Please help .. dell inspiron 17R N7110 does not recognize toshiba V63700-A 500GB hard drive

Thanks Saurabh A. I do not think the 'hard driver connector' on my Inspiron 17R is the cause because this laptop dpes not have any probelm with several western digital external hard drives.

I tried to get to system setup menu by pressed f2 key when the dell splash screen appears but that not get me to that system setup menu but it leads to the window boot manager screen...any idea? Thanks.

Hi htp367,

It appears to be an issue with the 'Hard driver connector' on your 'Inspiron 17R' notebook; this seems to be the reason why the 'Toshiba Drive' is not working only with this system. 

You may try setting BIOS to factory default settings to see if that helps. To access 'BIOS', power off the system > Power it back on and at 'Dell Splash screen, repeatedly tap 'F2 key' to enter 'System Setup' > Tap 'F9 key' to set 'BIOS to default settings' > Tap 'F10 key' to 'Save Settings & Exit'. Recheck if the 'Hard Drive' is detected. If the notebook still fails to detect the 'drive', it points at a possible 'Motherboard connector failure' and may call for the system-board replacement.

Hope this helps. Do reply if you have any further questions.

To know more about Dell’s products, services and drivers & downloads, please go to http://dell.to/QjjZDA

Thank you, Saurabh A. I will try that and reply with the result.

Hi htp367,

Thank you for the reply.

You may also access the 'System Setup' using 'F12 key' instead of 'F2 key'. Repeatedly tap 'F12 key' and use the 'Down Arrow key' to highlight 'System Setup / BIOS' and tap 'Enter'. Restore 'BIOS defaults'; also verify the status of 'Hard Drive' in 'BIOS' and share results.

If you still face issues getting into BIOS environment, please remove the 'Hard Drive' and then try using 'F2 or F12 key'. 'Restore BIOS defaults', save settings, exit and power off the notebook. Insert the 'Hard Drive' again and re-check 'Hard Drive' status in 'BIOS'.

Hope this helps. Do reply with the findings.

To know more about Dell’s products, services and drivers & downloads, please go to http://dell.to/QjjZDA

Ok. I did as suggested but it still does not help. This laptop still does not recognize the toshiba external hard drive. I gave up. My only choice is that to use this hard drive with the dell XPS laptop. Thank you very much for helping. Have a great day.

Hi htp367,

Thank you for the reply.

I misunderstood the 'Hard Drive' to be an 'Internal Drive'; my apologies!

Since it is an 'external portable drive', the issue may be related to the 'USB Root Hubs' or the 'Chipset'. Surprising, as you've mentioned in one of the previous post that the notebook detects other 'drives' (Western Digital). Would like to know if you've tried to plug the 'Toshiba drive' to a different 'USB port'. Also share if you face trouble with any other 'USB devices'.

You may try the following steps to see if they help:
- Click 'Start' icon (If Windows 8 is installed, please switch to the desktop mode; and follow the steps listed below)
- Type 'devmgmt.msc' (without quotations) in 'Search Programs and Files' textbox and tap < Enter > (Device Manager page opens up)
- Locate 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers' category and expand it
- Right click and uninstall 'USB Root Hubs' listed underneath this category
- Restart your computer and Windows will re-install all USB controllers automatically; re-check if the 'Hard Drive' now gets detected

If the issue persist, you may try updating the 'Chipset drivers' from 'Dell support Website':
- Click http://dell.to/T2hKYc
- Enter 'Service Tag' and click 'Submit' > Select the 'Operating System' from the drop-down list >  Download and install the 'Chipset Driver' from the listed set of drivers > Restart the unit and check results again.

Hope this helps. Do reply with the findings.

To know more about Dell’s products, services and drivers & downloads, please go to http://dell.to/QjjZDA

Hi Saurabh

I have done everything you suggested but that just did not help to solve the problem. I've given up. That's ok. I can live with it. I just use that drive with my Studio XPS. Thanks again for your help. Have a great day.

Hi htp367,

Since the external drive is connected to the computer with a 'USB cable', I was suspecting corrupt 'USB root Hubs / Chipset drivers'. It doesn't appear to be the case since the steps I mentioned in my previous post did not work. However, there are other possible reasons that we could explore.

Persistent technical issues can be frustrating; i understand. However, if you intend to continue with the troubleshooting, do reply; would be glad to assist.