Plugged in USB device before installing proper software

If you have a SimpleTech SimpleDrive connected to your computer and you're experiencing problems with the external hard drive, there may be several reasons why it's malfunctioning. Troubleshooting your computer can help rule out common problems and the possibility that the hard drive may be defective. If you recently purchased the device and suspect there is something wrong with it, return the defective drive to SimpleTech or the reseller for a replacement. Incompatible USB Port Problems SimpleTech SimpleDrive plug and play options makes it easy for you to connect the device to your computer. But you may encounter problems if your computer's USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports are not compatible with the external hard drive. Make sure your ports are powerful enough to operate the drive. USB 2.0 ports are recommended, but if you're using an older computer with 1.0 ports, the hard drive will function much slower or you may receive an error message that the device is not compatible with your system. b> Missing External Drive Letter If you're unable to find the SimpleTech external hard drive's letter on your desktop after you have installed the drivers for the device, it's possible that the external drive may be assigned to another drive. Sometimes, the hard drive is assigned to a network drive and you may need to manually change the drive's letter in Disk Management. b> SimpleTech SimpleDrive Incorrectly Formatted b> SimpleTech SimpleDrive is normally pre-formatted for Windows NTFS (New Technology File System), but Mac users may need to copy the backup software and reformat the external hard drive for FAT32 or Mac OS to be able to use the external drive. If the external hard drive is not formatted correctly for your system, it may not function or work properly. b> External Hard Drive Inaccessible If you receive an error message that says "Drive Inaccessible," the SimpleTech SimpleDrive may not be able to read the service area of the platter. If the external hard drive emits a loud or abnormal sound, this could mean the device is failing.
Test the drive on another computer to see if it is working properly. Otherwise, the external hard drive's surface area may be damaged or corrupted.
Replacing a Defective Hard Drive You can return a defective hard drive that is under warranty to SimpleTech. The manufacturer will exchange the device if the seal is not broken. But if you break or tear the seal on the case, any warranty claims will not be accepted and the device will be returned back to you. SimpleTech will only accept the device if you contracted a commercial data recovery company to retrieve critical data from the external hard drive and the seal needed to be broken. Before returning the defective drive, you will need to secure a RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) approval number from SimpleTech and furnish any invoices or documentation regarding the data recovery company's services
or if its a usb external drive you might need a usb 3 card installed on your computer your computer might not have enough usb output power USB 3 card will provide more power when needed to the device to gain maximum throughput and conserve power when the device is connected but is idling http://blog.premiumusb.com/2010/09/usb-2-0-vs-usb-3-0/ these can be purchased on Ebay cheap and easy to install http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PCI-e-PCI-Express-USB3-0-Card-new-NEC-720200AF1-chipset-/330608109325?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf9c7670d for roughly $9 or $10free postage Hope this helps.

USB hard drive is a portable external storage device that works just like a conventional hard drive. The device is simply plugged into a USB port on your computer as you would connect a flash drive. Unlike a flash drive, however, a USB hard drive can store a much larger amount of data. If your computer will not recognize your USB hard drive, you can try troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem.

Plug one end of the USB cable into the port on your hard drive and plug the other end into the USB port of your computer. Ensure that both ends of the cable are connected securely. Open "My Computer" (Windows XP) or "Computer" (Windows Vista/7). The USB device should be listed as "removable disk" once it is plugged into the computer. If it is not listed among the available drives on your computer, proceed to the next step. Ensure that the data cable is working properly. Try another USB cable if you have one available. Disconnect all other USB devices from the computer as they may interfere with the operating system detecting the external hard drive. Reboot the computer if the USB hard drive is still not recognized. Plug the USB cable into another USB port and check to see if the device is detected. If you are using a USB hub, remove the device and plug the external hard drive directly into a USB port. If the computer still fails to recognize the device, the external hard drive itself may be experiencing a hardware problem. Check the status of the hard drive in the "Device Manager" window. Under Windows XP, right click "My Computer" and select "Device Manager." For Windows Vista and Windows 7, click the "Windows" button in the lower left corner of the screen, then type "Computer Management" in the search bar and press "Enter." Select "Device Manager" in the "Computer Management" window. In the Device Manager window, click the "+" sign that appears beside "Disk Drives." If the external drive is not listed, click "Other Devices" in the Device Manager window and see if an "Unknown Device" appears. The external hard drive may have been detected but the device is not working properly. If it is still under warranty, take the device to the computer store where it was purchased to have it repaired or replaced. Hope this helps.

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A USB hard drive is a portable external storage device that works just like a conventional hard drive.

The device is simply plugged into a USB port on your computer as you would connect a flash drive.

Unlike a flash drive, however, a USB hard drive can store a much larger amount of data.

