 Adding a new hard drive to your system is an economical way to expand your computing power compared to buying a whole new system. Sometimes, though, users encounter a frustrating problem after installing a new drive: Windows XP won’t recognize the drive in My Computer.
In this month’s article, we offer some tips that will help you nudge WinXP into acknowledging the new drive. But before you walk through these steps, go back and verify that you followed the hard drive manufacturer’s instructions for installing and configuring the device. A key consideration here is whether the new drive is to be the primary (master) drive on your system or a subordinate (slave) drive. What you choose determines how you configure the jumper and cabling settings. If you don’t do this correctly, then your hardware won’t recognize the new drive, let alone WinXP.
 Basic Troubleshooting | 
The Scan For Hardware Changes command forces Windows XP to look for devices that you have added to the system.
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When you are installing a hard drive, it’s easy to forget to make two important connections between the drive and the computer. One connection is with the computer’s power supply, and the second is with the IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics), or ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment), interface cable. The instructions that come with the drive should include a diagram detailing where these connections are. Don’t accidentally bypass this important step.
After you’ve installed the drive, make sure all the internal connections look secure; one loose wire or connection could cause the PC to overlook the drive.
Once you are confident that all the physical settings for your new drive are correct, it’s time to tweak a few settings in WinXP. WinXP has two tools that you should use to make sure the operating system is recognizing your new drive: the Device Manager and Disk Management.
Device Manager Check | 
Another way to nudge Windows XP into recognizing your new drive is to run the Rescan Disks command in the Computer Management dialog box.
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The Device Manager lists all of the hardware components incorporated into your system and helps you alter their settings, if necessary. To access the Device Manager, click Start, open the Control Panel, and double-click the System icon. This opens the System Properties dialog box. Now, select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button. You can also open the Device Manager by right-clicking the My Computer icon on your Desktop, choosing Properties, clicking the Hardware tab, and then clicking Device Manager.
The devices listed in the Device Manager are represented in a hierarchical fashion. From the View menu, make sure that Devices By Type is selected. Next, click the plus sign (+) next to Disk Drives to view the hard drive(s) installed in your system. Find the name of your new drive and right-click it. Choose Scan For Hardware Changes from the context menu. This forces WinXP to look for devices that you have added to the system.
Disk Management Check The next step in verifying that WinXP is recognizing your new drive is to use the Disk Management tool. In the Control Panel, choose Administrative Tools and then double-click Computer Management. (Alternatively, you can right-click the My Computer icon on your Desktop and choose Manage from the context menu.) Next, click Storage and then double-click Disk Management. This opens a pane to the right that shows your drives. | 
If all else fails, run the Hardware Update Wizard to update the drivers for your newly installed hard drive.
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If your new drive is listed here, try initializing it, if you didn’t already do that with the Initialize Disk Wizard when you installed the new drive. Right-click the name of the new drive and choose Initialize Disk. This opens the Initialize Disk dialog box. Select the new drive, and the system will initialize the new drive as a basic drive. Restart your system if you are prompted to do so.
Another action you can take in the Computer Management dialog box is to rescan the new disk. You don’t need to click the name of any disk; just choose Rescan Disks from the Action menu. The process could take several minutes.
When this process is complete, restart your system and see if your new drive appears under My Computer. If it doesn’t, then another possible solution is to partition the new drive.
Partition The Drive
You can buy a third-party program to partition a drive, such as Norton PartitionMagic 8.0 ($69.95; www.symantec.com). However, it’s also possible to partition a drive with the WinXP Setup program (on the operating system’s installation disc), but you should do that only if you intend to reinstall WinXP on that new drive. For instructions, see support.micro
soft.com/kb/313348. Or you can use WinXP’s Disk Management tools (see support.micro
soft.com/kb/309000).
Update The Drivers
One final solution is to update drivers through the Hardware Update Wizard. (Right-click the drive in Device Manager and choose Update Driver.) Of course, a new device should come with updated drivers, but it won’t hurt to check with the manufacturer’s Web site to make sure you have the most current drivers. After all, they are what enable WinXP and your new hard drive to communicate. 
by Rachel Derowitsch
Troubleshoot An External Drive
Although adding an external drive should be easier than adding an internal drive, sometimes these devices, too, do a disappearing act on your system after you’ve connected them.
If this happens to you, first check to make sure everything is securely connected. A USB device that is not plugged in correctly is a common cause of an undetected drive. Next, if everything appears to be properly connected, go through the troubleshooting steps outlined in the accompanying article. An external drive should appear if you verify its presence with the Device Manager and Disk Management. However, if your external device still isn’t appearing in My Computer, try this solution, which carries the Device Manager check a bit farther.
First, with your system turned off, disconnect the drive from your system and then power up your computer. Next, open the Device Manager using either of the routes mentioned in this article.
From the View menu, choose Show Hidden Devices. If your external drive is a USB device, you should see three items listed in the Device Manager: the name of the drive under Disk Drives, the name of the USB host adapter, and USB Mass Storage Device under Universal Serial Bus controllers. If you see these items, right-click each of them and choose Uninstall from the context menu. Restart your system if you are prompted to do so.
Now, with the external drive still disconnected from your system, plug it into a power source and turn it on. Be patient and let the drive fully initialize, waiting for it to stop making the spinning noise normally associated with a drive that is in the process of initializing. Finally, connect the external drive into your PC and see if it appears in My Computer.
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