1394 connection no longer detects my external hard drive

[oneminuteofclarity]

I assume this is a software problem and not a hardware. I have a Sony Vaio with Vista that's been updated. I have a Maxtor Plus 4 external HD that used to connect through the firewire and all of a sudden the computer stopped detecting the HD. It will connect through the USB though. The hard drive has two 1394 connections and I've tried both. The computer only has one connection. It's been a while since it stopped working so I don't remember all the details about what was going on with the computer but it wasn't too long after I had a virus, I think the HD did work after I got rid of the virus but I'm not certain. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Aegis]

Does the firewire need drivers?  Are they currently installed?  Are you familiar with Device Manager under the System tab in Control Panel?  What is the status of your firewire connection in Device Manager?  (This assumes you run a version of Windows.  "Firewire" started on the Apple side of the fence.)

[oneminuteofclarity]

I have windows vista. The firewire and drivers came with the computer and are current. The device manager shows that it's working correctly. Should I uninstall and reinstall the driver for it?

[oneminuteofclarity]

Should this go in another forum?

[Quantos]

Should this go in another forum?

Don't worry about that.