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    i just reformatted and now my usb HD wont show up...

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by dave650, Dec 20, 2006.

  1. dave650

    dave650 Notebook Enthusiast

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    hello all, i have a new inspirion e1505. i just reformatted and then for some reason my usb hard drive will not show up. i dont know why or what to do. does anyone know why? thanks
     
    dave650, Dec 20, 2006
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  2. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You need to check the Device Manager (right click on My Computer->Properties->Hardware) for any devices that are not installed. If there are any, get your drivers from support.dell.com. Also, make sure you have the latest chipset drivers as well as the Dell NSS program (which is required for most of the ports on the laptop).

    Also, does your external work on another computer? If so, right click on My Computer and hit manage. Another window pops up, and click on Disk Management. At the bottom of the window is a summary of all the partitions the computer sees...does your external partition show up, and does it have a drive letter?
     
    Greg, Dec 20, 2006
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  3. dave650

    dave650 Notebook Enthusiast

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    it shows up under the disk management as 'unallocated drive'. it has no drive letter. it worked fine last night before i formatted too. i dont see how anything could have happened between then and now. ive installed all drivers, all from dell's website.

    oh crap... i think i just realized what i did. when i was cleaning the partition last night, i saw 2 111gb partitions... (my external hd is 120gb as well as my notebook hd) and i formatted the one and didnt think twice about it.) now that i remember that, i think i probably formatted my external drive with 90gb worth of movies and music and backup programs. oh freaking crap.
     
    dave650, Dec 20, 2006
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  4. tracer bullet

    tracer bullet Notebook Enthusiast

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    Uh oh.

    I remember in the past that it was always a PITA to get USB running correctly. Seems real easy and that it should be taken care of by the install CD, but I know a lot of times I had to specifically go out and get USB drivers or at minimum a 2.0 update when I would build a new desktop for someone.

    Hopefully it's a driver, not the other thing. I've done that too, it sucks.
     
    tracer bullet, Dec 20, 2006
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  5. gridtalker

    gridtalker Notebook Virtuoso

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    did the HD come with a software cd. You might need to install that
     
    gridtalker, Dec 21, 2006
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  6. khanhfat

    khanhfat Notebook Deity

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    may be you didn't format the new USB drive and assign it a letter for the drive name.

    Another way to check if you hdd show up in the system is: Control Panel/ Adminstrative tools/ Computer management/
    Under Storage menu , look for Disk Management, If you see unallocation space or sth like that it'll be your USB, you can format your USB through that and reboot your computer when finish.
     
    khanhfat, Dec 21, 2006
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