# Maxtor External USB Hard Drive No Longer Recognized



## Klatu Barada Necktie (Feb 11, 2009)

I've been using an external HD for a couple of years now. It has all my music on it plus back-ups of all my important files in addition to some archived material. All of a sudden my computer isn't recognizing the USB device. 

I need help in trying to figure out whats wrong here. I've already diagnosed that USB port isn't dead by switching my mopuse over to that slot. I've tried connecting it to 3 different ports, ech time getting the same problem. 

How in the world is it that a device can go from being able to be used (Plug and Play) to no longer functional? Is it possible I need a driver update?

EDIT: And now for some reason I can't connect to maxtor.com


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## Klatu Barada Necktie (Feb 11, 2009)

I managed to connect to here, but it looks like the drivers are no longer available as I'm getting an HTTP 500 error when trying to connect to them.


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## Andre (Feb 11, 2009)

Klatu Barada Necktie said:


> I've been using an external HD for a couple of years now. It has all my music on it plus back-ups of all my important files in addition to some archived material. All of a sudden my computer isn't recognizing the USB device.
> 
> I need help in trying to figure out whats wrong here. I've already diagnosed that USB port isn't dead by switching my mopuse over to that slot. I've tried connecting it to 3 different ports, ech time getting the same problem.
> 
> ...




First off, Maxtor external drives have serious quality problems - this has been going on for quite some time. Wish I'd known before I bought mine a couple years ago...

I had this problem about a year ago. IIRC, it was not a driver issue, though that's what the error message implied. After messing with drivers for a couple days, I finally just turned the thing off and ignored it. A few days later I was going to take another stab at fixing things, so I turned it on, plugged it in, and the computer found it just fine. I have no idea why this worked, but it did.

No promises, but you might just try powering the drive down and re-connecting a while later.


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## frankthedm (Feb 12, 2009)

Did you download any "upgrades" for your PC recently?

Have you tried the drive on another computer?

How much of a hassle would it be for you to re-install your PC?


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## jephlewis (Feb 13, 2009)

De-powering the external drive, the computer, or both may work.

Re-installing your operating system may work. 

There is another possibility...

Are you using a desktop or laptop? disregard the rest of my post if you're using a laptop.
[sblock]Does this external hard drive:
weigh at least one pound?
have a power connector in addition to the USB connector?
If the answer is "no" to either question, disregard the rest of my post.
[sblock]there should be some screws and a small sticker on one of the sides, possibly the back that says "warranty void if removed". This sticker usually covers a screw. You will need a phillips [or "x" tip] screwdriver, and a powerful flashlight.

_*NOTE: make sure to discharge your body's static electricity before even thinking about doing this.*_

*FURTHER NOTE: this will void your warranty on your external hard drive; you've been warned.*
*
FINAL NOTE: make sure, just in case, you've got all your important stuff on your computer backed up somewhere, like on dvd's, flash drives, or something.*
[sblock]0. try going to tom's hardware, or some other websites specifically for PC troubleshooting and repair suggestions before you take my advice. More opinions are good things.

1. unscrew all screws, and separate top/bottom or left/right parts of the case.

2. you're going to see the hard drive hooked up to a little circuit board that's usually at the 'butt' end of the hard drive; the board is where the USB and power connector plug in.

3. without disconnecting any wires, look at the back of the hard drive itself; verify if it's an IDE connector or a SATA connector:
IDE connector - Google Image Search

SATA connector - Google Image Search

4. discharge your body's static electricity again, just in case; open your computer's case, and verify you have the same type of cable, and a free end [nothing's hooked up to it]. 

If it's IDE, you may have more than one cable; if you do, try to find the cable that's already plugged into your main hard drive, follow it along, and find the other connector on the same 'ribbon'. IDE ribbon - Google Image Search. You may have to unplug a cd/dvd drive in order to use this particular plug. DO NOT unplug your main drive. 

[See also point 5] If you've got mulitple drives in your case, you'll probably have to get a dentist's mirror or one of those bendy mirrors mechanics use, as well as a flashlight to look at the jumpers of each drive to see which one is set to 'master' or 'cable select', thus determining which drive is your main, or usually "C drive". USUALLY the main drive's jumper is set to 'master' or 'only drive'. Master, Slave and Cable Select Hard Drive Jumper Settings - PC Hardware - Find Free Computer Help Tips Online

If you have SATA, you'll probably need to either run without a device, such as a cd/dvd drive, or you'll have to go down to circuit city or best buy to get one:SATA cable - Google Image Search Before you buy a cable, make sure you've got an extra plug on your motherboard to plug it in.

5. back to the external hard drive; there's probably going to be five pairs of tiny pins in the back with a little 'jumper' on some of them; the brand of the drive and the instructions for jumper positions are also probably going to be on the drive itself. Go to the manufacturer's site to get more information on the drive and jumper positions if at all possible.
Hard drive jumper - Google Image Search

6. power down computer; keep it plugged in. discharge your body's static electricity; set the jumper position to 'slave' on the external hard drive.

7. you need to apply power to the hard drive through the computer's power supply. your power connectors will probably look like this:http://pictures.xbox-scene.com/xbox360/360sata/Molex-style-power-connector.jpg

If not, look for some of these:hard drive power connector - Google Image Search

8. checklist
discharge your body's static electricity one last time
verify the jumper on the external drive is set to 'slave'
verify power connector is plugged in
verify SATA or IDE connector is plugged in
If IDE, verify the external drive is plugged into the same 'ribbon' as the main drive, and the main drive's jumper is set to 'master'.

9. power up computer and access drive. NOTE: some anti virus software will want to scan this drive, because it's 'new'; i.e., "drive D wasn't there yesterday" or "it was a cd burner a little while ago" etc...you get the picture. *NOTE: always discharge your body's static electricity before touching stuff in the case!*

[sblock]10. don't EVER tell ANYONE you did this, not your family, your SO, and ESPECIALLY your friends, because they'll think you're some l33t h4xx0r d00d and will want you to fix their stuff for free 

11. [optional] call best buy's 'geek squad' [or any computer repair place where you live] and tell them you've got an external usb hard drive that's not accessible anymore from your computer; ask for an estimate on how much they charge to diagnose AND repair this problem.
Take the quoted amount and spend it on yourself or your loved ones after patting yourself on the back; you deserve it  [/sblock][/sblock][/sblock][/sblock]


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## Keefe the Thief (Feb 14, 2009)

One of my hardrives just died on me - an external one (not from Maxtor). I could still access the data but got major read/write errors when trying to salvage what i could. I searched the internet for a solution and...

people recommended that i put the hardrive into my refrigerator overnight. 

Yeah, couldn´t believe it, either. I tried it - i had nothing to loose, right, and it worked! I could salvage nearly all files! Of course, my drive was still recognized when i plugged it in, and this is the final measure you can take...

Anyway, that happened yesterday evening, and i´m still somewhat in shock.


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## ssampier (Feb 15, 2009)

Assuming you are using Windows Xp you may have already tried this, but take a look anyway.

If you can't see the drive in My Computer see if it's detected in Disk Manager. Occasionally I find I need to remap a removable drive to a drive letter. Strange, but true.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000


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