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I've had my laptop for over 3 years and it’s been in great condition. I've had my WD 500GB external hard drive for even longer and it’s been working alright as well (even though at one point in time it didn't start up, it started the next day). I've had a 2TB IOmega external for only a few months. My Gateway isn't recognizing any of them.

I moved the USBs from the hub directly into the computer. I've moved them from the power strip directly to the wall outlet. I've uninstalled, and then reinstalled the drivers. No use. Any suggestions?

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FIDELIS
2011-10-07 05:20:00
Hello, if you have tried different usb ports and also a different computer, you could try uninstalling your usb drivers and restart the system.  Once system restarts, it will install the drivers again.  Once drivers are finished installing try connecting your drive and hopefully it will work.  Another possible solution is to try a different ubs cable.  If you need to find out more about possible issues, there is a tool in nirsoft site named USBDeview, which helps identifying usb ports/devices in your computer.http://www.nirsoft.net/If you go to the link, the tool is located under the freeware system tools.
Jeff Fabish
2011-10-07 04:39:00
Does any other system recognize the external hard drive? Also, when you go to Start -> Search: "devmgmt.msc", does it recognize the external hard drive?