1 Answer

http://forums.techarena.in/hardware-peripherals/1035686.htm

With the device disconnected, go to Start>My Computer>View menu>Details. Remember how many devices are listed under Devices with Removable Storage. Plug in the USB Mass Storage Device. If it doesn't come up under Devices with Removable Storage, the computer is having trouble reading the device. This could be a bad USB port (connect the device to another port), a bad device (try it in another port), a bad hub (plug the device into a port directly on the computer), a driver issue (use update.microsoft.com to get a driver), or the device doesn't have a readable file system and may have to be formatted. Do not format the device if there is information on it you want to save!

See if it will work on another computer. If so, it is a problem with your computer. Try another device that you know works in the USB port you are using to connect the device. If it works, the port is good and something else is wrong, like the device you're having trouble with or its software. If it works in another computer, there is something wrong with your computer, like the driver is bad or your computer doesn't support the file system on the device.

Have you tried plugging the device in and then restarting the computer? Sometimes that helps.

If you could go Start>Run>msinfo32.exe and tell us what it has under system summary>componenets>Storage>Disks. The first set of entries will probably be for your hard disk. Then there will be a blank line to show that the info after it is for another device. The second may or may not be the one you want. Under Media Type, it should say something like "Removable media other than floppy. If not go down the list until you find one that says that. If the device is plugged in and you don't see any that have something somewhat close to the size of the disk, the correct model, etc., the disk is probably unreadable.

If you do find a correct looking entry, it should say something like
Description: Disk Drive
Model: [Manufacturer/Model name]
Media Loaded: Yes [if no, installation of the disk failed.]
Partitions: 1 [or more. If zero, part of the disk's info is corrupt]

Some info might be slightly different. Many devices have more than one partition, but if it has no information on any partition or the size of any partition, or Media Loaded is anything other than Yes, there is something seriously wrong.