LookinAround
Posts: 6,429 +186
One last train of thought that occured to me
I was thinking about your symptoms again...
1. On Vista, under DevMgr, we know USB Mass Storage device appears with no yellow icons when you plug the drive in. (Is same true on Win 7? - i'll assume yes)
2. Once USB Mass Storage device is OK, next step on simple USB ext. disks is Windows detects the Mass Storage Device Type for the hardware=Disk, then it detects the disk filesystem, and loads a Disk driver (which would appear under Disks in DevMgr). (fyi.. e.g. USB CD/DVD drives are another type of USB Mass storage type)
3. So now i'm thinking your extra devices (USB Composite and DMI) are both for the button so let's ignore those for the moment
4. If the filesystem on your ext drive is corrupt, Windows can't load your disk driver (which would also have nothing to do with those extra button devices)
5. Sooo... try TestDisk which attempts filesystem/data recovery. If TestDisk detects the ext drive, see if TestDisk can repair the filesystem for data recovery. I've never used TestDisk myself but suggested it to many people most of whom reported good results
I think TestDisk is your next best step. fyi... If the filesystem is in fact corrupt, connecting it as slave still won't work. The filesystem would still need to be fixed. See if TestDisk can detect and recover for you. I'll keep my fingers crossed
/* edit */
And HERE's the step-by-step
If TestDisk doesn't help, then you're probably best to remove the drive from the ext. case and connect it directly as slave or via USB adapter cable or enclosure
I was thinking about your symptoms again...
1. On Vista, under DevMgr, we know USB Mass Storage device appears with no yellow icons when you plug the drive in. (Is same true on Win 7? - i'll assume yes)
2. Once USB Mass Storage device is OK, next step on simple USB ext. disks is Windows detects the Mass Storage Device Type for the hardware=Disk, then it detects the disk filesystem, and loads a Disk driver (which would appear under Disks in DevMgr). (fyi.. e.g. USB CD/DVD drives are another type of USB Mass storage type)
3. So now i'm thinking your extra devices (USB Composite and DMI) are both for the button so let's ignore those for the moment
4. If the filesystem on your ext drive is corrupt, Windows can't load your disk driver (which would also have nothing to do with those extra button devices)
5. Sooo... try TestDisk which attempts filesystem/data recovery. If TestDisk detects the ext drive, see if TestDisk can repair the filesystem for data recovery. I've never used TestDisk myself but suggested it to many people most of whom reported good results
I think TestDisk is your next best step. fyi... If the filesystem is in fact corrupt, connecting it as slave still won't work. The filesystem would still need to be fixed. See if TestDisk can detect and recover for you. I'll keep my fingers crossed
/* edit */
And HERE's the step-by-step
If TestDisk doesn't help, then you're probably best to remove the drive from the ext. case and connect it directly as slave or via USB adapter cable or enclosure