Expert: Lenny - 7/11/2006

Question
Dear Helper,

I just bought a usb 160GB external hard drive from ebay.  My OS is WinXP.  The hard drive model is MDT MD16 00JB something like that.  The problem is I can't see the hard drive in 'My Computer'.  But I can see the disk in Device Manager.  Instead of using the USB Mass Storage Device driver by Windows, I installed the driver provided by the enclosure manufacturer.  But that doesn't help, I still can't see the drive in 'My Computer' and I can't access it.  

I have tried on another computer that runs XP as well, but still doesn't work.  I really appreciate any help that I can get.

Answer
Hello CJ,

There is some annoying drive revealing problem with USB hard-drives.It is a simple registry problem.To get rid of the problem and make your drive visible again,you will require to install and run Microsoft's Tweak Uninstall utility program from the following link;

http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TweakUiPower...

Once installed,access it from Start->All Programs->Powertoys for WindowsXP->Tweak UI

Once the program is open,click to expand My Computer,then highlight Drives.

Check the letter that corresponds with your USB drive in Device Manager.
Click on Apply and OK to exit.

Now go to My Computer and see if the drive is visible.

Regards,
JayLe.