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    WD passport problems (where does this belong?)

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by ChaosSpear, Oct 4, 2008.

  1. ChaosSpear

    ChaosSpear Notebook Consultant

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    So my friend has a Lenovo x61t for work, and tried to hook up his WD external hard drive. But it isint working.


    by that i mean when he plugs it in the computer recognizes something was plugged it, and the safely remove hardware activates in the tray. But when i go to "My Computer", it isint there. I updated the drives and that didn't solve it.

    What should i try next?

    if this is the wrong section, sorry.
     
    ChaosSpear, Oct 4, 2008
    #1
  2. gengerald

    gengerald Technofile Extraordinaire

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    How long have you waited? My WD external takes anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes to fully load up into My Computer. I have tried on multiple computers and all the same. You may want to try uninstalling it from the device manager so it re-installs, or try another port.
     
    gengerald, Oct 5, 2008
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  3. Dook

    Dook Notebook Virtuoso

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    If his passport came with the dual USB plug (one for data and one for power) are you plugging both in? This has happened to me before with some 2.5" external drives and it turned out to be a power issue.
     
    Dook, Oct 5, 2008
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  4. ChaosSpear

    ChaosSpear Notebook Consultant

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    keeping it plugged in for a while doesnt fix it. im trying another port.

    and it has enough power, ive heard it start spinning, and the light is lit. i have it plugged into the wall too.
     
    ChaosSpear, Oct 5, 2008
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  5. Dook

    Dook Notebook Virtuoso

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    K. Its quite possible Windows is just having trouble assigning it a drive letter. Go into the Storage module of Administrative Tools and see if it shows up there. If so, just manually assign it a drive letter.
     
    Dook, Oct 5, 2008
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  6. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    or go into the control panel and select "add new hardware" it should automatically pick up the drive and allow you to use it.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Oct 5, 2008
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  7. dkwhite

    dkwhite Notebook Deity

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    Really it takes that long? It only takes my external maybe 45 seconds max to show up at the most. Of course I just buy the drive and then buy a separate enclosure.
     
    dkwhite, Oct 5, 2008
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  8. gengerald

    gengerald Technofile Extraordinaire

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    Yes. I have a LaCie that takes 15 seconds to the autorun menu. My wd is slow as molasses. I can't figure it out; I have run defrag, error scan, everything, and everything is all healthy and good. It ain't a slow drive, just takes a bit to loda up.
     
    gengerald, Oct 5, 2008
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  9. bulik

    bulik Notebook Consultant

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    could be enclosure circuit failure.
     
    bulik, Oct 5, 2008
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  10. maiki

    maiki Notebook Evangelist

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    Sometimes the USB cord they send with the drive is a dud. If you have another USB cable with a USB Mini plug on one end, and a USB A plug on the other, try that instead, and see how it works.

    If that doesn't do it, try Administrative Tools, Computer Management, Disk Management, as someone wrote.
     
    maiki, Oct 7, 2008
    #10