One PC Won't Recognize Any External Drives

[laurah5107]

I have two PCs, both about 4 years old. I also have a number of flash drives and two external HDs. I had wanted to back up one of the PCs data to the harddrive but I couldn't format the HD on that PC.

Everything works great on one PC but the other PC refuses to recognize anything or when it does it tells me that I need to format the HD (which I already have done and there is data on the HD).

When I go to Disk Management I can see all the various external memory drives displayed but I can't get them to show up under My Computer.

Could it be a USB problem? I'm also having problems getting the annoying machine to recognize my iPod and iPhone.

I am so frustrated with this PC.

 

[r_manic]

It's most likely a problem with your computer's USB ports. Just to be sure though, try to use another USB cable with your hard disk.

What you probably need to do is to make sure your non-functioning PC's drivers are updated. If you know what your motherboard, download and install the latest driver set.

 

[laurah5107]

I can find no USB cables that work except the one for my wireless mouse and keyboard. Even the iPod only works intermittently and usual gives me a failure pop up when I try to do anything.

I'll try updating the drivers.

If it is the USB ports is there a way to get the data off the internal harddrive? Can I buy new USB ports and somehow connect them? I don't want to put alot of money into this PC however.