17
External Hard Drive
Troubleshooting
PROBLEM
I purchased a 160-Gbyte drive and my operating
system reports the capacity as much less
than that.
RESOLUTION
Disc drive manufacturers consider 1 Gbyte to equal
1,000,000,000 bytes. However, your computer
operates at a binary level, which considers 1 Gbyte
to equal 2
30
, which equals 1,073,741,824 bytes.
So, even though a 160-Gbyte drive stores
160 Gbytes of data, when you think in terms
of 1 Gbyte = 1,000,000,000 bytes, your system
will report a lower capacity due to the operating
system’s method of calculating the value of each
gigabyte. This means your operating system may
report that your 160-Gbyte drive has a capacity
of approximately 149 Gbytes, the binary equivalent
of 160,000,000,000 bytes.
Windows-specific problems
First, make sure you have the latest Microsoft operating
system service packs and other Windows updates
installed on your system before you spend time looking
for a drive problem. These service packs are issued to
fix bugs, add drivers, and enhance the security features
of your system. See http://support.microsoft.com for
details about how to install service packs and Windows
updates in your system. Contact Microsoft Customer
Service for information about obtaining these system
enhancements if you don’t have Internet access.
PROBLEM
The drive is connected to the USB port, but
the computer does not recognize the drive.
RESOLUTION
Check power.
Confirm the drive has power and
that the power LED is glowing on the drive and
power converter. If the light is not lit, press the
push button on the front of the drive to power
the drive on. Then check to ensure that all the
connections are tight (power cable to wall, power
cable to power supply, power supply to drive). If it
still does not light up, temporarily remove any surge
protectors and plug the drive into the wall outlet.
Confirm that the USB cable is plugged in to the
computer and the drive.
For dual-interface kits, the
USB port and FireWire (IEEE 1394a) port on the hard
drive cannot be plugged in at the same time. Remove
any hubs and plug the drive directly into the USB port
on the computer.
