USB device not recognized, in Windows 7 Only

[Atakapa]

Friends, I have installed Windows 7 in my computer. It works fine in all the aspect but when I tried to connect my portable HDD it shows me message that “USB device not recognized”. I have a WD Passport 160GB portable HDD which was working fine before when I was having XP installed.

I have experienced it before on XP but it was the very first time I connected it to computer. I have tried every single USB port on my computer but it shows me the same error. Please help me to get out of this. Thank you.

[Ceesar]

Every drive is to be given a unique letter and I think your external HDD wants to use the letter which may be already used for some other drive. You can disable your CD or DVD ROM in the BIOS setting and connect the HDD to the computer and see if it works or not. If it does not work then you can change the letter for other drives and reboot your system. After that connect it to your computer and if the error was because of letter then it will definitely fox it.

[Regina]

Hey, I was having the same problem with my computer after installing Windows 7. I thought that it is a operating system problem and I tried every possible solution but none of them worked for me. I took suggestion from one of my friend and got the issue fixed. Actually my USB disk was password protected. Check that your USB disk is password protected or not. The card is invisible in case of sd card in usb card reader if it is password protected. You have to remove the password to make it visible.

[Odalis]

I think you have problem with your USB driver. Drivers are the link between interface and operating system. Your USB driver may have corrupted and you need to upgrade it. You can download the latest driver from internet and install it in your computer. Reboot your system and connect your external HDD to the computer and see whether it works or not. if then .also it does not work then there may be problem with your HDD.

[Gonzo]

If it has been connected to you computer once and it is showing the problem after that then you can go to previous stage of your computer by restoring your computer using system restore utility. Here are the steps to be followed to use utility.

• Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools
• There click on System Restore option.
• you can click on continue or you can provide Administrator credentials.
• Choose a different restore point and press next button.
• provide date and time to restore your computer on that satge.
• If the date is more that last 5 days then select check box of Show restore points older than 5 days.

[Devasis]

Some files of your operating system may be corrupted and you need to fix that. For that you can use system file checker utility. You have to go through the following steps to run that utility.

1. Click on Start > all programs > accessories and right click on command prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Click on continue.
3. In the command prompt type sfc/scannow and press enter.
4. You will see the following message on your screen.
Beginning the system scan. This process will take some time.
Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification % complete
5. You will see a final message once the scan is completed. This message may be from one of the following
…found no integrity violations
…found corruption but repaired it
…found corruption that it could not repair

[pixelbob]

Have you tried turning off your computer, I mean like unplugging it from the power supply or walloutlet? Because most computers today doesn't turn off when you press the shutdown button. So first turn off your computer using Shut Down or pressing the power button and then UNPLUG it from the wall outlet. Let it sit for about a minute and then plug it back in.

[Dr. V]

You may have problem with your operating system .It may be corrupted or your installation CD may be corrupted. I would suggest you to do a complete fresh reinstallation of Windows 7. And if possible this time do it with any other CD. But remember, before doing this try other possible solution.