HELP W/ EXTERNAL USB SATA DRIVE

[FourEyes]

I purchased a 250GB SATA Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 and a generic external USB SATA enclosure. My motherboard is PATA only.

When I connect it to my PC, it detects a USB device under "Disk drives" in the Device Manager. However, the drive is not accessible in My Computer.

It appears that I probably have to format the drive...Am I correct? If so, how is that done?

Please help!

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AMD 64 3700+ | Aopen MK89-L NF3 | ATI RADEON X800 XT PE
1GB Corsair VS | PC P&C ATX Silencer 470 PSU
Audigy 2 | NEC 3500 DVD RW | 160GB Seagate

 

[The_Prophecy]

Actually you have to partition it first, then format it. If you're running Windows XP, go to Start, Run, type "diskmgmt.msc" without quotes. The new drive should appear in that window. Once you have it partitioned and formatted, it will show up in My Computer.

 

[PCcashCow]

Just to double check, your not seeing the volume in Disk Management? You should see if you can see the volume in diskpart or another command line utility. You should be able to see your drive in dos, you could format it there if nothing else works.

 

[FourEyes]

The external drive is not showing up in Disk Management...!

 

[PCcashCow]

Can you test the drive in another system to isolate the two variables?

 

[FourEyes]

My son has a PC w/ SATA. Do I have to connect the drive to his PC & fomat/partition? Isn't there a way using my PC?

 

[PCcashCow]

If you have an extra Sata connector try to just install the drive there. If M$ diskmgt see the disk, format and set the enclosure back up to test it. If your still have the issue, you may have a defective controller on the enclosure or a bad cable (maybe even a bad driver)