Computer Repair Tips

We recommends that external hard drives be powered off when not in use, although it is safe to leave a hard drive running continuously. The hard drive should be placed away from any electronic devices and in a well ventilated area to allow airflow to the hard drive. We also recommends that the drive’s power supply is connected through a surge protector. In the case of a power surge, or brown/black out, the hard drive’s sensitive electrical components will not…

I receive an error when trying to format my Seagate or Maxtor external hard drive that the format failed to complete. How do I fix this?

Problem:
I receive an error when trying to format my Seagate or Maxtor external hard drive that the format failed to complete.

Cause:
The buffer on the drive may need to be cleared or background programs, such as virus-scanning software, are accessing the drive and prevent the format from completing.

Solution:

Power-cycle the system and the drive, then disable any virus scanning…

Why is Windows failing to locate and install drivers for an external hard drive?

Problem:
During the initial installation of an external hard drive, Windows does not locate or install drivers for the external hard drive. Windows may report that there is no driver found for your device.

Cause:
This happens because Windows is seeing the USB or Firewire drive as an unknown device, and therefore can’t install any drivers for it.

Critical: The USB and Firewire drivers for our external hard drives are already built into…

My Seagate or Maxtor external hard drive is not being recognized by Windows.  What steps should I take to troubleshoot this?

If your Seagate or Maxtor external hard drive is not being recognized by your Windows PC, whether it is a brand new drive, or one that has been connected to your computer for years, this article contains some steps you can take to troubleshoot the problem.

Is the light on on the front of the drive?  Maxtor Personal Storage drives have a…