External Hard Drive Help! Computer wont detect it!

[JOSh765]

Hey,

I bought an external hard drive on the 28/12/2005 (dd/mm/year)
I dont know wht thehardrives called or anything so ill just write down what was put on the recept, it says
"ENVIZAGE 300GB SATA USB2 EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE"
(purchased from   http://www.enizage.com/   but couldnt find that one)

My hard drive is on all the time while my computers on
(i use it as my computer where i can put all my downloaded files becuase i was taking up to much space on the c: drive).
I'd have my hard drive on all the time becuase it was always in use.

But . . . about a month ago my computer was going real slow and was gettingvery hot so we turned the whole computer off including the external hard drive for the day.
When we turned the computer and my external harddrive back on my computer was no longer detecting my external hard drive and i really dont know why.
And i dont know how to get my computer to detect it again.

Has anyone else on this site had the same problem or knows how to fix the problem.

Any help would be really appreciated

Thanks in advance

-Josh

[GX1_Man]

But . . . about a month ago my computer was going real slow and was gettingvery hot so we turned the whole computer off including the external hard drive for the day.

What was making it hot? Has this been addressed? WHat are the components of the machine? Make and size of power supply?

When we turned the computer and [highlight]my external harddrive back on my computer was no longer detecting my external hard drive [/highlight]and i really dont know why.

I don't understand this.

[JOSh765]

to answer your first question i dont know what was making it hot, im thinking it might just be the cooling fan not working.

i dont know anything about what its components are or its power supply is, (like it says im only a computer noob lol).

but the actual external hardrive size is: Length=25.5cm, width=18cm, height=9cm.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

what i mean by how my computer wasnt detecting my external harddrive is ermm . . . how can i explain this.

If i went into start then clicked my computer, there would be a ' L: ' drive which was my external harddrive, now when i open my computer there is no ' L: 'drive.

Iv tried using the search for new hardware function on the computer and everything but nothing seems to be finding this external harddrive anymore.

HOPE THAT HELPS

-Josh

[soybean]

Is that external drive powered via an AC adapter?  If you turn on the power to the external drive, do you see the normal lights on the drive, indicating power is on?  Can you still use other USB devices?

[JOSh765]

A light cums on ( my external hdd ) when i flick the switch at the back of the external hard drive, yeah its powered from ac adapter.

And yes i can still use other usb devices

-Josh

[patio]

Power down the machine and the external HDD...
Un-plug the external HDD from the machine and do a couple of cold boots with your computer.
Now plug in the external HDD power it up and turn on your computer.
Wait til everything finishes on startup.
Right clik Control Panel and select Manage...is the drive now listed ? ?

patio.   8-)

[soybean]

Right clik Control Panel and select Manage...

I don't see that on my Windows XP.  If I right click on Control Panel, I have two options: Open and Explore.

[JOSh765]

thanks alot for that patio,

wht is and how do i do a cold boot then?

and just like soybean when i right click control panel i get open and explore thts it, did you not mean my computer because when i right click that i get a manage option

-Josh

[patio]

OOOOOOpppps.............i meant My Computer not Control Panel....Sorry bout that.
Too much beer ...er i mean caffiene !    

A cold boot is nothing more than shutting down the machine all the way and restarting it a few times
Sometimes this will resolve minor hardware glitches...sometimes it won't

[JOSh765]

hey i tried that and it still wudnt detect my harddrive.

can you think of anything else i can do or should i go to a shop to get it checked out?

-Josh

[soybean]

Can you try using the drive with another computer?

[JOSh765]

Yeah i tried that aswell,

that computer still didnt detect it. But thanks for offering your help.

Theres a computer place where i live, is it worth me taking the hard drive there and just paying the money for him to fix it?

-Josh

[soybean]

Well, now the evidence clearly points to a faulty external hard drive, nothing to do with your computer.  

Can the hard drive be removed that external hard drive case?  If it can and it's a standard SATA hard drive, you could buy an external enclosure and install the hard drive in it.  See External Enclosures  >  internal interface : SATA.

By the way, is that drive under warranty?

[JOSh765]

Yeah, the actual hard drvie can be removed from the inner casing and its a SATA hdd.

And i dont know if its still in warraty, iv had it for a year so i really dont know.

Ill check out buying an internal enclosure then.

EDIT: does that site ship to the uk?

Thanks

-Josh

[soybean]

newegg.com does not sell in the UK.  No doubt, you can find some online sellers in the UK; I'm just not familiar with them.  Of course, you can get the item from a regular retailer but the price may be higher.