What is the problem with Vista and external USB hard drives?

i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the device
drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at other
times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it is
listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never been
able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get Vista
to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2 years
with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive that
i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer. and
NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution to
this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i come
here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times it
feels like a nut, and some times it don't!

Does the hard drive have Visa drivers ?
I had problems with a Canon printer until they released vista drivers for
it.
Try Western Digital's website for Vista drivers for your product.

The fact that it has always worked well with XP indicates that you need the
correct Vista drivers for it.
Unfortunetly, Vista was built from the ground up so what generally works
with XP will not necessarily work with Vista which can be a hair pulling
bitch.
I hope Western Digital has Vista drivers for it. If not have a few rums and
wait.....



"queen" <> wrote in message
news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
>i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
> Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
> device
> drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
> other
> times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
> computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
> is
> listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
> been
> able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
> Vista
> to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
> say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
> years
> with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
> drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
> western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
> one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
> that
> i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
> don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
> headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
> properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
> and
> NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
> answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
> to
> this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
> knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
> come
> here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
> community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
> can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
> hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times
> it
> feels like a nut, and some times it don't!

Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
vision problems.

Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
what you have posted - therefore I glossed over your post.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)



"queen" <> wrote in message
news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
>i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
> Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
> device
> drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
> other
> times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
> computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
> is
> listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
> been
> able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
> Vista
> to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
> say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
> years
> with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
> drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
> western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
> one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
> that
> i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
> don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
> headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
> properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
> and
> NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
> answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
> to
> this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
> knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
> come
> here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
> community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
> can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
> hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times
> it
> feels like a nut, and some times it don't!

Richard Urban wrote:
> Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
> vision problems.
>
> Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
> sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
> what you have posted - therefore I glossed over your post.
>

Don't top post with a sig delimiter so when people with real news
readers reply to your posts, it doesn't nuke the OP's post.

Alias

LOL, you sound like this teacher of mine who had a mental break-down when we
superglued
her ass to her chair when she sat down. :-)



"Richard Urban" <> wrote in message
news:ulks4i%...
> Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
> vision problems.
>
> Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
> sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
> what you have posted - therefore I glossed over your post.
>
> --
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Richard Urban
> Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
> (For email, remove the obvious from my address)
>
>
>
> "queen" <> wrote in message
> news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
>>i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
>> Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
>> device
>> drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
>> other
>> times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
>> computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
>> is
>> listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
>> been
>> able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
>> Vista
>> to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather
>> not
>> say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
>> years
>> with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
>> drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
>> western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this
>> smaller
>> one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
>> that
>> i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
>> don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
>> headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
>> properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
>> and
>> NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
>> answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
>> to
>> this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with.
>> Microsoft
>> knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
>> come
>> here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
>> community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
>> can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
>> hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some
>> times it
>> feels like a nut, and some times it don't!
>

On Sun, 1 Jul 2007 10:05:04 -0400, "Richard Urban"
<> wrote:

> Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
> vision problems.
>
> Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
> sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
> what you have posted -


As far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with old age or vision
problems. A message like that below is hard to read for everyone.
That's the reason we have rules for paragraphs, punctuation, and
capitalization.


> therefore I glossed over your post.


You did better than I did. I ignored it completely.



> "queen" <> wrote in message
> news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
> >i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
> > Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
> > device
> > drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
> > other
> > times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
> > computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
> > is
> > listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
> > been
> > able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
> > Vista
> > to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
> > say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
> > years
> > with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
> > drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
> > western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
> > one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
> > that
> > i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
> > don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
> > headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
> > properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
> > and
> > NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
> > answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
> > to
> > this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
> > knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
> > come
> > here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
> > community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
> > can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
> > hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times
> > it
> > feels like a nut, and some times it don't!

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

this is the way i type when i am online, not typing a letter, legal document,
etc. i type every day for a living; therefore, i get tired of typing. not
trying to impress you or anyone else. if you don't like it, don't read or
respond to my post. as far as what i was taught in the 5th grade, you have
no clue. however, your reply proves that you are extremely juvenile --
perhaps still living in the 5th grade?! p.s. my punctuation skills are far
superior than you can even imagine. sorry i don't know about punctuation
from the dinosaur age!

to ryan, i've upgraded the WD drivers. yet today, Vista is refusing to
recognize the drive at all. as i stated before, it will recognize it
sometimes and install the drivers, then at other times it simply refuses to
recognize it. unfortunately, i have not been able to see it under disk
management so there is no way i can try to use the disk wizard to try to
install it.

any other suggestions? and, thanx for your reply.





"Richard Urban" wrote:

> Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
> vision problems.
>
> Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
> sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
> what you have posted - therefore I glossed over your post.
>
> --
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Richard Urban
> Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
> (For email, remove the obvious from my address)
>
>
>
> "queen" <> wrote in message
> news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
> >i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
> > Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
> > device
> > drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
> > other
> > times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
> > computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
> > is
> > listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
> > been
> > able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
> > Vista
> > to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
> > say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
> > years
> > with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
> > drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
> > western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
> > one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
> > that
> > i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
> > don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
> > headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
> > properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
> > and
> > NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
> > answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
> > to
> > this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
> > knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
> > come
> > here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
> > community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
> > can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
> > hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times
> > it
> > feels like a nut, and some times it don't!
>
>

if you need perfection to reply to a post, clearly microsoft made a mistake
in making you an MVP. please don't get me started!



