Help with External Hard Drives

[Penny M]

When I turned my desktop computer on today, the two EHD that I always keep connected to it are unrecognized by the PC. I have tried re-booting twice and still no EHD showing up.

I also tried plugging in my portable EHD to see if the computer would recognize it, but still no luck. I haven't found any more problems with the computer; it just won't acknowledge any of the hard drives. I have enough USB ports to plug all three in at the same time which I have done several times. They all three were working on the desktop yesterday when I was downloading kits from the store.

Has anyone had this happen to them before? Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to try?

[Penny M]

It's not the EHD. They work fine on the laptop. Boy is that a relief, even though I have everything backed up on another EHD. Does anyone have any idea what I need to do next, things I can do before I have to hire someone to check this out for me?

[Lauri]

I'm glad the EHDs are still working - I lost one last year and it was PAINFUL!! I'm assuming they are USB-connected drives - have you tried any other USB things (jump drives, camera cables, etc) in those ports the EHDs were plugged into and did they work?? Sometimes USB ports go wonky! If you have front and back USB ports, try them all, see if the EHD works in a different one. That's as much as I can suggest!! I hope you get them working again!

[Lauri]

Oh, something else I thought of...are the drives usually connected and on when you boot up? If they are, try plugging them in after you have booted your computer and see if they are recognized then. Sometimes it matters what order things start up, for example, when my cable internet goes down I have to shut down the router and the modem, then start the modem first, wait for the lights to finish their flashing, and then start the router. I can't start them at the same time, they don't sync well at all.

Good luck, and I hope someone else has some suggestions too!

[scamptx]

And keep us posted--I'm curious too. I have to say I've had usb ports go wonky more than I would expect! Hope it's that simple.

[Scrapping4Him]

Oh, something else I thought of...are the drives usually connected and on when you boot up? If they are, try plugging them in after you have booted your computer and see if they are recognized then. Sometimes it matters what order things start up, for example, when my cable internet goes down I have to shut down the router and the modem, then start the modem first, wait for the lights to finish their flashing, and then start the router. I can't start them at the same time, they don't sync well at all.

Good luck, and I hope someone else has some suggestions too!

Oh we have to do that too with our modem and router - kind of frustrating when you're impatient to get on the net! :rolleyes:

Good luck Penny - hope you can figure out what's up! I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff.

[Penny M]

Thanks, I'll try your suggestions. Seems strange that all 4 of the USB ports go bad at one time except for the one I use for the wireless mouse. Here's hoping that unplugging & pluggin them back up will be the cure!!

[Penny M]

No, the computer still does not recognize any of the hard drives. I guess I will have to do further research before I call in the hired help.

[Lauri]

Hmmm, it IS a puzzle! Good luck on the research, and I'd love to hear what fixes it!!

[Penny M]

Simple fix. Unplug the computer!! Who knew? I read several different fixes, but they were not anything I felt comfortable doing by myself. Then I found this simple fix at one fo the troubleshooting sights. It has something to do with unplugging the power to the motherboard for at least 30 minutes and then when it starts back up, it will rebuild something and recognize the USB ports. I unplugged it last night and I'm doing my happy dance this morning! :yippee::yippee::yippee::yippee:

[MizLiz]

I'm glad you fixed it and shared. I'm making a note just in case this happens to me. Keep Dancing :-)

[Lauri]

Well, that's good to know! Are you using a Mac?? That seems to be a common fix for most weird issues it has - we had a keyboard freak out on one at work, and the unplugging fixed it! I'm so glad you got it fixed though!! :clap: