Hi,

Problem.

EXTERNAL HARD DISC DRIVE

PRESENT POSITION 15. APRIL

USING WINDOWS 98SE

I INSTALLED THE PORTABLE HDD AND MY SYSTEM SETTINGS TELL ME IT IS INSTALLED AND WORKING CORRECTLY.

AN ICON APPEARS IN MY TASK BAR TO TELL ME WHEN THE PORTABLE DRIVE IS PLUGGED IN AND DISAPPEARS WHEN IT IS NOT PLUGGED IN.

THE COMPUTER IS NOT LOOKING FOR MISSING DRIVERS AND WHEN I DO A SEARCH FOR NEW HARD NOTHING IS DETECTED.

JUST BELOW SYSTEM DEVICES IN DEVICE MANAGER THERE IS A SECTION "UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS” THERE ARE 9 COMPONENTS LISTED AS FOLLOWS:

INTEL 82371AB/EB
USB 2.0 ROOT HUB
USB 2.0 ROOT HUB
USB 2.0 ROOT HUB
USB 2.0 ROOT HUB
USB MASS STORAGE DEVICE
VIA PCI TO USB ENHANCED HOST CONTROLLER
VIA TECH 3038 PCI TO USB UNIVERSAL HOST CONTROLLER
VIA TECH 3038 PCI TO USB UNIVERSAL HOST CONTROLLER

UNDER “PROPERTIES” FOR EACH OF THE ABOVE COMPONENTS THEY ARE NOTED AS “WORKING PROPERLY”.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT WINDOWS 98SE HAS NOT ASSIGNED A DRIVE LETTER OR "REMOVABLE DRIVE" ICON FOR ME TO ACCESS THE PORTABLE DRIVE.

Regards,

Jeff

Hello Jeff, and Welcome to DAL.

Please post the make and model number of the external hard disk.

In Device Manager, what are the properties listed for the USB Mass Storage Device?

Go to Start, Run, type in fdisk/status. Is the drive listed?

If so, you may have to partition it and then format the partition(s) created.

Originally Posted by Dan Penny

Hello Jeff, and Welcome to DAL.

Please post the make and model number of the external hard disk.

In Device Manager, what are the properties listed for the USB Mass Storage Device?

Go to Start, Run, type in fdisk/status. Is the drive listed?

If so, you may have to partition it and then format the partition(s) created.

Hello Dan,

Thanks for your response.

The make is:- AGK Nordic with Hitachi HDD inside.
Model:- 350C

Properties in Device Manager:
Device Type: USB CONTROLLERS
Manufacturer: GENERAL
Hardware version: NOT AVAILABLE
Device status: WORKING PROPERLY
There is a tick in “EXISTS IN HARDWARE PROFILES

The drive is not listed in fdisk/status.

Regards,


Jeff

I can't seem to find a 350C hard disk on the Hitachi website. What is the total size of the disk (GB)?

In the meantime...

So drivers came with the USB enclosure, and are installed?

Is the disk listed under “Disk Drives” in Device Manager?

If so, double click on the entry for your hard drive, select Settings. Make sure you check the “Removable” checkbox (the default is unchecked). Click “OK” to exit. Restart your system.

Your new drive should be listed in “My Computer” as a Removable Disk. Depending on the size of the disk, you may have to partition it with fdisk as FAT32 has drive size limitations.

Hi Dan,

Congratulations and many thanks for your help.

It certainly is a good day when you learn something.

You made it seem so easy!

It has taken two weeks of promising suggestions, which came to nothing, and most of the advice I was given was to buy a new system with Windows XP installed.

The disk was listed under “Disk Drives” in Device Manager and I was able to check the “Removable” checkbox.

Restarted the computer and there it was.

It just needed formatting and a Disk Scan.

I am extremely grateful for your help – especially over the Easter break.

Kind regards,


Jeff
North Wales.

You're welcome. That's what we do here. ;>) We have a good team, with specialists in every field. Holidays don't matter, we know what it's like to have a system down, especially when you really want or need it to work.

Please recommend this site to others in need of help.

Dan

P.S. - I've renamed your thread title so others reading will know the topic.