ay yay yay, help! (someone else's external HD)

sofsofsofsof
edited August 2007 in Hardware
Hi,

I took my doctor's external hard drive, Seagate, .5-Inch Pushbutton External Backup part # 9Y7865 - 560, so I can share some of my files with him.

When I plug it into the USB, I get an error message: "USB device not recognized. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has mlfunctioned, and Windows doesn't recognize it."

I checked Seagate's site, no drivers needed, I even called Seagate, and they weren't too helpful at all. They just told me to try different cables, and than said, "well, it must be broken". BUT, I still want to keep my doctor! ;) Besides, he says that it worked perfectly fine on his computer just the other day.

I have Windows XP, and Windows support pack (or whatever it's called for USB 2, and have been using other USB 2 devices for a long time with no problem)

Any advice? Thanks!

Comments

  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    sofsof wrote:
    Hi,

    I took my doctor's external hard drive, Seagate, .5-Inch Pushbutton External Backup part # 9Y7865 - 560, so I can share some of my files with him.

    When I plug it into the USB, I get an error message: "USB device not recognized. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has mlfunctioned, and Windows doesn't recognize it."

    I checked Seagate's site, no drivers needed, I even called Seagate, and they weren't too helpful at all. They just told me to try different cables, and than said, "well, it must be broken". BUT, I still want to keep my doctor! ;) Besides, he says that it worked perfectly fine on his computer just the other day.

    I have Windows XP, and Windows support pack (or whatever it's called for USB 2, and have been using other USB 2 devices for a long time with no problem)

    Any advice? Thanks!

    I would not classify this as an emergency - this should have been posted in General Hardware - IMHO :bigggrin:
  • TroganTrogan London, UK
    edited August 2007
    Hi Sofsof,

    Which port are you plugging this into - front or back? Try plugging the hard drive into another USB port on your computer.

    Have you tried other USB devices in all your ports to check if they are functioning?

    Welcome to Icrontic! :)
  • sofsofsofsof
    edited August 2007
    Thank you for the welcome, Trogan, and for trying to help. I did all ports, front and back, and it didn't work. All other devices work fine.

    TheLemech, you took time out of your weekend to quote me and reprimand me on my very first post? Wow! :)

    Speaking of protocol, and along the lines of "when it rains it pours" - my laptop crashed, stopeed booting, and and I don't know how to revive it. Where would I ask about that?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    An inexpensive option would be to purchase another external enclosure which can be had at CompUSA, Best Buy, Microcenter, Fry's, etc... Dismantle your existing enclosure and install the enclosed drive into the new enclosure. If that doesn't work, you know the hard drive is aced and you can return the enclosure for cash back. If it does work, you can dump the old enclosure and be on your way.

    As for the lappy crashing, creating a new topic here should set you on your way. General Hardware is the catch-all for "Help!" topics that aren't explicit emergencies. :)

    Welcome to Icrontic!
  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    sofsof wrote:
    Thank you for the welcome, Trogan, and for trying to help. I did all ports, front and back, and it didn't work. All other devices work fine.

    TheLemech, you took time out of your weekend to quote me and reprimand me on my very first post? Wow! :)

    Speaking of protocol, and along the lines of "when it rains it pours" - my laptop crashed, stopeed booting, and and I don't know how to revive it. Where would I ask about that?

    More Guidance than reprimand! :bigggrin: Welcome to Icrontic! :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    TheLemech, you took time out of your weekend to quote me and reprimand me on my very first post? Wow! :)
    sofsof, don't mind Thelemech, he's got a discipline fetish, that's all. He probably wrote that first post with a sickening grin on his face.
  • ThelemechThelemech Victoria Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    sofsof, don't mind Thelemech, he's got a discipline fetish, that's all. He probably wrote that first post with a sickening grin on his face.
    Have ye cameras of surveillance in my domain Leonardo! ;D
  • sofsofsofsof
    edited August 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    sofsof, don't mind Thelemech, he's got a discipline fetish, that's all. He probably wrote that first post with a sickening grin on his face.

    Leonardo, if that discipline fetish came along with a little helping fetish, I would have had a grin on my face too, if you get my drift... :)

    As to the great suggestion by Thrax to buy an enclosure, it's not my hard drive, so I don't want to do anything to it. Otherwise, I would have tried it.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    sofsof, we are not ignoring you. I think several of us have read your posts completely. And thank you, you've been thorough in providing information. Given that the USB ports on your computer work with devices that you've used, and that said ports are 2.0 (which is backwards compatible to 1/1.1), at this point, I don't see much else for troubleshooting other than what Thrax suggested.

    Either this is just an anamoly that we can't get past right now, or there is a malfunction of the doctor's USB external drive. I've been using external drives for years (way before they were popular), and sometimes there are strange things. I had one enclosure that had worked for years that would not just not be detected with a certain brand and size of hard drive. The hard drives themselves were just fine. I had to get a new enclosure.

    If we can think of anything else, we'll certainly post here.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    Maybe the doctor can put the files you need on a USB memory stick or DVD for you.
  • sofsofsofsof
    edited August 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    sofsof, we are not ignoring you. I think several of us have read your posts completely. And thank you, you've been thorough in providing information.

    If we can think of anything else, we'll certainly post here.

    Leonardo,
    first, thanks, and I wasn't complaining at all!, I was just sending a friendly dig in thelemech's direction and his alone, and joking about what HE wrote in the very first comment I got.

    As to the rest, it's my doctor's hard drive, and I was going to give him about 50 GB of my files, not the other way around. But - I just ordered a Western Digital 500 GB for myself, so I'll be able to get it on that. Hope I still have a doctor, and that the HD still works on his computer... :(:bigggrin:
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    :)

    I'm sure you will really enjoy your new external drive. I assume it's external. External drives are the best peripherals you can get for computer, following, of course the mandatory peripherals of monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

    Once you have your external drive, get some backup up software and start routinely backup up important data, or even to make complete system copies. ALL hard drives will fail. The only variable to the when the failure will occur. The 'when' is usually the time when the user is completely unprepared.

    Hope all works out for you. If you need any help with running your new drive or with backup software, don't hesitate start a thread at your forums. Yes, I did write 'your' forums. Welcome to Short-Media.
  • sofsofsofsof
    edited August 2007
    Leonardo wrote:
    :)

    ...Yes, I did write 'your' forums. Welcome to Short-Media.


    Thanks, you're a prince.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2007
    And by Short-Media, he means Icrontic. ;D
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