Hi to all,

My notebook works under Windows XP Pro SP1 (French version) and I wished to extend its storage capacity with a USB hard disk.

I purchased a first one (80 Gb) with an external power supply which never worked properly and I discarded it.

Now I purchased a new light unit (40 Gb - USB powered) which does not install successfully.

The problem may be that in the hidden units of my configuration, I still find the old mass storage with its 3 generic volumes (partitions) which I can abslolutely not delete from the configuration (uninstall does not work).

Can anybody help me ? .... many thanks in advance.
Edit/Delete Message

Who makes the notebook, and what bios, & bios version are you using?

The volumes you see in Device Manager will have been created by any USB HD's or flash disks you have inserted and I wouldn't worry too much about them but if you really want to remove them try in Safe Mode. I currently have 7 volumes listed on my laptop to no detriment and I don't think this is your problem.

I have had numerous such USB external drives and the only problems I have come across have been where the power available from the USB port, nominally 5v @ 0.5a, has been insufficient for reliable operation. A unit with it's own power source should not suffer from this problem.

PS, Can I have the discarded 80gb one please....lol

Hi kinel,

I believe you were unfortunately right with the power problem.

My notebook is fairly old (ca. 3 years) and is equipped with USB 1.1. I added a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card with 2 plugs, to which I connected my new disk, which is equipped with a split cord with 2 USB plugs. But visibly, the power supplied by the PCMCIA is not enough for the USB disk (which shows an error code 10).

So I tried to connect it to my powered 1.1 USB hub, and it works nicely...although at a ridiculous speed...

If you want my 80 Gb DIGITUS disk (brand new in case with stand), you can have it (without garantee on my side) for a nominal cost covering at least shipment from Switzerland. Just contact me offline at cbellier@vtxnet.ch

Kind regard and thanks for your tip - Claude