external hard drive cannot be accessed

[singsparrow]

I have two external hard drives, neither of which can be used.  I have Windows XP Professional and it used to be a part of a network at an office, but now is at home.  Could this be part of the problem?  When I hook up the first drive (A) it starts trying to back up things that aren't there and I cannot end this process without unplugging it.  When I hook up the second one (B) the computer doesn't seem to recognize that it's even there.  Both hard drives are the same type:  Maxtor Personal 3100, 80 GB.  Please help!

[Geek-9pm]

To start with, USB hard drives are prone to give problems when trying to backup large files on a network. The problems can be reduced, to some degree. Yet the obvious solution is to use another kind of interface for network backup.
One problem is documented in the MS KB. And besides that, the USB interface can fail for hardware reasons.
First thing I would do is pull the drive out of tghe USB thing. I did that with my 80GB Maxtor and found the drive worked perfectly but the USB interface had bit the dust from my mistreatment. I am very tough on poorly made stuff, I break anything that is not idiot-proof.

[Computer_Commando]

I have Windows XP Professional and it used to be a part of a network at an office, but now is at home.  Could this be part of the problem?...

I assume the XP-Pro  is on the desktop or laptop which is now home?
You probably need to unmap the network drives, that are mapped at every logon.
This is a typical IT department setup which you no longer need at home.

[neelchauhan]

1. Reinstall the OS
2. Then try

[neelchauhan]

I assume the XP-Pro  is on the desktop or laptop which is now home?
You probably need to unmap the network drives, that are mapped at every logon.
This is a typical IT department setup which you no longer need at home.

IT department setups are not used by me when I use XP Pro at home.

[Computer_Commando]

IT department setups are not used by me when I use XP Pro at home.

He said it was part of a network at an office.