off. Inserting it into a different USB port, and restarting the laptop several times.
The hard drive works fine, because if I plug it into another laptop (Also running Windows 64bit) the laptop runs fine and also works fine connected to my xbox 360. Also, this hard drive has worked once or twice on this laptop in the past.

Any idea as to what might be wrong here and how I can fix it?

Thanks

 

[tipstir]

Run Windows Update the laptop that's giving you issues. Scan for viruses and also run registry fixer like IOBIT Advanced System Care Free on that laptop. Second you can go into the Device Manager and uninstall all the USB controller drivers. Don't worry Windows will rebuild them when you log back on to the system after you do a system reboot. But I would do the first steps first just to make sure before you to the second step.

 

[Fidget321]

Hi there,

I have installed Registry Mechanic and ran Mcafee antivirus, registry was cleaned and no viruses were found. I plugged the hard drive back in, still no recognition. Also rebooted the pc with the hard drive plugged in and on and still nothing.

Any other advice?

 

[LookinAround]

1) Does your external drive have its own A/C power cable or does it rely on your laptop's USB port for its power? Is your laptop plugged in when you're testing (don't test while on battery power)

When plugging the external into the laptop, nothing happens, it does not show up in device manager, and can't be seen anywhere.

> See [post=875300]How to Cleanup and Remove old USB Storage Drivers[/post]
> Next, when you plug the cable into the USB port, are you hearing the Windows device connected sound?? (was a ding dong for XP, don't recall how to describe it for Win 7 but am sure you're familiar with the device connect / disconnect Windows sounds! (?) Are you hearing it????

/* edit */
You might also See [post=751005]How to Reinstall Your USB Controllers and Motherboard Chipset Drivers[/post] BUT please do and answer the above stuff first

 

[Fidget321]

1) Does your external drive have its own A/C power cable or does it rely on your laptop's USB port for its power? Is your laptop plugged in when you're testing (don't test while on battery power)


> See [post=875300]How to Cleanup and Remove old USB Storage Drivers[/post]
> Next, when you plug the cable into the USB port, are you hearing the Windows device connected sound?? (was a ding dong for XP, don't recall how to describe it for Win 7 but am sure you're familiar with the device connect / disconnect Windows sounds! (?) Are you hearing it????

/* edit */
You might also See [post=751005]How to Reinstall Your USB Controllers and Motherboard Chipset Drivers[/post] BUT please do and answer the above stuff first

Hi there to answer your questions:

My external hard drive has it's own power source and does not rely on power coming from usb. i.e. It plugs into the wall.

I have tested plugging in this hard drive while the laptop was on direct power and on battery.

When I connect the hard drive, there is no jingle I hear saying that something has been plugged into the laptop.

I have run the DriveCleanup, but this sadly did not seem to help me.

Please advise if I can continue with your second step?

 

[LookinAround]

When I connect the hard drive, there is no jingle I hear saying that something has been plugged into the laptop.

Failure to hear those sounds when you connect a USB drive can be symptomatic of a much more fundamental problem (as no sounds = your computer isn't acknowledging basic hardware device detection)

1. Have you tried connecting this USB drive to other computers??? If same problem, it sounds like a hardware failure of the USB drive

2. In any case, doesn't hurt to go ahead and try the Reinstall USB and Chipset Drivers instructions

 

[Fidget321]

Failure to hear those sounds when you connect a USB drive can be symptomatic of a much more fundamental problem (as no sounds = your computer isn't acknowledging basic hardware device detection)

1. Have you tried connecting this USB drive to other computers??? If same problem, it sounds like a hardware failure of the USB drive

2. In any case, doesn't hurt to go ahead and try the Reinstall USB and Chipset Drivers instructions

Hi there,

I have tried uninstalling the USB connectors etc, but still no luck. As per my first post, this hard drive works fine on my Xbox 360 and on another laptop running Windows 7 64 bit. Just to confirm here, uninstalling motherboard chipset drivers are the actual usb drivers?

Thanks