External USB drives not working in Win 7

hubb

I have 2 USB external storage drives that work fine in Windows XP. When I plug either into my new Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium PC they do not register and continue making a clicking noise. Plug back into my old XP computer and they work fine.

Can anyone help please ?

Peter999_2

Hi,

When a portable USB drive makes a clicking noise on one PC but not on another it is usually because it is not receiving enough power from the USB port to work.

You can buy a cable that goes into 2 usb ports and this usually is enough to power the drive. Does your drive have a mini-USB, micro-USB or USB 3.0 cable?

An example of a 2 usb port cable is here (it is a mini-USB connection) :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Dual-Power-2-x-Type-A-to-mini-B-Cable-Lead-Wire-/330896186818?pt=UK_Computing_USB_Cables&hash=item4d0af31dc2

Hope this helps

raleigh040513

Hi!
external storage need to have the capable power supply to read it but in terms of windows seven sometimes it can read. You need to troubleshoot to know the cause why in the windows 7 is not allowed. I think the problem is the OS it is not compatible with your external storage.
I hope some scenario could help.
Thanks

hubb

I can read it when I plug into the rear USB but not the front. Interesting.

Neil49

hubb wrote: »

I can read it when I plug into the rear USB but not the front. Interesting.

That's not unusual.

I have to use the rear usb ports for my external drive but that suits me as it keeps the cable out of the way.

spud17

hubb wrote: »

I can read it when I plug into the rear USB but not the front. Interesting.

That is very often the case when there is insufficient power.

To cheer you up, my 'best' pc with a decent Corsair PSU won't power a laptop HD in a caddy no matter which usb ports you use.

It works on all the other bits and pieces lying around here, even an HP Thin Client.

ChiefGrasscutter

Its all to do with the power as others have stated.
This is why external drive supplied USB leads are kept short.
This is why the instructions all say plug directly into a USB port and do not use USB hubs.
This is also why portable CD/DVD drives have two parallel USB plug connections on the lead to plug into two adjacent USB ports on your laptop - to handle the power requirements.

On my XP machine if I plug the drive into one of the slave ports on the screen it won't work - it has to be direct to a PC based USB port.

All I can say is presumably some USB ports on your PC are 'lower power' capable ones than others - presumably done to keep the cost of the PC down............

securityguy

ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »

This is why the instructions all say plug directly into a USB port and do not use USB hubs.

Although a powered USB hub will solve most such problems.