Some time ago I purchased a USB external hard drive (enclosure). But unlike every other external I have got or used, neither my PC nor laptop could recognise that it was another drive and assign a drive letter to it. I've gone through the recognise new hardware routines (XP Pro) with no joy. It is brand new and has never been used because nothing seems to talk to it. I'm obviously missing something pretty basic here. Any thoughts as to how I can get this sorted?

Paul Colley, April 2008

Hi, i have a similar problem.

my hard drive shows up in device manager but there is nothing in the computer management exept my Internal hard drive. it dosent have a drive letter ut i also get the optionto "remove usb mass storage device"

i dont have the option of returning it. any suggestions

Ted the Wally, February 2009

Thanks for the responses - much appreciated

Paul, June 2008

You have probably bought a new drive that is not formatted.
If this is the case, Windows XP will not assign a drive letter to it, and therefore it will not appear in My Computer.
To see if this is the case, go to Disk Management (this can be accessed via Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management. Then choose disk management under storage.
Check to see if you see a disk that matches your Hard drive - be VERY careful not to make changes to the wrong disk as you can lose everything!!!
If you have an Unallocated disk, then you need to create a partition and format. Once this is done, you can assign a drive letter and start using.
If you don't see a new drive under Disk Management, I'd suggest returning it to the person you bought it from as well
Hope this helps

Barry, May 2008

Is it usb bus powered or external psu powered?

rm, May 2008

As it has never worked you should NOT fiddle with it but take it back for a refund. In the UK during the first six month it is up to the retailer to prove that it ISN'T faulty rather than you prove that it IS.

t, April 2008

Is there power to it from the power supply that came with it? if yes then there may be a usb cable problem, if no it could be the power supply or the drive itself.email me compdoctor2005@btinternet.com

Chris F, April 2008