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association of drives [to drive letters]

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by zeek, 2007/12/03.

  1. 2007/12/03
    zeek

    zeek Inactive Thread Starter

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    This may be too simple BUT I'm an eDummy so I ask; how do I associate a new external hard drive to "my computer/ drives/....(F). I want to load soft ware but there is no "drive F' to send it to. Remember, eDummy. Thanks, Zeek
     
    zeek,
    #1
  2. 2007/12/03
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hello zeek,

    Is the drive installed and if so what letter did it take?

    The way to change drive letters:

    Right click My Computer > Manage > in the left window > Disk Mangement.

    Right click on the HD's graphic area > change drive letter. You can do this if no other device has the letter assigned. If another device does, change that device's letter to something else.

    BTW, a good idea to assign X - y to Rom drives.


    I've modified your thread title for clarity.
     

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  4. 2007/12/03
    zeek

    zeek Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi and thank you. The drive is an external USB and is not recognised in device mgr.
     
    zeek,
    #3
  5. 2007/12/03
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Do you get the Safely Remove Hardware symbol in the Notification area near the clock?

    How big is this HD?
     
  6. 2007/12/03
    zeek

    zeek Inactive Thread Starter

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    No, I don't have the "Safely.... icon. The drive is 500 gb.
     
    zeek,
    #5
  7. 2007/12/03
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hi zeek,

    You can try a basic exercise in cases of USB drive problems:

    In DM expand USB and right click and uninstall the contollers and Root Hubs > reboot - XP will re detect what was uninstalled.

    If that doesn't solve the problem and providing there isn't any hardware problem with either the drive/cable or the usb connector, I would suspect a size limitation, either physical or with a driver.

    Could you post your system specs for anyone else that's looking at this thread?

    Download and run Belarc Advisor http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
    Post system specs here. Run with every device you have plugged in and turned on.
     
  8. 2007/12/03
    zeek

    zeek Inactive Thread Starter

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    I did as you suggested, USB cure, and now see the new HD. How do I prove there is a drive letter for it? The last time I tried to load software to the new drive there was no drive 'letter' to upload to. No drive (F).
     
    zeek,
    #7
  9. 2007/12/04
    Dennis L Lifetime Subscription

    Dennis L Inactive Alumni

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    Now that your computer can see the drive, have you assigned a drive letter to the new drive?
    If not, follow instructions provided by charlesvar's post #2.
     
  10. 2007/12/04
    mc21repsol

    mc21repsol Well-Known Member

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    May I ask why you wish to install programs to an external/removable drive?

    If it is going to be a "fixed" addition to the system (i.e. will remain plugged in at all times to expand your storage space) then I can understand it, but if you intend to (try to) "move" programs around from one PC to another, then it won't work.

    Andy.
     
    Last edited: 2007/12/04
  11. 2007/12/04
    zeek

    zeek Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thank you for your response. I would like to use the ext. drive for back up, storage. I would like to use it as I use "c" drive. It is my understanding that I can't use the drive completely empty, something must be in there to be able to use it. Oh, I forgot, I'm almost completely ignorant of computer knowledge/ The drive came with a built in program but I've managed to ***** things up and now I am unable to see the drive when trying to upload something. No "F" drive. It DOES appear in the 'device manager' though.( Win XP) I can't think of what else would be pertinent. Thanks again. zeek
     
  12. 2007/12/04
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Not that I know of.
    That sounds like a backup program. Try to uninstall it in Add/Remove - see if that solves the problem.

    Failing that, if feasable, do a System Restore back to just prior to trying to install the drive and the backup program and start all over without installing any program.
     
  13. 2007/12/04
    Dennis L Lifetime Subscription

    Dennis L Inactive Alumni

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    The above is possible, I think?? But requires expert computer skills, meticulous procedure, and compatible BIOS (boot from USB). This approach is not part of a normal day to day backup process. What you need is a program which can create a image copy of your fixed "C" drive which can be STORED on your external drive. This provides a complete backup / restore for your computer. It should be "part" of a layered backup scheme for your computer.
     
  14. 2007/12/04
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    My take on this is that zeek just wants to dump data on it as he/she would on C drive - I hope :)
     
  15. 2007/12/04
    Zander

    Zander Geek Member Alumni

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    I'm not sure what this means but possibly what this this refers to is that the drive needs to be formatted first. Do what charlesvar said in post number two in this thread. See if you can see the drive there. If it's there, I think it will show as "removable ". If it's there and the space it contains shows as "unallocated ", you need to format the drive. To do this, right click on the space where it says unallocated and then click format. Once it's formatted, unplug the drive, then plug it back in and see if you can see the drive in My Computer.
     
  16. 2007/12/04
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hi Pete,
    My take as well :)

    Hi Zander,
    Could be, but this sounds like one of those ready to go external drives complete with backup program.
     
  17. 2007/12/04
    Dennis L Lifetime Subscription

    Dennis L Inactive Alumni

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    Hi guys ... I agree with all of you :D ;)
    We will need zeek's input to progress. In my post #12 / zeek's quote ends with the sentence ..
    For lack of full understanding to zeek's question, my concern is what's needed ... the OS. He wants his ext drive to mirror his fixed C/drive. We believe the ext drive is formatted since it appears to have a backup program (data only backup ??) on it. As long as zeek assigned a drive letter / Disk Management accepted that is all OS needs. It is this phrase "something must be in there to be able to use it" is the baffling question. Many new users fall into the trap of (data) backup and backup for OS / programs (image) , which require additional programs and user understanding of the two types of backup information (data vs image).
     
    Last edited: 2007/12/04
  18. 2007/12/04
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hi Dennis,

    This is always the hard part - parsing what someone means :) No offense zeek.
     
  19. 2007/12/04
    Zander

    Zander Geek Member Alumni

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    One more thought.
    I was wondering if this meant it came with a CD of some kind. It seems unlikely to me that the drive would come with a backup program installed on it. I would think it would have to be installed in Windows before one could use it. If it is a CD, is it a backup program, driver disk, formatting utility, or possibly a combination of these? I hesitate to add this so as not to confuse the issue more but it would be nice if zeek could clarify this a bit.
     
  20. 2007/12/04
    zeek

    zeek Inactive Thread Starter

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    It came with no install disc.
    It came out of the box with whatever already installed. "Plug in power cord,plug in USB, a few seconds later your Free Agent Pro lights up , a dialog window will appear and tell you what to do ". Thats the extent of directions. I followed instr. , d/l a back up page, subsequently deleted the b/u file and probably everything else. I can see the drive in DM but when attempting to d/l to it there is no 'F' drive to d/l to. whew. Thanks again .... and SEAGATE is very little help.
     
  21. 2007/12/04
    charlesvar

    charlesvar Inactive Alumni

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    Hi Zeek,

    Did you go into Disk Management and try to assign a drive letter to this disk?

    I assume this is a normal drive "dressed up" in an enclosure and with software. If all else fails, unless you want to wait for either Seagate or someone that's familair with this software, what I would do:

    I would format the drive (Zander gave you instructions on how to do that) - that means wiping out the software that came with the drive. After that you should be able to use the drive the way you use the internal C drive - meaning you can copy/move files back and forth.

    Wait and see what the others (Zander - Dennis - Pete) have to say about that though.

    Also, please go into disk Management and report on:

    The number of partitions there are - may be only one
    The amount of free space

    The file format I'm assuming is NTFS


    Also please post the name/model of this drive - so we can look it up.
     

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