If your computer will not recognize your USB hard drive, you can try troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem.

Plug one end of the USB cable into the port on your hard drive and plug the other end into the USB port of your computer. Ensure that both ends of the cable are connected securely.

Open "My Computer" (Windows XP) or "Computer" (Windows Vista/7).

The USB device should be listed as "removable disk" once it is plugged into the computer.

If it is not listed among the available drives on your computer, proceed to the next step.

Ensure that the data cable is working properly.

Try another USB cable if you have one available.

Disconnect all other USB devices from the computer as they may interfere with the operating system detecting the external hard drive.

Reboot the computer if the USB hard drive is still not recognized.

Plug the USB cable into another USB port and check to see if the device is detected.

If you are using a USB hub, remove the device and plug the external hard drive directly into a USB port.

If the computer still fails to recognize the device, the external hard drive itself may be experiencing a hardware problem.

Check the status of the hard drive in the "Device Manager" window. Under Windows XP, right click "My Computer" and select "Device Manager."

For Windows Vista and Windows 7, click the "Windows" button in the lower left corner of the screen, then type "Computer Management" in the search bar and press "Enter."

Select "Device Manager" in the "Computer Management" window. In the Device Manager window, click the "+" sign that appears beside "Disk Drives."

If the external drive is not listed, click "Other Devices" in the Device Manager window and see if an "Unknown Device" appears.

The external hard drive may have been detected but the device is not working properly.

If it is still under warranty, take the device to the computer store where it was purchased to have it repaired or replaced.

Hope this helps

If you have a new laptop, you should not need the install disk to see the drive as the drive is USB 2.0 compliant.

And no, nothing will get erased unless you erase it on purpose.

Plug the drive into you laptop (USB cable).

Plug power into to the external drive.

Turn the drive on.

It may take a minute or so but your laptop should recognize the drive. It will get assigned a drive letter (assuming you are using Windows).

Plugging in a USB device before installing the driver disk is the most common USB mistake people make.
An external hard drive, driver properly installed, looks just like a normal hard drive in 'My Computer'. Use it like a hard drive.
If you cannot see it in My Computer when it is plugged in (Go ahead, unplug it and reconnect while My Computer is open) then the driver is loaded wrong. A wrong driver needs to be removed with 'Device Manager', the USB drive DISCONNECTED, the driver reinstalled and the device plugged in at the end or when it is asked for by the installer, not windows (unless it does not have an install disk)
Poof, you can see the disk as a hard drive in My Computer.
See 'Device Manager' on the Internet for help with this.

It's possible that it's a hardware problem, Since this is a laptop it may be hard for you to reseat some of the internal devices inside in your laptop so we could start isolating the issue from the hardware and to the software.

First try to power cycle it, turn off your laptop remove the battery, any external connection like external mouse, external hard drive and monitor and press the power button for 15 seconds after that put the battery in and turn it back on without the external devices plugged in. (if it turned on without a problem that's good-possible that one of the external devices are causing it to keep on restarting, to isolate it you can just put the external devices one-by-one and start the computer, if it start occuring you know who is causing the problem)

If you can disassemble your laptop you can try to remove the hard drive, then turn on your computer, if your computer didn't restart that means that the problem is with you hard drive, possible that the software installed in it is faulty or the hard drive itself (try plugging it back in properly let's see if it'll work, if not, you may need to buy a new hard drive or before buying one, you can try to plug your hard drive to a different computer (acting like an external hard drive) and backup all your important files and reformat that hard drive, after reformatting it you can try to plug it to your laptop again. (if that hard drive is not detected to another computer meaning that it's faulty)

If that didn't resolve the problem, you can try to reseat the memory testing each memory chip and slots, processor.

Did the 1000gb external hd come with instructions?
Did you read them?
Did you Install The Software for this Device?

If not. Try plugging it in all the usb ports.
Try shutting down the PC, when it's off plug in the 1000gb external HD,
Restart the Computer, If Windows still dosen't recognize it, then it's most likely defective, and should be returned. Try purchasing a higher quality brand.

Make sure you are plugged into a USB2 port and not a low speed port.
You can Bing the device name and more than likely find the drivers at the origanial manf.
Try removing all other external devices before installing the new one.
Re-boot the unit with all disconnected.
After the until has setteled down, plug in your USB drive in the USB2 Port and see if the operating system see's the new installation.
If it is see correctly, then you can install your other devices.
Hope this helps you.
P.S. you may want to look at the jumper setting on the USB drive and set them to default.

This may not be the external hard drive issue. Check your USB driver, under device manager. You might need to upgrade the driver. If you plug your external to another computer, you will see that is it working ok. Just re-installing XP might have not installed USB drive properly.

Did you mess with any Config Files?