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External Hard Drive won’t show up after reboot in XP

Started by ppc , Mar 05 2012 02:10 PM

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29 replies to this topic

#1 ppc

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 02:10 PM

Hello,

I’m having issues with a Lacie Porsche External Hard drive in Windows XP SP2. I ran the installer and everything works fine until I restart my computer. After the restart the drive does not appear in the “My Computer” window or the Device Manager. The only way I can get it to show up and function is to unplug the USB cable and then reconnect it. I talked to Lacie’s tech support and they concluded, after I tested it on other systems, that the problem is with my computer and not the drive itself.

I tried assigning the drive a new letter and cleaning up excess USB drivers with no success. I can’t seem to figure out what the problem is and why the drive is performing this way. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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#2 Sneakycyber

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Posted 08 March 2012 - 03:13 AM

What kind of computer is it? You likely have to enable usb drive support in the bios, or the bios needs updated.

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#3 ppc

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Posted 08 March 2012 - 05:20 PM

It's a Dell Dimension 3000.

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#4 ppc

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Posted 19 March 2012 - 04:07 PM

How do I update the BIOS?

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#5 Sneakycyber

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 07:43 PM

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. I only get a chance to post sparingly. Have you checked in your bios to see if USB Plug N Play is enabled?

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#6 ppc

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Posted 26 March 2012 - 02:00 PM

I'm not clear on how to check the bios, so I haven't been able to see if it is enabled.

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#7 Sneakycyber

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Posted 27 March 2012 - 02:22 AM

Follow Dell's service manual fond here

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#8 ppc

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Posted 30 March 2012 - 02:23 PM

I tried checking the BIOS by pushing F2 at start up, but I’m still not sure where to look. This is the menu that appeared.
- System Time
- System Date
- Drive Configuration
- Hard Disk Drive Sequence
- Boot Sequence
- Memory Information
- CPU Information
- Integrated Devices (Legacy Select Options)
- Power Management
- System Security
- Keyboard Numlock
- Report Keyboard Errors
- Auto Power On
- Fast Boot
- OS Install Mode
- Limit CPUID Value
- IDE Hard Drive Acoustics Mode
- System Event Log
- Asset Tag

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#9 Sneakycyber

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Posted 30 March 2012 - 06:53 PM

I would check integrated devices.

Taken from the manual I linked to:

Under on board Devices:

USB

Set to On (default) so that USB devices will be detected and supported in the operating system.

The No Boot option restricts external access to drive data. Use this option to prohibit users from booting the computer using an external USB device.

Option Settings.

USB Flash Device — Insert the memory device into a USB port and restart the computer. When F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F12>. The BIOS detects the device and adds the USB flash option to the boot menu.

Dell also mentions depending on system configuration not all options appear in the bios menu. By default your computer should recognize the HDD in the bios and transfer the drive information to Windows. Yours seems to be disabled (or there is another problem). Try pressing F12 when the boot mue

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#10 ppc

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 12:56 PM

I checked integrated devices and it appears that the USB options are on. The drive also reads as a USB flash drive on the boot menu. However it still doesn't show up once the computer is rebooted.

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#11 Sneakycyber

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 06:05 PM

You need to update to Service Pack 3 and install ALL the updates.

Edit: removed instructions to boot from flash. Op already did that.

Edited by Sneakycyber, 02 April 2012 - 09:15 PM.

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#12 Sneakycyber

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 06:31 PM

I apologize for any confusion in my last two post prior to my last edit. I was working on several topics at the same time.

Edited by Sneakycyber, 02 April 2012 - 09:30 PM.

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#13 ppc

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 11:34 PM

I successfully updated to SP3 and installed all the updates. I tried the external drive again and unfortunately it is still not recognized after a reboot.

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#14 Sneakycyber

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Posted 05 April 2012 - 12:11 AM

Are you able to see if windows does this with all UBS drives?

~Chad Mockensturm~
Network Infrastructure Engineer, Windows Server 2008R2
Cisco Certified Home and Small Business Networking Support

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#15 rotor123

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Posted 05 April 2012 - 11:26 AM

Hi, Other possibilities.

Some drives spin down after a period of time and don't always wake up good.
Seagate brands used on DVRs were infamous for that issue. Where a Western Digital was OK.
when the drive isn't being detected, Put your ear to it being careful not to bump or move it.
Can you hear it spinning?
BTW a old trick to hear that sort of thing is to use a screwdriver with the blade on the drive and your ear to the plastic handle. Plastic works best since wood and rubber grips dampen the noise.
Try pulling the power to it and putting it back, does it wake up and show then?

It may be a drive issue, Have you checked with Lacie?

From this model by Lacie for example: http://manuals.lacie.com/en/manuals/porsche-usb3-mobile/printable

By default, your drive will enter Eco Mode after five minutes of inactivity in order to conserve energy. To exit Eco Mode, simply access data on the drive and the disk will automatically restart.

Maybe yours isn't waking up properly?

Good Luck
Roger

My next Upgrade, USB 3 on my remaining desktop. The only External storage devices I currently Buy are USB3 devices
How Does a computer get Infected? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/2520/how-did-i-get-infected/
My first Computer had a Whopping 16K of memory @ 0.89MHz. My first hard drive held 20 Megabytes and never filled up.
My Oldest Motherboard and Hard Drive are a 80286 @ 8Mhz and a Seagate 20 Megabyte MFM drive.
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