jono300

iTrader: (8)

Anyone able to advise me on the following ? - having just recently changed my main desktop pc to one running windows 8 I now find that the Verbatim external harddrive that I was using on my old system is not being recognised by my new pc. the usb power lead that the external drive uses is a twin type ie. requires two usb ports going into the one socket on the drive itself. I cant even hear anything from the pc itself when I initially plug the drive into these usb ports as you would when plugging in any other usb powered item in. nothing showing on " my computer " either. the blue light on the external drive is flashing blue.

any ideas ??!!

JuergenG

An idea that comes to mind when you mentioned, that your drive is completely USB powered: How are you connecting the drive to the PC? Are you using 2 USB ports that are close to each other? If so, and if your USB cable allows it, try plugging the drive into USB ports that are not close to each other e.g. one in the back and one in the front connecting panel, if you have one.
Thing is, that many drives use 1 ampere or even more when initializing and starting. The USB spec only allows 500mA per controller. So very strict controllers "shut the device down" when you try to pull 2x500mA from them. Some mainboards have different USB controllers for the front and back USB ports, so there is a chance, you can split the load between those. Other than that you could always try a powered USB hub, if you have one.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay thanks for that really do appreciate your help, unfortunately at this stage no joy but one thing I have noticed is upon using a usb powered hub what I have now got the two usb plugs inserted within the blue light on the ext drive is now a constant blue as opposed to just flashing. unfortnatly still nothing showing within " my computer ".

the usb lead is too short to allow me to try the rear ports but I am sure with there being a constant blue light on the ext drive its looks as if the full power is getting to it.

any other ideas ?

Simes777

I have a Hitachi USB Drive that does exactly the same - it won't work on Windows 8 but is fine on Windows 7.

It appears that this sort of thing is a well known problem - possibly due to software that Hitachi use on the drive. It may be the same with your Verbatim drive

I did a Google search to find that out about my drive.

JuergenG

You don't have to try using different USB controllers/ports, if you already tested it with a powered hub connected to your PC. USB hubs are "transparent" to the system in most cases, so it would not change much, if the drive is plugged in via the hub or directly. But a constant blue light is definitely something good (if it's not the hdd activity led of course)

Is your drive showing up in the disk management when connected via the powered hub? Might be worth checking. If you don't know how to get to the disk management, check this link. Be careful clicking around there, because it's very easy to format drives/partitions there.
Also, while your drive is connected, you could check the device manager for any "unknown devices". Some unknown USB devices (read: usb devices windows does not have a fitting driver installed) pop up in the USB section there. Sometimes also in a separate section. Here is another description, how to get to the device manager, if you need it.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay again thanks so much for your continued help and advice mate but unfortunately still nothing showing up under device manager or disk management- argh !!

Snooky

Things I would try!!

1.connect if then boot up PC
2. Check it's in a 2.0 USB slot
3. Check for windows updates
4. Device manager and check for driver updates
5. On your router do you have USB connectivity? If so connect it there and it should share it! Can be accessed through here!