Seems I’ve “Lost” My Maxtor One Touch II External Drive : Greetings, I have a Gateway Pentium II desktop computer that works on Windows XP Pro and have been using a Maxtor One-Touch II (250GB) external hard drive successfully for a few years now as my backup disk. I designated it “Disk H” and it’s where I backed up on my hard drive files. These I can replace with new backups but Disk H is also where I stored many years of irreplaceable digital photo images! Just recently I was unable to “find” Disk H on my computer. I accessed My Computer from the Desktop … and could no longer find Disk H either under “Hard Disk Drives” or “Devices with Removable Storage.” The category “Other” did have one device listed: - “Maxtor Locked Drives.” I right-clicked this icon and got the choice of: “Unlock Drive” and “Create Shortcut.” I double-clicked on “Unlock Drive” … and nothing happened. I then tried the Maxtor One-Touch II Drive Management | Run Diagnostics | Select a Drive … but no drive displayed! The power and USB cables are plugged in properly … I’m mystified as to what’s going on here … and I really need to re-access this device and the files it contains. Would reinstalling this external drive from CD be an option? What about the existing files? I consider myself only semi-computer literate so whatever help anyone out there can render will be most appreciated. Many thanks. Mike P.S. - What if I installed this device on my second computer … a Dell Latitude D820 desktop?

External hard drives should work on any computer without having to install additional hardware, so it wouldn't hurt to try plugging it into a different computer. The external drive -- you can hear it spin up or feel it running, right?

Look at #1 in the FAQ link below. http://seagate.custhelp.com/cgi-bin... You should always maintain at least TWO copies of any data you wish to retain. When dealing with hard drives it isn't if they fail but when they fail. Look in device manager to see if the external drive is listed there. You may need to take ownership of the files. To do that look at the link below. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

You may need to plug into a different USB port. See response 3 in this: http://www.computing.net/answers/wi... Most if not all external drives must have a power adapter connected to the external case, or be connected to the computer with TWO USB cables, because a single USB cable alone cannot provide enough current for the external drive to work properly. One Touch II FAQ: http://seagate.custhelp.com/cgi-bin... That and other One Touch II support: http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/su...

Greetings, Further to my thread starter … Here’s the latest … After trying everything else I finally disconnected the Maxtor 250GB One-Touch II External Drive (ED) and took a closer look at the power and USB connections to see why (2) computers even though the Maxtor lit up and made normal “operating” sounds, etc when powered up. I discovered that the USB socket was slightly skewed in its seating. [I took some close-up JPEG images that show this … is there a way to upload these here?]. Recently I did move the computer a very short distance. But I didn’t first disconnect the ED and so the side pull of the still-connected USB cable apparently nudged the USB socket out of joint enough so that I cannot insert the USB cable perpendicularly to make a full connection. Is there any way to fix this? Thanks again. Mike

Sorry to have "gone silent" recently … family matters. Here's the latest … I took the drive to Circuit City and the Firedog tech confirmed that the drive itself powers up and is working OK. He removed the back plate (as the drive was already out of warranty). He tried jiggling the bent USB port but couldn't get a firm connection when plugging in the USB cable. The computer still doesn’t recognize the drive at all. Lastly, he was totally unable to remove the drive from the outer case … it wouldn’t budge a millimeter. Why? Does Maxtor construct their external drives so end-users can’t do this … only their in-house personnel (at mega $$s)? His suggestion was to send the drive in for further in-depth attention ... and possible data retrieval. I haven't taken this last resort step until I first got possible additional input online first. He did say that I could access www.firedog.com (per "data recovery") and get service at 50% off ... since Maxtor is owned by Seagate ... or something such. Has anyone gone this route and know the drill here? Thanks, Mike P.S. – I’ve since acquired a new Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus (500GB) and backed up my entire system again. It’s the 1000’s of digital images from 2002 that are still trapped on the OneTouch II drive in question that’s the issue.

"Recently I did move the computer a very short distance. But I didn’t first disconnect the ED and so the side pull of the still-connected USB cable apparently nudged the USB socket out of joint enough so that I cannot insert the USB cable perpendicularly to make a full connection." "He tried jiggling the bent USB port but couldn't get a firm connection when plugging in the USB cable. The computer still doesn’t recognize the drive at all." It sounds like you not unplugging the USB cord and skewing the port has damaged the internal circuits. "he was totally unable to remove the drive from the outer case … it wouldn’t budge a millimeter." I've never heard of that before. Usually there is no problem removing the drive from the case. Maybe the tech guy missed something? Were you there watching when he tried to take it out? I looked on the Seagate and Maxtor sites and did not find any info about that. Perhaps you could try emailing them. If it's merely that the drive is a regular drive that is glued into the case or some such, it should be possible to remove it one way or another, though doing that may destroy the external drive enclosure. There is this possibilty: How to Troubleshoot a Faulty Power Supply for Maxtor External Hard Drives. http://seagate.custhelp.com/cgi-bin... If all else fails, if the data on the drive is valuable enough to you, you are going to have to bite the bullet and take advantage of the 50% off for Data Recovery services.