Windows 7 eSATA Drive No Longer Found

[Viett]

Today I got an eSATA cable that I ordered. I plugged an external drive into my machine with it while Windows 7 (7100) was booted and it recognized it without any problems. It found all of the files and all seemed to be good.

I then used the Hardware Removal Tool to remove the drive, and shut the computer down. After rebooting, Windows 7 has not been able to find the drive. I have tried rebooting and scanning for new hardware from the Device Manager, and nothing has worked. The drive is not detected at all.

The BIOS detects the drive without any trouble. Also, I have a dual-boot with Ubuntu, and it can also find/read/write from the drive perfectly fine.

I have installed updated chipset drivers to no avail.

I have also tried reverting back to USB (the drive has both) and there are also no problems. I have ruled just about everything out but the OS, so I'm thinking this is a Windows 7 issue.

My computer is an ASUS G50V.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Viett

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're experiencing an issue with Windows 7 not detecting the external drive after using the Hardware Removal Tool to remove it. Since the BIOS detects the drive and Ubuntu can read/write to it without any problems, the issue is likely specific to Windows 7. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try to resolve this issue: 1. Check Disk Management: - Press Windows Key + R, type "diskmgmt.msc" and press Enter. - Check if the drive is listed here. It may need to be initialized, assigned a drive letter, or formatted. 2. Update Disk Drivers: - Right-click on the Start button and select Device Manager. - Look for the external drive under Disk drives. - Right-click on the drive and select Update driver to ensure you have the latest drivers installed. 3. Check USB Controllers: - In Device Manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. - Right-click on each USB Root Hub and select Properties. - Go to the Power Management tab and uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." 4. USB Troubleshooter: - Windows has a built-in troubleshooter for hardware and devices. You can access it by going to Control Panel > Troubleshooting > Configure a device. 5. Registry Changes: - It's not recommended unless you're familiar with the Registry, but sometimes changes to the USB storage driver registry settings can resolve detection issues. Make sure to back up the registry before making any changes. 6. Safe Mode Boot: - Try booting into Safe Mode (press F8 during startup) and see if the drive is recognized there. This can help determine if the issue is related to third-party software. 7. Check for Windows Updates: - Make sure Windows 7 is up to date with all the latest updates, as there may be a fix for this issue in an update. 8. USB Controller Reset: - Sometimes resetting the USB controller can help. You can do this by going into Device Manager, expanding Universal Serial Bus controllers, right-clicking each entry, and selecting Uninstall device. Then reboot your computer. If none of these steps work, you might want to consider backing up the data on the drive using Ubuntu and then reformatting the drive in Windows 7 to see if that resolves the detection issue. Please try these steps and let me know if you need further assistance!