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Hello,
One of my computers is an old Pentium III 798MHz with 512MB RAM. I recently bought a 3.5" hard-drive in an external case and connected it up to the USB port. Unfortunately the external hard-drive is USB 2.0 but my computer is only USB 1 so the computer didn't recognize it as an extra drive.
To get around this problem I went out and bought a USB 2.0 PCI card with 4 ports, after the guy in the computer shop confirmed that I could convert my existing computer to USB 2.0.
I got home, installed the USB 2.0 PCI card, connected up the external hard-drive but it made no difference. I still can't see the extra drive.
To confirm there isn't a problem with the external hard-drive itself I plugged it into my new computer and I could see it ok with no problems.
Any idea why I can't get it to work on my old computer?
There is no reason why an external USB 2.0 drive should not work with a USB 1.1 port. USB 2 is backward compatible with USB 1.1 but it will only work at the slower speeds.
Is this new drive partitioned and formatted? Until it is it wont shown up anywhere except in Disk Management were it can be partitioned and formatted.
Stuart
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Are you sure you installed the software according to MFG instructions? Both the PCI card and the Drive enclosure have their own Drivers. Some PCI/USB devices require the driver to be installed Prior to connecting the device, some the other way round.
I could be wrong, but it sounds like this Computer is running Win98 rather than XP.
Remove PCI Card, remove drivers from Add/Remove Programs, then reinstall the card following install instructions exactly. Next verify that the USB 2.0 is working prior to installing the Driver for the External HDD box.
You might find further help below;
There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.
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This could be an issue of what version of the PCI standard your MBoard supports and what standard is required for the add in card.
Your signature states WinXP. What service packs are installed, if any? WinXP original doesn't support drives larger than 127GB or USB 2.0.
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The hard drive is already partitioned and formatted and I am running Windows XP Service Pack 2. I haven't installed any drivers (do I need to with XP?) because it worked without drivers on my newer computer, which is also XP.
I have no idea what version of the PCI standard my MBoard supports???
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No, you shouldn't need to install any drivers when using WinXP. What is the exact model of the MBoard and of the PCI card?
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The Motherboard is a Gigabyte 6VX7-4X (4X AGP) and the PCI card came in a box that says 'PCI Series Adapter - Wiretek - For the best mobile peripherial in China'. It also has 'PU 502' handwritten in the top corner.
I checked under Disk Management and as I thought the extra drive isn't listed there either so it's still not recognized. And I just blew the operating system away and did a fresh install of Windows XP with Service Pack 2 but it didn't make any difference.
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Below is an excerpt from your MBoard spces. The PCI slot specs look good. Maybe the USB card is bad.
Slots
1 AMR slot (Audio Modem Riser)
5 PCI slots 33MHz each, corresponding to PCI 2.2 specification
1 ISA slot
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Did the USB adapter card show up as new hardware when you booted the first time after installing? Did a CD or floppy come with the card? Does the card show up anywhere in Device manager?
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I don't remember if the USB PCI card showed up as new hardware when I first booted the PC after installation.
There was a CD that came with it but I haven't used it yet.
I don't think the card has shown up in Device manager. Would I find it somewhere like System Devices or Other Devices?
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An add in card should have its own line item listing labeled networking.
I suggest you try inserting the card into a different open PCI slot. Be sure to have the computer unplugged when working inside the case and take static precautions. If it still doesn't show up on first boot as new hardware, either the slot is bad or disabled somehow in the BIOS (that is possible with some baords). Or the card is dead.
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I really don't know what's going on with this thing!
I swapped some cards around and reinserted it back into the same slot and eventually got the Found New Hardware message. The card was recognized and has its own listing under Device Manager.
Next I inserted a small 256MB USB Flash/Thumb drive and successfully opened files stored on it.
I then plugged the external hard-drive in and noticed the following:
1. It appears as an extra (G:) drive in Windows Explorer and under My Computer but doesn't show up in Disk Management.
2. If I left click on the G: drive from Windows Explorer or My Computer I get the message "G:\ is not accessible. The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error".
3. If I right click on it all I get is an hour glass and nothing happens.
4. I restarted the PC and when Windows came back up the extra G:\ drive was gone again!
5. The external hard-drive works fine on my other PC.
Any ideas?
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Hi,
I eventually found the unmarked disk that came with the PCI card but it contains all sorts of other drivers for other products as well. Unfortunately none of them seems to work when I install them.
I'm after a Wiretek PCI Series Adapter USB 2.0 driver if anyone knows where I can get one? Then I can see if that fixes the problem.
Cheers, O-D.
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I would assume that if the disk came with the card that the correct driver is on there somewhere. Sometimes all that is required is for you to supply a broad path to the driver. Point to the disk without digging into too far. If you get an OK button you have gone far enough.
If the card isn't showing as new hardware then it may not be compatible with your system. The only time you should need to hunt for devices is if they are not plug and play. Plug and play has been the standard for years. The card should cause Windows to detect it, even if Windows can't install it.
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 Microsoft getting silly?
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error message using short...
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