"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

> On Sun, 1 Jul 2007 10:05:04 -0400, "Richard Urban"
> <> wrote:
>
> > Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
> > vision problems.
> >
> > Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
> > sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
> > what you have posted -
>
>
> As far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with old age or vision
> problems. A message like that below is hard to read for everyone.
> That's the reason we have rules for paragraphs, punctuation, and
> capitalization.
>
>
> > therefore I glossed over your post.
>
>
> You did better than I did. I ignored it completely.
>
>
>
> > "queen" <> wrote in message
> > news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
> > >i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
> > > Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
> > > device
> > > drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
> > > other
> > > times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
> > > computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
> > > is
> > > listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
> > > been
> > > able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
> > > Vista
> > > to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
> > > say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
> > > years
> > > with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
> > > drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
> > > western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
> > > one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
> > > that
> > > i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
> > > don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
> > > headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
> > > properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
> > > and
> > > NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
> > > answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
> > > to
> > > this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
> > > knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
> > > come
> > > here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
> > > community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
> > > can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
> > > hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times
> > > it
> > > feels like a nut, and some times it don't!
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup
>

Ignored this one also. You are limiting yourself to the answers you will
receive about your questions. Sorry.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)



"queen" <> wrote in message
news:36E16918-64D6-4EC7-8159-...
> this is the way i type when i am online, not typing a letter, legal
> document,
> etc. i type every day for a living; therefore, i get tired of typing.
> not
> trying to impress you or anyone else. if you don't like it, don't read or
> respond to my post. as far as what i was taught in the 5th grade, you
> have
> no clue. however, your reply proves that you are extremely juvenile --
> perhaps still living in the 5th grade?! p.s. my punctuation skills are
> far
> superior than you can even imagine. sorry i don't know about punctuation
> from the dinosaur age!
>
> to ryan, i've upgraded the WD drivers. yet today, Vista is refusing to
> recognize the drive at all. as i stated before, it will recognize it
> sometimes and install the drivers, then at other times it simply refuses
> to
> recognize it. unfortunately, i have not been able to see it under disk
> management so there is no way i can try to use the disk wizard to try to
> install it.
>
> any other suggestions? and, thanx for your reply.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Richard Urban" wrote:
>
>> Please! Take pity on those with older eyes or those who may have other
>> vision problems.
>>
>> Use paragraphs, punctuation and Capitalization at the beginning of
>> sentences. You were taught this in fifth grade. My old eyes can not read
>> what you have posted - therefore I glossed over your post.
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Richard Urban
>> Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
>> (For email, remove the obvious from my address)
>>
>>
>>
>> "queen" <> wrote in message
>> news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
>> >i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
>> > Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
>> > device
>> > drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
>> > other
>> > times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to
>> > this
>> > computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then
>> > it
>> > is
>> > listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
>> > been
>> > able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
>> > Vista
>> > to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather
>> > not
>> > say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
>> > years
>> > with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with
>> > the
>> > drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA
>> > 320gb
>> > western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this
>> > smaller
>> > one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this
>> > drive
>> > that
>> > i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so
>> > i
>> > don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
>> > headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
>> > properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my
>> > printer.
>> > and
>> > NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide
>> > an
>> > answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a
>> > solution
>> > to
>> > this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with.
>> > Microsoft
>> > knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
>> > come
>> > here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows
>> > Vista
>> > community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ...........
>> > i
>> > can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want
>> > to
>> > hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some
>> > times
>> > it
>> > feels like a nut, and some times it don't!
>>
>>

"queen" <> wrote in message
news:EE36B0C4-36A4-4C05-A058-...
>i have an external USB hard drive (IDE 80gb western digital) that Vista
> Business 32-bit seems to have a problem with. sometimes it says the
> device
> drivers have been installed and the device is ready for use. then at
> other
> times, i get a message that says "one of the USB devices attached to this
> computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." then it
> is
> listed as an "unknown device" in device manager. however, i have never
> been
> able to see it at all under disk management. i have been trying to get
> Vista
> to recognize this drive for (you know ....... i'm so angry, i'd rather not
> say!). this drive has already been formatted NTFS, as i used it for 2
> years
> with an older pc that has Windows XP on it. never had an issue with the
> drive and XP. i don't want to use it to boot Vista (i have a SATA 320gb
> western digital hard drive i boot Vista from). i want to use this smaller
> one as a storage device. i have about 20gb of information on this drive
> that
> i would like to access. i have upgraded all drivers (MOBO as well) so i
> don't know why i am continuing to have this problem. and the biggest
> headache of all is the fact that all my other USB devices are working
> properly and i have never had a problem with them, including my printer.
> and
> NO, it is not a power issue so please don't suggest it just to provide an
> answer. i'm extremely aggravated and agitated that no one has a solution
> to
> this issue, which should not be such a big issue to begin with. Microsoft
> knows of this and just refuses to address it, and i'm not surprised. i
> come
> here and find answers for this issue for Windows XP in the Windows Vista
> community. go figure! i have been around the world and i ........... i
> can't find my answer. plain and simple, i know some of you don't want to
> hear this nor do you have to agree, but Vista is one crazy OS. some times
> it
> feels like a nut, and some times it don't!

I have two WD80GB usb drives that I use for backups on six computers, three
of which are Vista. I have never had issues except when using a non-powered
usb hub or on certain computers using a satellite port on the front of a
computer. I have also never needed any drivers other than what was natively
available from the operating system. Since you state that power is not an
issue and all of your other usb devices work, you might look for a hardware
issue such as a bad usb plug or cable or even the possibility that the drive
is in early stages of failure.

--
Jim