Can no longer see external drive

[tbnj]

I was working in LR today, and did something it didn't like, and it locked up. I had to end task it, because it just wouldn't come back. Ever since then, my PC refuses to see the drive that I was working in. It's an external drive. Here's a link. Signature Mini | SimpleTech :: by Fabrik

I ran the windows troubleshooter, rebooted, plugged and unplugged, disabled and re-enabled, uninstalled and re-installed the driver - everything I could think of. I'm running Windows XP, by the way.

I can see the contents just fine if I plug it into a different PC, but this one tells me it's malfunctioning and it's showing as an "unknown device" in Device Manager.

Anyone got any ideas for me?

[verdesardog]

goto the device manager and reload the driver?

[tbnj]

Originally Posted by verdesardog

goto the device manager and reload the driver?

Tried that through device manager. Uninstalled the driver, told windows to search for new hardware. It found and installed the driver, and the drive showed for a second before it pops up a notice telling me it's malfunctioning, and I can't see it in Windows Explorer.

Makes no sense to me, since I know the drive is fine. I can see it on a different system.

[brian.austin]

It could be a USB controller issue.

See if there is an updated driver for your USB controller or motherboard. You might have to go to the manufacturer's website (Dell, HP, Gateway, whatever) and look up your model number to find it.

[Ellbee99]

Same thing happens to me frequently with one of my external hard drives. It comes and goes...I think we figured it is a loose connection of the usb cable. Nothing seems to work but, it does eventually come around. Hope that gives you some comfort. Also the LR thing is probably just a fluke that they happened at the same time. My LR freezes and closes on me sometimes as well. Usually, when I'm trying to do too much at one time.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Ellbee99

Same thing happens to me frequently with one of my external hard drives. It comes and goes...I think we figured it is a loose connection of the usb cable. Nothing seems to work but, it does eventually come around. Hope that gives you some comfort. Also the LR thing is probably just a fluke that they happened at the same time. My LR freezes and closes on me sometimes as well. Usually, when I'm trying to do too much at one time.

Actually, that brings up a good point: you might try swapping the USB cables. I've seen those go bad before, even for no apparent reason.

If the LR catalog is located on the same drive that's disappearing, it would cause LR to freeze since it can no longer see the catalog database.

[Ellbee99]

We just got a new external HD...we used the same cable from the older HD. This drive shows up just fine but, the other drive won't show up on a different computer. It appears to be a problem with the connection where the usb plugs in.

[swampler]

I occasionally lose my CF card slot. Seems rebooting didn't help, but a complete power off did. If that doesn't help, you may have to remove the HD and/or controller completely from device manager, then reboot and let Windows re-detect it and reinstall the drivers from "Add Hardware" in the control panel

[tbnj]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I was gone all day yesterday and just had a chance to try a few things.

I unplugged all of my USB devices, including the hub and powered the computer down a coupe of times. I was able to see my drive again if I bypassed the hub altogether and plugged it directly into a USB port. I thought that meant the hub was bad, but I have a different usb drive plugged into it right now, and it's reading it fine. It just won't see this one when I plug it into the hub. Weird. In any event, I'm happy it's seeing the drive at all now. I can finally get some more work done.

Thanks again.

[Palguy]

You might try completely uninstalling the drive and then reinstalling it.

[cyclohexane]

Are you using a powered USB hub? I used to have problems with my USB hubs, but a while back I switched to a powered USB hub with it's own AC adapter, and I've not had problems with losing anything plugged into it.

[tbnj]

Originally Posted by Palguy

You might try completely uninstalling the drive and then reinstalling it.

I did try that.
What I find happens now is that I can leave one of my external drives plugged into the hub, and it behaves properly all of the time. But since the lock up, I can only have one of my other two drives (which are identical except for storage capacity) into the PC at once, and I have to bypass the hub. If I plug both in or either of them into the hub, I get the unknown device and malfunctioning drive error. It's very strange.

Originally Posted by cyclohexane

Are you using a powered USB hub? I used to have problems with my USB hubs, but a while back I switched to a powered USB hub with it's own AC adapter, and I've not had problems with losing anything plugged into it.

I am using a powered hub. I don't know why they're doing this now. Makes no sense to me.

[Busk]

sometimes Windows XP will hang on Hardware Discovery. I have had this happen to me several times. Boot into "Safe Mode", look in Device Manager and see if multiple Unknown Devices are listed. If so, delete/remove them and reboot the computer with the USB Hub disconnected and let it do it's thing and when/if it finishes that then reboot and plug in the hub.

Hope This Helps, Good Luck!

[tbnj]

Originally Posted by Busk

sometimes Windows XP will hang on Hardware Discovery. I have had this happen to me several times. Boot into "Safe Mode", look in Device Manager and see if multiple Unknown Devices are listed. If so, delete/remove them and reboot the computer with the USB Hub disconnected and let it do it's thing and when/if it finishes that then reboot and plug in the hub.

Hope This Helps, Good Luck!

Thank you! I'll see if I can give this a try soon, because it's still being temperamental.

[pacifika]

I am not sure if the problem is the same. my computer would not recognize my DVD drive one day and try as I could, I could not get it back. I went into the device manager and saw an error code 39. Tried all the things I could think of. I deleted the drive and then hoped Windows would reload, I tried to update the driver etc. Finally went to the microsoft web site. I am using Windows Vista so I did a search and it came up with a bunch of people having the same issue. I had to go into my registry (which is scary as I am not very computer literate) and delete something. I rebooted and it was fixed. Try searching the microsoft site if you tried all the things like a loose cabel etc.

Here is the link: The CD drive or the DVD drive does not work as expected on a computer that you upgraded to Windows Vista

Again, not sure if the same problem and I am not an expert at all. But, this worked for my problem. If not, search around the microsoft site for some answers. Hope this helps. P.S. make sure you follow the instructions exactly. I almost made a blunder and went back and checked the instructions and it kept me from deleting something important. Also, create a restore point for your computer.

Good luck.

[tbnj]

Thank you. I'll add that to my list of things to try after I recover from Christmas. Because the stupid thing is still acting up.