What Model Dell do you have? Older Dell's; i.e., 4100 have onboard USB ports that are not USB 2.0 compliant. When you plug in the Western Digital USB connector, do you get "New Hardware Found" message? If so, XP drivers for USB should be in C:\Windows\Inf subdirectory. If not, it's probably a USB 2.0 issue. I had to purchase a USB2.0/Firewire card to get my Dell Photo 962 All-in-One Printer to work on the 4100 that I use for bench testing. Would not work with onboard USB ports.
I can't see the hard drive when it's connected so I can't initialize/convert the drive. It' almost like the USB driver is corrupted of has dropped off.
According to WD, you don't need and should not install any additional USB drivers when connecting their USB drives to a Windows XP system. I assume you've probably tried every USB port on your system with the same result. Do you even get the "New Hardware Found" message when you plug the USB cable into the system? If not, you may have a defective cable. Also, does the external USB drive have its own power supply and is it plugged into the drive? Some USB ports simply cannot supply enough power for certain external USB devices. Have you disconnected all other USB devices and then plugged in the drive? Have you tried a different USB cable? I had a brand new cable last month that was wired incorrectly. Almost drove me crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with the printer I was working on.
Have you removed the USB ports in Device Manager and let Windows redetect and reinstall them? If not, try that. Do you have any other USB devices installed? With enough information we may be able to help you get that booger working. Also, what version of XP are you running?
I tried the new external HD in a couple of my other computers and it works fine; no cable problem. The hardware wizard pops up on the problem computer but cannot find the driver. I agree it should be P&P but for some reason, it's not. :( The ext HD has its own power supply so that's not a problem. I disconnected every USB port and tried each one with the same result that's why I think it's a driver issue. I removed all USB controllers/drivers too but XP could not find them to reinstall so I had to revert to a previous config. All my other USB devices work fine (palm pilot, printer, DVD drive)
I'm using XP Home Edition V 2002 SP2.
Also, I found a Hotfix from MS that I thought might address the problem but once MS EMailed it to me, it didn't work due to the version of XP. One person reocmmended it could be a virus but my McAfee hasn't found anything. I also googled the problem with no luck.
Go to Control Panel|Add/Remove programs. If your Lexmark Printer Driver software is still installed, uninstall it. Also, look in C:\Windows\system32 and C:\Windows\system32\drivers. The Lexmark printer driver that caused so many problems (including BSODs) is lexbce.exe . Uninstalling program does not necessarily remove that booger.
If all other USB devices work fine, then XP's USB drivers appear OK. Did notice you have USB printer (as if we can get any other kind now). Lexmark printers have been known to cause some USB problems (Dell printers are custom built by Lexmark). May be a conflict there. Will see if I can locate my notes on the specific USB problem caused by Lexmark drivers.
gunkster
8 Posts
0
March 9th, 2006 13:00
Thanks Tony,
I have a model 2150. When looking @ the system info section, it shows the following:
Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller - 24CD PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_24CD&SUBSYS_01471028&REV_02\3&13C0B0C5&0&EF
Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C2 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_24C2&SUBSYS_01471028&REV_02\3&13C0B0C5&0&E8
Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C4 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_24C4&SUBSYS_01471028&REV_02\3&13C0B0C5&0&E9
Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C7 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_24C7&SUBSYS_01471028&REV_02\3&13C0B0C5&0&EA
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&1B4C0CF5&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&2AE36D55&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB\4&2EFF8CD9&0
USB Root Hub USB\ROOT_HUB20\4&1DAFFDCD&0
Do I need to upgrade hardware or just software?
Thanks,
gunkster
Message Edited by gunkster on 03-09-2006 09:59 AM
tgsmith
2.9K Posts
0
March 9th, 2006 13:00
Gunkster,
What Model Dell do you have? Older Dell's; i.e., 4100 have onboard USB ports that are not USB 2.0 compliant. When you plug in the Western Digital USB connector, do you get "New Hardware Found" message? If so, XP drivers for USB should be in C:\Windows\Inf subdirectory. If not, it's probably a USB 2.0 issue. I had to purchase a USB2.0/Firewire card to get my Dell Photo 962 All-in-One Printer to work on the 4100 that I use for bench testing. Would not work with onboard USB ports.
Tony
tgsmith
2.9K Posts
0
March 9th, 2006 14:00
gunkster
8 Posts
0
March 9th, 2006 14:00
tgsmith
2.9K Posts
0
March 9th, 2006 23:00
Gunkster,
According to WD, you don't need and should not install any additional USB drivers when connecting their USB drives to a Windows XP system. I assume you've probably tried every USB port on your system with the same result. Do you even get the "New Hardware Found" message when you plug the USB cable into the system? If not, you may have a defective cable. Also, does the external USB drive have its own power supply and is it plugged into the drive? Some USB ports simply cannot supply enough power for certain external USB devices. Have you disconnected all other USB devices and then plugged in the drive? Have you tried a different USB cable? I had a brand new cable last month that was wired incorrectly. Almost drove me crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with the printer I was working on.
Have you removed the USB ports in Device Manager and let Windows redetect and reinstall them? If not, try that. Do you have any other USB devices installed? With enough information we may be able to help you get that booger working. Also, what version of XP are you running?
Tony
gunkster
8 Posts
0
March 10th, 2006 21:00
Tony,
I tried the new external HD in a couple of my other computers and it works fine; no cable problem. The hardware wizard pops up on the problem computer but cannot find the driver. I agree it should be P&P but for some reason, it's not. :( The ext HD has its own power supply so that's not a problem. I disconnected every USB port and tried each one with the same result that's why I think it's a driver issue. I removed all USB controllers/drivers too but XP could not find them to reinstall so I had to revert to a previous config. All my other USB devices work fine (palm pilot, printer, DVD drive)
I'm using XP Home Edition V 2002 SP2.
Also, I found a Hotfix from MS that I thought might address the problem but once MS EMailed it to me, it didn't work due to the version of XP. One person reocmmended it could be a virus but my McAfee hasn't found anything. I also googled the problem with no luck.
Any help is much appreciated
gunkster
tgsmith
2.9K Posts
0
March 11th, 2006 09:00
Gunkster,
Go to Control Panel|Add/Remove programs. If your Lexmark Printer Driver software is still installed, uninstall it. Also, look in C:\Windows\system32 and C:\Windows\system32\drivers. The Lexmark printer driver that caused so many problems (including BSODs) is lexbce.exe . Uninstalling program does not necessarily remove that booger.
Tony
tgsmith
2.9K Posts
0
March 11th, 2006 09:00
Gunkster,
If all other USB devices work fine, then XP's USB drivers appear OK. Did notice you have USB printer (as if we can get any other kind now). Lexmark printers have been known to cause some USB problems (Dell printers are custom built by Lexmark). May be a conflict there. Will see if I can locate my notes on the specific USB problem caused by Lexmark drivers.
Tony
gunkster
8 Posts
0
March 11th, 2006 09:00
Tony,
I used to have a Lexmark printer but no more. Should I delete something?
gunkster
gunkster
8 Posts
0
March 11th, 2006 10:00
Thanks...no Lexmark software is installed. I also searched for lexbce.exe and it's not on the computer.
gunkster