New WD External hard drive?

OK so I buy this new 300 GB extrnal and connect it and download a free trial version of back up software and it performs as expected but it adds emtpy folder to my C:. Not knowing, I uninstalled the back up software and next thing you know the drive is no longer working. However it started working and I checked the drive and found the back up and then it stopped working again. The tech at WD said that I may need to up date the USB drivers ( how)? The USB says the device is working fine but the properties shows no free and no used space and file system is "RAW". I tried to update the driver and still nothing. Any ideas would be great.

From WD TECH:
Western Digital does not provide computer or operating system drivers for external or internal hard drives. Western Digital pre-formats your drive in a FAT32 File System. This File System is recognized by most computer operating systems, but in some cases, you need to make sure you have the latest BIOS updates and drivers installed for your system or motherboard, and any Windows updates and service packs. Windows ME, XP, 2000, and Vista have full driver support for external USB hard drives. However, if you are seeing an unknown driver listed in device manager under other devices or USB mass storage controller drivers, you would need to update or reinstall your USB port driver supplied by your system or motherboard manufacture before the drive will be recognized. I would also make sure the power adapter is connected directly to your wall socket to see if this helps.

 

Ugh, FAT32?
Well. Will you lose any data if you reformat the external and start again? If you won't, then reformat the drive in XP using NTFS. Nobody should still be using FAT32.

 

I tried to right click and reformat the External but nothing happens. Looks like it is not connected. Shows up in the my computer but cannot do anything with it. But the answer to your question is no I have just backed up my existing system so erasing what in the external is not a problem. What do you think about the USB driver not working properly. I have tried to switch to different ports but no luck.

 

Perhaps, do you have problems using any other USB2 devices?

 

Have not had any trouble hooking up any other devices to this computer.

 

Well I just turned off my pinter and reconnected the WD and it is working fine. So I tested it again with the printer turned on and the WD will not work. Is that a sign of bad USB ports?

 

Not necessarily, could be a conflict. Have you tried moving the printer to another USB port?

 

I tried switching them around but when the printer is connected first the WD will not connect but I can work around that. I appriciate your help. Thanks

 

What about the other way round, if you plug the hard drive in first?

You could try buying a USB hub.