I have an external Hard Drive plugged in for back-up but it was making odd noises so I plugged another newish Drive in planning to move files across. But PC simply won't recognise the drive?? Using XP so I thought it should be a plug & play scenario. Any ideas? David

 

You may need to activate the disk under disk management. Plug in your new drive, then right click on 'My Computer' on the desk top and select manage. Once the user console opens click on disk management in the left hand pane. You should be able to see all the disks connected in the bottom right hand pane. Select your new disk and then right click on it. You can then create a primary partition and format the drive :-). Good luck.

 

Thanks very much for that RoosterRoo. I got to stage when I found the drive which was marked unallocated. If I proceed as suugested can you confirm that this will not effect my other drives, or access to them, in any way?? I have just spent 3 days in getting the main drive sorted so very nervous. Sorry but non-PC buff asking

Also I presume if I format then I will lose anything already stored on drive (if there is anything)? Thanks again, David