Heyya guys...

i've got a 30g hard drive that has had no problems. it used to be a main drive in an older computer.

I've put the drive into an enclosure and hooked it up via usb.

Now, Xp recognizes drive, it names it properly and says it's good to go (in the icon tray). It's also recognized properly under device manager -> disk drives.

I CANNOT see it in windows explorer or disk management. Theres no way for me to access the drive, but i can see it.

The drive is spinning with no unusual sounds

So i've done a number of things:
1) uninstalled drive and restarted computer and reinstalled drive.
2) switched jumper settings from master to slave to cable select.
2) tried different usb ports
3) a combination of turning on power to usb while usb is plugged in and vice versa
4) tried drive (via usb) on another computer
5) have hooked up ANOTHER hdd with same usb enclosure to computer with no problems
6) installed in a computer as a master drive... it sees it in the BIOS.

so, I'm about ready to jump in front of anything that is fast and heavy enough to destroy me.

I'd like to take a hammer to the drive, but unfortunately, I need data off it.

Again, I stress, I cannot access the drive through explorer OR disk management.. every post I've read so far on this subject has resulted in using disk management as a remedy.

About the only thing I haven't done is mess around with my registry.

i am slowly dying here...

Not sure if this would be a fix for your problem, but take a look at this url:

http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-62...

yes. I've seen that post. But I've tripled checked the cables making sure they secure...

When installing an IDE harddrive into an external enclosure you always use Master or completely remove the jumper.

What you are seeing in the tray is a USB device. The harddrive ENCLOSURE, not the drive itself. If the harddrive is functional then the most likely problem is the jumpering.

If the enclosure is NOT externally powered the USB port may not be suppying enough power to spinup the harddrive. Using a hub is not recommended with an external drive.

Here is my complete arsenal in the fight against USB (Unreliable Serial Bus) problems. You have tried some of them and some may not be relevant to your problem. Not in any particularly logical sequence, here they are:
1. Right-click My Computer > Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager to see if the drive shows up under ‘Disk drives‘. If so, right-click it > Properties > Policies Tab and check if you have a ‘Quick Removable’ check box. A USB external drive should have a check in this box. Reboot if you change anything.
2. Try restarting the computer with the USB drive already plugged in and powered up.
3. Try an ‘Autoplay’ repair, here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...
4. Right-click My Computer > Manage > Disk Management. If the disk is listed or hidden, right-click its graphic and change the drive letter to one nearer the end of the alphabet.
5. Control Panel > Add New Hardware and let the wizard find it.
6. Look here, particularly numbers 3 and 4 here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/871...
7. If you have one, or can get hold of one, try using a ‘Live’ Linux CD to determine whether the problems are hardware or operating system related, i.e. if your USB ports work in Linux, then it isn't a hardware problem.
8. I‘ve been told that certain files should be in C:\Windows\Inf. I have 8 names each with an extension of .INF and .PNF, i.e. 16 files altogether: irstusb, usb, usbport, usbprint, usbstor, usbvideo, wceusbsh and wdma_usb.
9. Also, these driver files are present in Windows\System32\drivers\ . They have an extension of SYS and there are 13 of them: usb8023, usbcamd, usbcamd2, usbccgp, usbd, usbehci, usbhub, usbintel, usbport, usbprint, usbscan usbstor and usbuhci.
10. Try to check the file structure of the device, e.g. FAT, FAT16, FAT32.
11. Check the BIOS for these three settings:
Look for ‘USB 2.0 Voltage’, low, med, high or max‘. If it’s present, set it to max.
Check that USB legacy support is Enabled.
Under Plug and Play or Peripherals, there may be an option to clear the stored data of PCI/USB devices.
12. Have a look at USB troubleshooting tips here http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbstick_e...

I believe I've tried the no jumper situation.. but I'll try it again...

would installing the drive as a slave in another computer (internally) solve my problem?

thanks guys...

Burr.. I'll try your extensive methods when I get back from work...

In regard to your #5 response, what is your goal? If you just want to gain access to files on the drive or gain extra storage then an intenal installation makes more sense than the USB enclosure.

After rereading your original post I have questions. You state you can see the drive but can't access it. I am not sure what you mean by that but you may need to take ownership of the files and folders on the drive if you can see them but they are not accessable. If this is the came then look at the link below to learn how to take ownership.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

OtheHill...

Yeah, its older drive from a old computer. I've taken the drive out and USB'd it becuase i'm currently running a laptop.

I have an old desktop that isn't working properly, but I used it just to see if BIOS would register it. And it did, but I couldn't boot from the drive.

I'm gonna try and slave it into another operational desktop (a friends) and forgo all this USB nonsense.

But by 'seeing' it, I meant that win xp on the laptop, shows that usb device has been found. It goes on to tell me its a hard drive, and then names it samsung sv400blah, which is what it is.

I can go to Device Manager and under Disk Drives, the samsung drive is listed there.

but none of these options allow me, obviously, to access the content of the drive...

Then use the link above to access the files.

Does it show active in the disk management?

nothing has worked...

that's it... nothing is worth this aggravation. First I'll get a nice $1300 estimate on data recovery and then I'll take a bath with a radio and a toaster...

Did you try to take ownership of the files?