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Question

Hookup external hard drives.....

Aug 25, 2015 10:56AM PDT

I have two external hard drives that I use for backup of my computer. Since I have upgraded to Win10 they are not recognized by my desktop computer. I have no idea what is wrong. I would appreciate any suggestions as to what to do to get them back on-line.

Thanks in advance

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
do these drives need special software?
Aug 25, 2015 1:52PM PDT

Maybe you forgot to load that software onto the win-10? These are USB, correct? Some drives like the WD "books" aren't accessible unless you have the proper software loaded.

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Answer
Need details if you want help
Aug 25, 2015 11:05AM PDT

If you're asking for technical help, please be sure to include all your system info, including operating system, model number, and any other specifics related to the problem. Also please exercise your best judgment when posting in the forums--revealing personal information such as your e-mail address, telephone number, and address is not recommended.
Also are you using USB 2 or 3?

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Unable to get external drives to get recognized.....
Aug 25, 2015 1:57PM PDT

I am running Win10 and my computer is Surface Pro 3, processor i3, 8GB memory, have a HooToo USB expansion bar for running up to 10 external devices, Using drives USB 2. The external drives are Seagate, the other one is a Calvary. The internal drive is 256GB, I can't see what type of drive they have put in the Surface.

As far as I can tell I haven't revealed any personal information

Thanks
I hope this helps.

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Re: external drives
Aug 25, 2015 2:20PM PDT

Are they recognised if you connect them directly to a USB-slot on your PC, not via the HooToo expension bar?

Kees

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And ...
Aug 25, 2015 2:59PM PDT

Do other devices work, directly connected to the PC and via the box (think printer, camera, keyboard, mouse, mp3-player, USB-stick)?
Does the connection via the bar still work on any non-Windows 10 PC?

It's either a hardware issue or a driver issue. Experiments like this might help to find which of the two.

Kees

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External HDs have to plug DIRECTLY into the computer.
Aug 25, 2015 2:25PM PDT

You can hook up slower devices (i.e. keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, etc) just about any way you want to, but due to the speed of hard drives, they must be plugged directly into the ports on the computer. Otherwise the timing delays cause things not to work correctly.

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Answer
Are they small format drives
Aug 25, 2015 1:50PM PDT

which can run totally from USB power? Or do they have an adapter that also needs to be plugged in and you perhaps forgot to do that?

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About that...
Aug 25, 2015 2:04PM PDT

One of them runs totally off of the usb cord. The other one runs off plug into power electricity bar with a usb cord going to usb bar. Both are plugged in correctly.

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are they "book" type WD drives?
Aug 25, 2015 2:12PM PDT

did you load the software needed in windows to access them on Win10?

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Success!
Aug 25, 2015 6:33PM PDT

I unplugged the usb bar. Plugged each in by itself. The first one clicked continually, so it went in the garbage. I replaced it. The second one worked. So, I reestablished the original environment and everything worked fine.

Thanks to All

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This is one....
Aug 25, 2015 7:03PM PDT

The one I am throwing away is a WD Elements drive. But, it did not register on the This PC. Tell me more, please.

Thanks

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Find out the WD model
Aug 25, 2015 8:53PM PDT

Go to their site and search in support area for the software you can load on your computer to access it. However if that is the drive that was "clicking", it might still be a lost cause, but you may get lucky. Install that software and give it a chance to access the drive.

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After two hours I decided to......
Aug 26, 2015 12:47AM PDT

throw the drive away. It was poorly constructed and a train wreck to start with. I could stop the clicking noise, but every time it got accessed it started clicking again.

Thanks,
Everything is good

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maybe a firmware upgrade
Aug 27, 2015 5:34PM PDT