check bios update...most of hard disks  miss reading problems is is cause by old  versions of  bios

I only updated my PC BIOS 2 days ago because i had an internal problem with my PC and thought that may have been the issue. So is currently fully uptodate.

also  can u  check if ur hard disk  detected in  disk managment using  the following steps
1. right click on my computer
2. click manage
3. click disk managment
4. Check your  hard disk is  being  read there or  not  if yes


Then u will need  to override security using  the following steps:
1. right click on the hard disk  drives
2. go to security tab
3. edit permission
4. click  add
5.  type  everyone " since  this  is a portable harddisk u will need  to use  every  where u  go
6.  assign  full  control click  apply

Hey again Slam, thanks for your input regarding the PSU,i've sorted that problem now i have a new one.

The drive is a SATA drive and was formatted in windows with NTFS (when it was connected internally to my PC before all teh power issues occured). The drive doesn't even have old 4-pin power connector on it, just new L-shaped power connector, but my enclosure DOES support this type of hard drive and theer certainly is power running through it. I am connecting the disk via USB as i don't have an Esata port on my motherboard.

I checked in disk management, the drive is not listed.

If i was to reformat teh drive as FAT32 will i be able to use it externally then? I didn't fully understand your reply

if your connecting it via usb it still needs power so it should come with a power adapter...

It does have a power adaptor...

Did i say i it didn't?

sorry noo dont format that drive fat32 always but always use NTFS in my opinion, you cannot use any security permissioning on FAT32 and xp doesnt much like it either

im seeing if i can see why that drive isnt being recognised now, yor link says 400gb, but ive found other links recommending it with 1tb SATA drives so that doesnt match up, ill be back

have you got tyhe install disk that came with teh enclosure im reading you may need to install additional drivers?

Yes i have it to hand... do i really need to install drivers for an enclosure?

Should i install the driver on the disk or have you found a newer version?

Sata drives don't use the standard 4 pin connector you are thinking of. They use a L shapped power connector so that is normal. As far as I know, when you have those huge drives you need a external power source.
If you go to http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Drive+Bays/External+(For+IDE+Drive)/Akasa+P2+3.5''+USB+IDE+External+Enclosure+?productId=23393 (yeah I know it says IDE but keep reading) the very first comment says:

"The physical capacity of the HDD is not a limitation for any of the P2USB or P2SATA enclosures. The maximum power consumption of the HDD should not exceed 2A for 5V and 1.5A for 12V, as these are the power adapter limitations. Our SATA enclosures have been successfully tested with 1TB drives (i.e. Samsung HD103UJ)."

But I couldn't find that on the net for 100% sure (it's someone's comment take it for what it's worth).

use the one on the disc... no you shoudlnt need to i would have thought it would work but im struggling to see why else you shoudlnt see it.

it does come pre formatted fat 32 though so ensure thats not the case, install the drivers to be sure,

check in computer management to see if its being picked up in there.

last thing i will want to test is plugging this into someone else machine see if its a problem within your build or its across teh wire, but that device shoudl just be plug and play.

is teh drive def connected right to teh enclosure

This was taken directly off the installation PDF on the driver disk:

HOW TO PARTITION THE EXTERNAL HARD DISK
Before you partition your hard disk, please be aware that this will destroy all your existing data on the drive, so make sure you have a backup! This step is usually only required the first time you install a factory new hard drive or if you want to change the existing format.
WARNING!!
Windows 2000/XP
Step1
To partition the USB2.0 Hard Disk Drive under Windows 2000, XP please plug The USB2.0 Hard Disk , then click on [Start],choose the [Control Panel] in [Settings],open [Administrative Tools] , double click [Computer Management]. A window appears as on the right.
Step2
Click on [Disk Management] on the left part of this window, all connected disk drives will be listed in the right part. Find the USB2.0 Hard Disk that you added.
On the right of disk # is the status of the partitions of this disk drive, you can create a new or delete an existing partition by right clicking on this area.
Step3
Right-click on the right area of USB2.0 Hard Disk Drive, click on [Create Partition....] The Create partition wizard will appear.
Step4
Following the instructions of wizard to partition and format your USB2.0 HDD.
Step5
Now, you have built a partition in the eSATA drive.
Disk Partition/Formatting
Mac OS
NOTE:
Mac OS does not recognize NTFS formatted drives.
Mac OS9.2 and earlier, does not support creating partitions on an external drive. To do that, you would need to purchase additional 3rd party software. Initializing is no problem on all Operating Systems.
Mac OS X, use the Disk Utility to format and create partitions on your external disk.
" Select Disk Utilities in the utilities folder.
" Choose your external drive and format it
according to your requirement.
REMARKS
" Only one interface (USB or eSATA) can be connected at the same time.
" For better heat dissipation and performance, do not cover the Enclosure and leave enough room around it.
" Never expose the product to water or humid conditions.

====================END=============================

I think it needs to be partitioned in order for it to be detected?

oh and by the way, there are no drivers on teh CD, just backup spftware and hardware installation PDFs

its doesnt come prepartitioned? that would be weird but if thats the case id recommend parttioning into 3 segments around 400gb each should make it more manageable?

well glad i pointed out about computer management but its weird that the drive doesnt have one parttiton at least being picked up

well once you have checked computer management we will soon see!!

Here is the full PDF... EXC. some pages taht are n/a to reduce filesize

For your ref Seth, the enclosure comes with external power supply.
GB.pdf

I have also tried connecting this to my laptop (also runnig xp) but the same problem occurs... its detected as a device but not listed in Disk Management.

What is it showing up in device manager as? Other Devices? Sounds like a driver issue since it's not popping up in DManagment and it is detecting it, but doesn't know what it is.

are there any power lights on the drive?


just to confirm no drive is showing in computer management

is everything configure dok in teh BIOS

Usually i have another hard disk in teh enclosure, an IBM 160GB which is detected fine but ever since i had a problem with my PSU i needed to be sure i could access my music so i mounted it in the enclosure. As far as things being setup in BIOS is concerned they are all fine as the enclosure worked fine when teh IBM was installed.

The Samsung (1TB) i only mounted today and i only have one partition on it. There are power lights on the drive to indicate it is working.. device manager shows "USB Device"

ok so we know teh enclosure is fine otherwise the other drive wouldnt work which takes us back to teh sizing issue so how about this

slave the hd into another system directly as a secodnary drive then usine disk management to partition it into 33gb partitions try and trick the enclosure into only seeing teh partitions.

why 33gb portions?

I never made any partitions on the HDD to start with because i wanted a huge volume ofr all my music. Do u know what the max partition size recognized by XP is?

let me know and ill format teh drive to see if that resolves it... thanks

Thanks i formatted the drive in 2 400GB partitions, works fine now!