Windows 7 Won't Recognize External Hard Drive

Have you tried using a different USB port ?(if possible) If the drive is plugged into the front ports then try plugging it into the ones at the back.

i have tried several different usb ports but to no avail it still periodically happens

Whats the actual make of the drive (apologies if this has been posted already) I looked and didn't see it...

iomega 1tb external drive. It has two Partitions, primary and logical. The primary contains a vista backup (drive K) this is always seen by w7.The other partition contains copies of all my valuable data. w7 always recognizes the vista partition . It is the other partition which w7 occasionally fails to recognize (drive J). I also run partion magic 10 which never fails to reconize both partitions.
thanks for your prompt comments
David j

Hi David,
I tried looking through iomegas main site to see if there was a firmware update or something like a FAQ section. Trouble is without knowing the exact name/model number of your drive I got stumped quite early on. If you want to check the site yourself you can:

https://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/cg...ci/product.php

Or post the information and I'll check through it again, no worries..

the model is Iomega MDHD1 TB - UE, P/N 3174600, s/n 61av390a53
David J

Hi David,
thanks for the info...
I think your drive is here: https://iomega-eu-en.custhelp.com/cg...p_sid=berXfyFj

You'll see various options for support with the 'My external HD is not being detected' section quite lengthy and may include an answer for your particular problem.
Post back if nothing usefull is found..

When I plugged my WD ext hdd into my brand new, beautiful Windows 7 loaded laptop, to my dismay it didn't do anything! Like the rest of you having problems out there, my external harddrive had it's light on and was happily spinning but nothing in My Computer or in Device Manager in control panel showed any signs of a portable device. So this is what I did:

1. Go to WD - Service & Support Home
2. Click the "download" picture
3. Select your appropriate model
4. You must know your model number
5. Download the WD synchronization software or driver

Me too had this problem. But in my case, I was able to use it for awhile. But lately, windows 7 can't recognize it. It say's unable to install the driver and it had a yellow exclamation mark on it. And also one time it said to format my external drive. I don't have problem using it on xp. My external drive is a 2.5" 120GB Maxtor usb but my external casing was damage and I'm using a generic HDD case. can anyone help on this please.

Just can't figure out why my external hard drive is not recognized in windows 7. It works great on XP.
I have 2 enclosures... one by vantec nexstar 3 and anotehr by Megadisk. Both are powered by the USB port.
Both works on XP but not recognized by Win 7.
Called the makers of the enclosures and both told me that it should work.... hmmmm.
The drive is spinning but nothing is recognized on the comp.
Tried the disk management thingamajig but to no avail I just don't see the drive at all.

Hopefully the microsoft guys are working on this.