# Missing driver for external hard drive



## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

I have an old (1999!) Compac Presario and I've upgraded Windows ME to Windows XP Professional. Yesterday, I bought a Seagate 80Gb external hard drive (model # ST380203U2-RK). When I hook it up to a usb 2.0 port, my computer recognizes that new hardware has been added, but (after a long search) I get a message that the driver could not be found! I tried to download the driver from Seagate and Microsoft's websites, but I'm told that ME and XP already include the drivers for external hard drives. I've searched Google extensively and can't find the correct driver anywhere.

What do I do now?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

That is weird, Windows XP shouldn't need you install anything for the drive to use it. Have you tried a different USB port? And when the found new hardware wizard pops up what device or driver does it say its looking for?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

I can't believe you are running XP on that old of a computer. You really should have considered replacing the system before upgrading it to XP. Those USB 1.1 ports will really limit the speed at which you'll be able to transfer data to the USB drive.


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

It just says "USB Device" with a big yellow question mark next to it. I tried another port and still no luck.

I know my system is inadequate, but the XP upgrade was a gift from a friend and my system met the minimum requirements, so I installed it. with 64mb of ram, it's slow but it works. I purchased two 256mb memory chips but they haven't arrived yet. Should be here monday or tuesday. My 10GB HD is almost full. I have about 250mb available. I want to copy everything to the new drive, then reinstall XP (or should I just stick with ME for now?)on the old drive. Hopefully, with the increased ram and lots of HD space, my computer should run faster.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Won't be too bad if you have 512MB of RAM, but the processor is still slow.

Have you added USB 2.0 ports to your computer? Your computer would not have come with USB 2.0 ports as its too old. If you have added a PCI USB ard then try the motherboard's own USB ports, or if possible try the drive on another computer. If you have USB 2.0 ports added to your computer then you need to install at least Service Pack 1, or better yet Service Pack 2, for Windows XP to be able to properly use them.

But here's Johnwill's USB fix that fixes many USB problems:



Johnwill said:


> First step, Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Create a restore point and name it something like "Before USB Fix". This is to bail you out if something goes wrong during the following process and makes things worse.
> 
> Create a file with NOTEPAD containing the following lines and save it as FIX.REG
> 
> ...


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

That may be the problem! Do USB 2.0 ports use the same connectors as the old USB ports? I just assumed that because it fits, and because my printer, joystick, and digital camera all work with my USB ports, then the hard rive would, too. How is 2.0 different and what do I need to upgrade?

I'll try the new HD on my roommate's computer and see if it works there. She's added a 4port hub, and also has a new laptop I can try it on.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

No, the hardware is different.

The cards are cheap: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815153001
But again require Service Pack 1 for XP to be installed to provide USB 2.0 support.

USB 1.1 transfers at up to 12MB/s, USB 2.0 can transfer at 480MB/s. Thats a big difference if you are using an external drive for backup. Older USB ports aren't as reliable as new ones either, the earlier chipsets had compatibility issues and were problematic.

You should still try the fix posted above, because the problem may migrate to the new USB ports too.


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

Ok. I went to Best Buy and bought a 2 port card for about $10 more than I would've paid for the 4 port card at NestEgg but I want to get this working today. After I eat my delicious Burger King lunch, I will install the card and let you know how it works out. Hopefully, XP will then recognize that i am adding an external HD and not just a "USB device" and load the appropriate driver.

Edit: I have Service Pack 2 installed and regularly receive updates, so that shouldn't be a problem.


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

Ok. I installed the Dynex 2-Port USB 2.0 PCI card (model# DX-2P2C). During the hardware installation I recieved the following message:

"Cannot Install this Hardware

There was a problem installing this hardware:
Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controller

An error occured during the installation of the device:

The driver installation file for this device is missing a necessary entry. This may be because the INF file was written for Windows 95 or later. Contact your hardware vendor."

It should be written for Windows 95 or later, shouldn't it? I'm about to check the Dynex website, www.dynexproducts.com.

Any ideas, anyone?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Again this is a device does should not require any drivers but just work.

Did you ever try Johnwill's solution I posted above? You may also want to go to Start -> Run -> type SFC /SCANNOW and press ENTER.


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

I will try both of those things and let you know what happens.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

You can also try a different PCI slot.


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

I ran SFC /SCANNOW and i guess all my "protected Windows files" are intact and unchanged When the progress bar reached 100% (after about 20 minutes), the program window closed with no messages good or bad. I tried the regedit fix, but when I double clicked on the file I got the following error message:

"The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to terminate the application." I was gonna try to manually edit that hkey by going to Start-->Run-->regedit, but I get the same error. I've never had any problem running regedit before (I've only needed to do it twice.) Could this be caused by a registry cleaner/fixer program that I downloaded?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

System File Checker closes when done. 

Registry cleaners or fixers are dangerous and best not used. Have you rebooted since running SFC? You may also have a virus or spyware, they sometimes infect regedit.


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## KaraokeRoy (Apr 22, 2007)

I rebooted and, of course, the "found new hardware wizard" tried to install the card again, with the same result. I tried to run the "setup.exe" program on the installation disc that comes with the card, but I get the same "failed to initialize" error that I got when I ran regedit earlier.

I'm about to give up. I amy have to blow my entire income tax refund on a new computer! I'm still open to suggestions / possible solutions, though.


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