I have a Dell Demension 8300 computer with windows xp and just purchased an Iomega 320gb external hard drive (usb 2.0, 7200rpm). The hard drive has difficulties being recognized by my computer. Sometimes a drive letter never appears so that I can open my files on the hdd. Other times, a drive letter does appear but when I click on it, a blank window opens as if the hdd is empty. The drive still shows that several gigs are used, but I can't access my files, which I know are on the hdd as it worked fine the first couple weeks of use.

I've tried most of the steps outlined in Iomega's help page below, but none of them have helped:

https://iomega-na-en.custhelp.com/cg...p_lva=500&p_li=

Does anyone know what else I can try? One thing that WORKED, but only temporarily, was deleting all of my usb drivers through my device manager, then restarting and letting windows xp find new drivers. This allowed me to access my hdd but only for a day, then the same problems occured! Any ideas?

Hi GMAN316.

Do you have problems with other USB devices in the same port? If so you could have some physical trouble with the ports. If your PC is no longer under warranty (and you are using onboard usb ports) you could try adding a USB expansion card in one of your PCI slots.

Do you have trouble accessing your files on another computer. Try the drive at a friends house and see if you can reproduce the problem there.

You could try using a replacement USB cable as that might be the problem too.