XP only semi-finds mu home made USB harddrive

[kmj]

I wrote a long post explaining everything in detail but I got logged out when posting so this time it will be shorter. Sorry .

My LaCie network space (piece of crap!) stopped working again so I decided to at least use the 1TB hard drive from samsung it contained. So I ripped it out, bought a SATA-to-USB converter and PSU and tried to connect it to my Dell latitude laptop. it didn't find it so I thought it might have something to do with XP and the hard drives Linus partitions So I had a friend format it to NTFS.

First time I connected it to my laptop it found it, installed the correct drivers and notified that it was ready to use. I found it in windows explorer and the only downside was that the touch-pad got a bit unresponsive.

When I got home this happend.
* Harddrive started up
* It doen't show up in the windows explorer
* It doesn't show up under the storage manager in the administrative tools
* It shows as "USB mass storage device" but without a assigned letter (L: etc) if I use the tool for safe removal of hardware.

So, what am I supposed to do to make XP find it so I can use it??

Kind regards!

[Delph1]

I know I had some problems with an external Firewire setup a while back. I had four drives connected in series and sometimes when I turned them on while the computer was running they refused to work properly.

However, if I started all drives before I booted the computer they appeared and worked just fine.

Try that and see if it helps.

//Andreas
_________________
"I'm sort of a postmodern vegetarian, I eat meat ironically"
"You are our Swedish superhero "

Forget everything, knowledge is your enemy, it's only going to make you second-guess yourself."

[theredhairball]

I love those USB-SATA adapters, especially for backing up laptops. They've saved me more than once. That said, I find that on certain XP machines they just refuse to work for me. My XP laptop doesn't work with it, yet my XP desktop is perfectly happy.
If you bought it from a reputable manufacturer, try finding some drivers. The built in ones for XP are shady at best in my experience.

Did you make sure it is not under Disk Management as an unallocated volume? Remember you have to import new disks sometimes, even if they are formatted. Although in such a case it shouldn't show up in windows explorer as a volume.

As Andreas said, booting with the drive on and plugged in is always a good idea for those adapters.

If that doesn't work, I would just get another external drive enclosure. They can be a tad expensive, but if you get a unit with a fan you shouldn't have any problems.
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Phenom II @ 3.5ghz/1.4v/2000mhz HTT | 4 x 2gb Gskill Pi Black 930mhz 2.1v @ cas4 2T | 4870 512mb @ 850/4400 | Gigabyte 790gx SB750
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[kmj]

Thanks for the replies.
It doesn't help to have it plugged in on startup so I'll try hooking it up to a desktop before I buy an enclosure. The annoying thing is that the adapter work with my 200gb HDD. It will probably work out well in the end.

[Delph1]

How old is the adapter? Can you see the controller chip?

//Andreas
_________________
"I'm sort of a postmodern vegetarian, I eat meat ironically"
"You are our Swedish superhero "

Forget everything, knowledge is your enemy, it's only going to make you second-guess yourself."

[kmj]

I bought the cheapest thing I could find on Ebay so I don't know how old it is, if you are refering to the model. I have had it a few weeks.

After a bit of violence I found the chip, it says JM20337.

[Delph1]

The chip dates back to 2006, at least, so I wouldn't be 100% sure it works perfectly with newer drives.

//Andreas
_________________
"I'm sort of a postmodern vegetarian, I eat meat ironically"
"You are our Swedish superhero "

Forget everything, knowledge is your enemy, it's only going to make you second-guess yourself."

[kmj]

It was the adapter. I bought a proper casing and it works like a charm.

[Delph1]

As I suspected, glad things are working you

//Andreas
_________________
"I'm sort of a postmodern vegetarian, I eat meat ironically"
"You are our Swedish superhero "

Forget everything, knowledge is your enemy, it's only going to make you second-guess yourself."

[theredhairball]

Yep those adapters are always hit and miss. Glad you got things sorted out!
_________________
Phenom II @ 3.5ghz/1.4v/2000mhz HTT | 4 x 2gb Gskill Pi Black 930mhz 2.1v @ cas4 2T | 4870 512mb @ 850/4400 | Gigabyte 790gx SB750
MCP655 -> CPU -> GPU -> MCR320 x2 with Yate Loon d12sm-12 Pull