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  #1  
Old 02-07-2014, 04:08 PM
jmacky jmacky is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows XP External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2003
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Default External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP

Working on Dell Vostro and Inspiron. I bought a Dell external USB drive for the Vostro as it has no internal drive. Worked for a dozen times and now won't even show up in 7 or XP. It doesn't hum or spin or anything, just sits quietly.

Not sure if this is right forum, sorry if I'm in wrong place.
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Old 02-09-2014, 12:54 AM
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macropod macropod is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows 7 32bit External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2010 32bit
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Sounds like the drive or the USB port has died. If you've tried it in more than one USB port with the same results, you have a dead drive; time for a warranty replacement methinks.
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Old 02-09-2014, 07:56 PM
jmacky jmacky is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows XP External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2003
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I'm sorry, but I made a mistake, actually the external dvd driver does work with a software disc in XP, it just doesn't work in Win7. It did work before on laptop Win7, 2 yrs ago and I haven't used it since then.

So, it seems a Win7 problem?
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Old 02-09-2014, 11:17 PM
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macropod macropod is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows 7 32bit External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2010 32bit
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In that case, it could be that Win 7 requires a driver that either isn't installed or isn't working; or perhaps the USB port is disabled. Even without a driver, though, I'd expect the drive to power up; otherwise Windows would probably be unable to obtain the required device info. Do other devices work properly when plugged into the same USB port?

Another possibility is that the drive requires more power than your Vostro's USB port is able to deliver. That's not too uncommon and requires a powered hub to provide the power.
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Old 02-10-2014, 10:40 AM
jmacky jmacky is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows XP External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2003
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I tried external drive on XP and it worked fine. Thing is that the Win7 dell laptop is newer and stronger than the XP laptop and the Win7 laptop accepted the external drive easily for at least a year. Win 7 also accepts flash drives. I give up, maybe I'll buy a new external drive.
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Old 02-10-2014, 01:31 PM
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macropod macropod is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows 7 32bit External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2010 32bit
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Newness or otherwise is of no consequence. As I said:
Quote:
Another possibility is that the drive requires more power than your Vostro's USB port is able to deliver. That's not too uncommon and requires a powered hub to provide the power.
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Old 02-10-2014, 04:35 PM
jmacky jmacky is offline External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Windows XP External USB drive won't start in 7 or XP Office 2003
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Then why did it work for 2 years on the Vostro with no problem?
Thanks for your time anyway.
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Old 02-10-2014, 07:12 PM
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Well, if the HDD still works in other PCs and other devices still work OK with the Vostro's USB port, it's quite possible that the USB port's power has always been marginal for the HDD. Have you tried it with a powered hub? If so and still no joy, that would suggest there's been a conflict at some stage that Windows on the Vostro has been unable to resolve and it may require little more than using the System Tools or a System Restore to rectify.
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