The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    My Win XP laptop recognizes my external HDD, but my Win 7 desktop doesn't

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by C E Jones, Jun 18, 2011.

  1. C E Jones

    C E Jones Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    101
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I have a Western Digital external HDD that I've been using for 3-4 years. I think it's a Passport. I'm able to use it on my Win XP laptop, but when I plug it in to my Win 7 desktop it won't recognizing it. Anything I can do to get it working on the desktop?
     
    C E Jones, Jun 18, 2011
    #1
  2. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

    Reputations:
    5,413
    Messages:
    10,711
    Likes Received:
    1,204
    Trophy Points:
    581
    Did you install the drivers for 7? Does it attempt to install drivers? Do other external drives work on your desktop?
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Jun 18, 2011
    #2
  3. grimreefer1967

    grimreefer1967 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    94
    Messages:
    403
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Maybe this will help?
     
    grimreefer1967, Jun 18, 2011
    #3
  4. TwiztidKidd

    TwiztidKidd Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    372
    Messages:
    484
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Try a different USB port somewhere on the back of the desktop known to work or test the USB port with some other USB device known to work... your mouse or your wifi adapter.

    If this doesn't work plug-it in the USB port and then slowly pull the plug out about 1/16 of an inch, just a bit and wait till Win7 gives you that device plugged/unplugged confirmation sound . I've met a lot of USB ports that are simply cheap on both laptops and desktops, this trick does it tho.
     
    TwiztidKidd, Jun 18, 2011
    #4
  5. C E Jones

    C E Jones Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    101
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The weird thing is that the desktop used to recognize this HDD without a problem. I tried 3 different USB ports, all of which work on other devices. I checked Western Digital's website and it says the Passport drives should work with the drivers that Win 7 automatically installs. I guess I'll try downloading the SES driver and see if that fixes it, but it says on the site that it should work without this and that the SES driver is only for "enhancing" the drive's performance.
     
    C E Jones, Jun 18, 2011
    #5
  6. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    801
    Messages:
    3,881
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Does your Device Manager see the USB Mass Storage Device coming in and out when you plug/unplug?

    There should be two devices. The USB Mass Storage device (usually listed down at the bottom of the device listings) and the Passport drive (listed towards the top of the same list).

    Have you had a chance to try another USB cable?

    What does the windows event viewer say in the tabs for applications and system events? Any errors?
     
    newsposter, Jun 18, 2011
    #6
  7. TwiztidKidd

    TwiztidKidd Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    372
    Messages:
    484
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Did you use the "Take Ownership" anywhere in the "ProgramData" folder? I've run into something similar before, never use "Take Ownership" on anything from that folder.

    Okay try to log in as a diff user and see if that works if not try safe mode.
     
    TwiztidKidd, Jun 18, 2011
    #7
  8. davepermen

    davepermen Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,972
    Messages:
    7,788
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    davepermen, Jun 19, 2011
    #8