# [SOLVED] External HDD - Unknown Device



## gloomba38 (Jun 24, 2008)

Hey all, got quite a problem here.

I took my computer to my friend's house and my external hard drive. (which is a Western Digital MyBook Premium 320GB) I had a large file on my computer, over 5 gigs, that he wanted and neither of us had any other media to record the file. So I thought, "Well, I'll just put it on my external and then plug it into his computer." So put the file on from my computer, than I safely removed hardware (with the little icon in the corner) and proceeded to plug it in to his computer. All the sudden, Windows XP sees it as an unknown device. Odd. So, we turned it off and unplugged it, and tried again. I thought "Eh, maybe it's just his computer." I go to plug it into my computer, and bam, now I'm getting the errors. Frustrated at this point, I went back to my house where my other slower-yet-still Windows XP system was. Plugged it in, bam, same error. 

At this point, I searched the net. I found next to nothing, but I tried all I found and the problem remains. I tried these;

1. Right clicked on the device, went into properties and uninstalled the drivers. Shut it down, unplugged it, shut down the computer. Turned the computer back on, and plugged it in; same problem.

2. Someone said they called WD tech support, and it was the same as in 1. that I posted above, but when I plug it back in, I'm supposed to plug it into a wall outlet instead of a power strip. (due to power fluctuations or something) Same exact problem.

Please help, that external hard-drive had ALL of my music on it, which was nearly 200gb worth. It's all backed up on DVDs, but I don't really want to lose all of it either way.

note: The warranty is way past due, as I've had it for over 2 years, and the only warranty I had was 30 days or so. So if it comes down to it, I can/am able to open it up.

Thanks much in advance! :grin:

edit: Have tried both Disk Management and GetDataBack; neither can see the harddrive.


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## waltthesalt (Jun 1, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

I know a way to fix this, but you would lose all files on it.

If you haven't found a solution yet, just respond if you're interested; this does NOT involve opening the drive.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

Welcome to TSF.

Replace the USB cable.
If possible - check the drive's power source with a multi-meter.
Reseat the connections inside the enclosure.

If none of the above works - hook the HDD up inside a desktop PC. Use the cables from the CD/DVD drive.


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## waltthesalt (Jun 1, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

If nothing else works, just re-format the drive probably either as FAT or NTFS, but you will lose all data on it.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*



waltthesalt said:


> If nothing else works, just re-format the drive probably either as FAT or NTFS, but you will lose all data on it.


You cannot format a drive that doesn't show up in Disk management.


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## gloomba38 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

Well, my dad has a MyBook; it's not the premium, but it's got the USB cable. He let me attempt to use it, but it was still to no avail.

We don't own a multi-meter, not sure if anyone around here does.

And I tried re-seating the connections, both the power and data cables, and it still kept giving me unknown device.

So I'm guessing the last hope is to pull it out of it's enclosure. I'll try that later tonight, don't have the time to do it right at this moment.

Thanks for the replies! :grin:

Oh, and btw, if anyone else is having this problem; the MyBook premium uses a SATA interface, just so you know before tearing it out.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

Do other USB devices work?

With the external drive disconnected >>
Open Device manager and expand "Universal serial bus controllers" >>
Right click the USB devices >> choose "Uninstall". Do this with all USB devices.









Restart the computer and let Windows reinstall the USB devices.
Then connect the external drive.


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## gloomba38 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

I followed what you said, uninstalled all of them.
Windows went through and reinstalled all the devices.
I plugged in the external afterwards, and still the same problem.

I also tried different USB ports, the 4 in the back and the 2 in the front, no difference. Then I tried my dad's MyBook, (he has a 200gb or so normal version) and Windows found it right away and it worked fine.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

Any reaction from Windows when you connect the drive?
Any "signs of life" from the drive when connected to the power supply - spinning/vibration, light? 

If not - the next step has to be mounting the drive in a desktop PC. (that will void the warranty)


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## gloomba38 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

Right after you plug the external in, the light comes on and it makes the light humming noise/vibration, like it normally does. Then the little notification bubble appears in the bottom that the device has malfunctioned and it's seen as an Unknown Device; a few moments after that, the drive shuts itself off.

If anything I am willing to take the drive out of the external, since there is no longer a warranty on mine, ran out quite a while ago.


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## Alnero (May 29, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

I had the same problem this morning. I was so angry because, it never done this before. I tried updating the driver for that USB port but I already had the latest driver for it. I then restarted my laptop and everything was fine. Although, I'm on vista and maybe that has something to do with it.


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

"Borrow" the cables from the CD/DVD drive when you mount the HDD. That way you don't have to worry about jumpers etc.


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## waltthesalt (Jun 1, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

It could be a problem if your computer uses IDE connections because your drive is SATA.


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## gloomba38 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

No, my computer uses SATA, just like the drive. My internal HDD is SATA, and my DVD drive is IDE. My motherboard has 2 SATA slots, so I'll just plug this drive into slot 2.

This method works, I tried it last night, my harddrive is dandy and works perfectly fine. I was just hoping I could keep the external part of it so when I needed to take it somewhere, but it looks like that's a lost cause.

So I'm guessing I did the only thing I could, and lost the external function of my harddrive, so now it's just an internal.

Thanks for the replies. :grin:


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## Deleted090308 (Jan 25, 2007)

*Re: External HDD - Unknown Device*

Good news. :smile:

Why not get a new HDD enclosure?


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## gloomba38 (Jun 24, 2008)

I was thinking about that; but this one is running out of space, and new externals are much cheaper than when I got mine. I remember mine was around $200 for the 320gb, and now I easily find 500gb models for around $100. I think I'm just gonna use this one as an extra internal drive for whatever I need it for, and get a new external. Definitely not going to get another MyBook; truthfully, I've hated it since day 1, but this little problem put the final nail in the coffin for me. Good brand of hard drives, bad external enclosure.

But in any case, this problem has been solved as good as it can be; thanks to everyone for the help!


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