External Hard Drive

[bsr2002]

Ok, by you saying you are trying to open the drive from your desktop, I am wondering if you tried to access the drive from inside "My Computer". Is it possible that one of these programs created a virtual drive that changed the drive lettering for your existing drives renaming the virtual drive with the letter originally assigned to the external?

Yes, the Drive used to be (E) now it is (F). How do I get out of this mess?

 

[bsr2002]

go to start
my computer
right click and select manage
go to disk management
find the hdd you are talking about
right click and see if you have the option to format the drive.
this is all assuming you are running xp

When I do that it doesn't show the drive...

 

[skunx7101]

go to start
my computer
right click and select manage
go to disk management
find the hdd you are talking about

right click it and go to change drive letter and paths.
So...this was the problem all along huh?

 

[bsr2002]

go to start
my computer
right click and select manage
go to disk management
find the hdd you are talking about

right click it and go to change drive letter and paths.
So...this was the problem all along huh?

Looks like it... except when I follow your procedure it is not recognized in the top box. Just below there is another section and it says:

Drive (F) No Media

It's hooked up and I've changed usb cords and still the same.

 

[skunx7101]

what letter did the drive have previously?

 

[bsr2002]

what letter did the drive have previously?

(E)

 

[skunx7101]

So the E drive is now the virtual drive? And F: is the external but you can no longer use it?

 

[bsr2002]

So the E drive is now the virtual drive? And F: is the external but you can no longer use it?

Right!! It tells me to insert a disk

 

[skunx7101]

Your positive you don't have that reversed? I don't see anyway windows could recognise a hdd as a cd-rom. And in disk management it wasn't listed at the top just the bottom? Do you have the option to format the drive from disk management? Right click in the area where it shows the drive and see if format is there.

 

[bsr2002]

Your positive you don't have that reversed? I don't see anyway windows could recognise a hdd as a cd-rom. And in disk management it wasn't listed at the top just the bottom? Do you have the option to format the drive from disk management? Right click in the area where it shows the drive and see if format is there.

Yes, it was listed at the bottom.
I right clicked on the drive and changewd the letter back but it still says no media. No option to format.