my external hard drive is now showing up in my computer?

Question

Hey guys,
My external hard drive loads and says installing new device, the light comes on on the HDD etc. but it does not come up in my computer. I have been into all sorts of places in the computer trying to find another way into the HDD but nothing is working and I have tried searching for problems etc but it comes up with unable to find drivers and stuff.
For a couple of times it came up with HDD must be formatted but now it doesnt even come up with that.
I have seen it visible in a couple of other places around the computer that I never before knew about.
I am pretty decent with computers this has just stumped me.
I took it to a guy to check out and he said something about the partitioning of the drive being ruined, however I did not partition the drive at all?
He said it would cost anywhere from $150+ possibly even $700...I am fine to pay a bit for this just that $700 is a lot of money for me.
I would also like to be able to get the files back which is a common thing and I gather is relatively easy. But I would like to try and fix it without formatting it first.

Please if you have any ideas help me out.
Cheers,
Josh.

Answer 1

I had the same problem when I installed 3 T.B. drives not being recognized, try going to disk management with the drive unplugged from U.S.B. then plug it in and see if it picks it up, if it is not formatted and is new you will have to format it I suggest using G.PT format since your suing it for data storage it worked for me and now I can use the full 3 T.B..



Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Download and install a program called partition magic. This program will list and allow access to all types of partition, including some problematic partitions. From there you should be able to run a backup of the files to your main hard disk.One you have a backup and you have checked it then remove the partition using windows own utility (Control panel > System and security > Admin tools > computer management > Disk Management) Right click on the partition belonging to the drive and delete it. The create a new partition using the full size of the disk. It will ask to format, do a quick format and you should be back on track.

Answer 3

"4. I formated it employing my computing device" - FAT32 or NTFS??? it would be FAT32. The externalchronic works on yet another computing device, yet no longer on your XP computing device. So, the obtrusive end is: XP would desire to be the project, it would desire to be corrupted, lacking drivers or contaminated with malware OR all of those. call the externalchronic producer, First. right here is what they'll probable aid you comprehend: attempt doing a domicile windows restore, when you have bumped off all malware. If nevertheless no longer working, do a domicile windows "sparkling setting up / restoration" and which will restore each little thing. assured!!!

Answer 4

Well for one, it would help to know what operating system you are using. WIndows 7? Windows XP? a mac??



Let's assume you have Windows Vista, XP or 7.



Now for one, just to be sure you're seeing everything, in case something is hidden, start with this.



start menu (globe bottom left corner of your screen) & click on the "documents" folder.

steps

Start Menu>Documents>Tools>

choose the "View" tab

uncheck anything that says "hide"

check anything that says "display."

also be sure under "hidden files and folders" the option is selected "show hidden files, folders or drives."



This will change your settings so nothing is hidden, that you want to look for.



Here is a useful "how to" video, on how to remove the partition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIWh5sFdtcw



Now if you have a specific operating system, you might do your own search in youtube just type in the search menu, "how to remove partition from Windows __________" (your operating system)



This should fix your issue.



Another couple of things you can do to get your computer running better/faster:

DISK CLEAN UP

start menu>control panel

type in "clean up"

choose "free up disk space by deleting unnecessary files"

then of course, select your C drive, wait for it to search.

Then, choose what you want to clean out from the cluttered areas & let it do its thing.

If you're going to select the computer to delete a lot of stuff, you want to first, be sure to save some place (a document is good), all of your passwords & login information, so if the automatic sign in's are set up, that you keep a master in one area, of every single thing you log in to IE; banking, ebay, paypal, email, facebook, etc. This is a terrific habit to have. You can also, if you use MS Word to keep a master password document, to password protect it. This will only work if you have the full version of Word, not the "starter" version. You can find how to password protect your document either in the help menu or simply do a lookup in youtube on how to do this with what your version is. You locate it in word when you click on "save as" then go to the tools area. I would just put a password for opening the document, but not for anything else (like editing the document)





You also might wish to defragment your hard drive, to take all the things you've done over a long period of time, to get all of your files sorted & free up a lot of wasted space, this will cause your computer to run faster once it's finished.



DEFRAGMENT

Start>All files>Accessories>System tools>disk defragmenter



Just let this run until it finishes at a time you will be able to walk away from your computer for awhile, to let it run for a long time until it's finished. Then select what you want cleaned up, but again, be sure all of your passwords are saved in one central area first.



Also, be sure you have anti-virus software,, a great one that is free is AVG you can get the "basic" version (not a trial) & also be sure your firewall is turned on. Start>control panel> type in the search window "firewall" then click on firewall. If everything is green & says it's on, you're fine. if it is not on, select that it be on.



Hope this helps!