How to format a new hard drive?

[Rockrz]

I'm trying to format a brand new hard drive to use as a second drive in my computer tower, but for some reason I can't figure out how to format it.

When I plugged it in, my computer recognized it as "New Hardware Found".
Then, it showed another message saying "New Hardware Ready to Use"

So, I did exactly what I did last time to format.
I went to this screen:

Then, I went here...

And, then to this screen where I should be able to "see" the new drive so I can format it...

I'm pretty much stumped by now as to find a way to get the new drive to show up here in this third sceeen so I can format it which after that's done it will show up as a healthy drive just like the others.

Anybody got any ideas about what I can do?
(Note: C,G, and E are the drive that were in my box BEFORE I started adding this new drive so none of these ARE NOT the drives that is the new one I just installed)

 

[choirbass]

if you check device manager, does it show the drive?

 

[ethel]

A few questions that might help:

Which OS / Service Pack are you using?

Are your drives ATA or serial?

Do both drives show up in the bios?

 

[juvealert]

you need to enable ur hard disks form ur bios settings

 

[mike99]

Could you give more info? You say you want to install a second drive, but DM is showing 3 drives! How many drives are installed? How are they connected? PATA, SATA SCSI or USB???

Mike.

 

[Rockrz]

if you check device manager, does it show the drive?

Yes, it shows up in Device Manager, but not in Disk Management

A few questions that might help:
Which OS / Service Pack are you using?
Are your drives ATA or serial?
Do both drives show up in the bios?

XP Pro, Service Pack 2
All drive are SATA
Yes

you need to enable ur hard disks form ur bios settings

The new drive already is, and also shows up in Device Manager

Could you give more info? You say you want to install a second drive, but DM is showing 3 drives! How many drives are installed? How are they connected? PATA, SATA SCSI or USB???

My box has 3 drives currently, and I'm adding another.
The new drive is an SATA drive being connected via USB in an external SATA enclosure.

I have yet another SATA drive in an external enclosure and it works fine. I went through the same thing when I formatted that one to get it up and running, but I can't remember what I did to be able to initialize it so I could format it.

Once I figure it out this time, I will be keeping notes. :?

 

[GherkinPekul]

Please bear with my simpleton questions
Does it show up in My Computer?
If so, right click on the drive, format is one of your options.
I know, too easy to be of use to you.
just trying to help

 

[Rockrz]

Please bear with my simpleton questions
Does it show up in My Computer?
If so, right click on the drive, format is one of your options.
I know, too easy to be of use to you.
just trying to help

If it would have shown up in My Computer I wouldn't have this issue in the first place.

It's been my experience that until a drive has been formatted, it will not show up in My Computer, but it should show up on Disk Management so you can initialize it and then format it.

 

[Rockrz]

OK, I found out what was wrong....

My external drive case has a way to connect via USB, or by a SATA connection...so I took the side off of my tower so I can connect directly to the mother board using the SATA and when I went to plug it in on the back of the case...I saw the little switch!

Apparently, there is a switch on the back where you choose either SATA or USB...and it was set on SATA. So, I switched it to USB and Windows sees it and I'm currently formatting the drive as we speak.

I knew it was something simple, so ya'll don't laugh too hard about me not seeing the switch on the back.

I know, I know...if I would have thumbed through the instructions that came with the external drive, I probably would have noticed this....or, if I would have just looked on the back I would have seen the switch.

At any rate, I'm glad to have been able to have provided a little comic relief for everybody on a Monday morning!

 

[ethel]

Hats off to you for being honest enough to admit it

 

[Rockrz]

Hats off to you for being honest enough to admit it

Oh, is this something I should not have admitted to 8O
Like, maybe I should have blamed it on someone else?

Let me know, cause I want to do the socially acceptable thing.
We all gotta do our part to fit in...

 

[joex444]

I thought with USB drives you had to format them directly then put them in an enclosure. Kind of a catch 22 compared to just buying a retail external drive.

 

[Rockrz]

I thought with USB drives you had to format them directly then put them in an enclosure. Kind of a catch 22 compared to just buying a retail external drive.

Nope. I've been working with ATA external drives for a couple of years and now SATA external drives.

They're no different than internal drives...just initialize, format, and go!

 

[irrsh]

Right click on your "My Computer" and go to manage. Then go to disk storage and if the drive is not DOA it will show up there and you should see the new one and be able to click on it and one of the options will be format it.

Edit: Opps! Didn't see that you had figured it out. If your hard drive was connected as an internal drive then this would have worked! :lol:

 

[Rockrz]

Right click on your "My Computer" and go to manage. Then go to disk storage and if the drive is not DOA it will show up there and you should see the new one and be able to click on it and one of the options will be format it.

Edit: Opps! Didn't see that you had figured it out. If your hard drive was connected as an internal drive then this would have worked! :lol:

If you put the switch in the right position on an external with dual connections, it works as well :roll:

 

[irrsh]

stupid switch! :lol:

 

[Rockrz]

I know, I was going to contact "those people" that built this thing and give 'em a piece of my mind...till I found out I didn't have a whole lot of mind left 🙁

 

[yoseppi]

I'm having this exact same issue, only my external sata drive case has no switch for sata or usb, it is only usb. The last sata drive I had in there came up normally, and i formatted it, and it worked great. I put in a new 1tb drive, and now I get the usual new hardware found, but no way to format or use this drive. For some reason, just can't get a response from this drive.

Any help?

XPsp2, sata,