External USB Hard drive detected but not assigned a drive letter

1

I have a USB HD connected using SATA to USB connection to the a PC with XP, before it used to be recognised fine and assigned a drive letter but since some malware issues with my PC, I had to repair the XP installation, the hard drive is not being assigned a drive letter so I can't access it. It is detected as USB mass storage however and I have looked in Hard drives in computer managment too. I have also connected the hard drive to another PC and it is accessible.

Rubans

Posted 2011-08-31T12:50:52.983

Reputation: 345

1Could be a power issue, it gets enough power to be detected but not enough to power the hdd. – Nifle – 2011-08-31T13:21:51.317

Ok, currently I have SATA to usb adapter which uses mains power and since it works on the laptop, I assume there is enough power? – Rubans – 2011-08-31T14:45:07.243

If it has an external power source my suggestion is not likely to be correct. – Nifle – 2011-08-31T20:52:53.907

Answers

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This happens if the OS is trying to assign it a letter which is taken. Go into Computer Manager and see if you've got the drive without the letter. Then, reassign the letters how you wish.

This happens quite a lot to me when I use a dozen memory sticks in various combinations.

Dmitri Nesteruk

Posted 2011-08-31T12:50:52.983

Reputation: 372

I thought the same but as mentioned in my post, the drive doesn't show up there either. – Rubans – 2011-08-31T13:10:34.683

Asked: 2011-08-31T12:50:52.983

Viewed: 2 184 times

Active: 2011-08-31T13:06:36.070