[Dreamer]

As soon as I plug it in, my computer makes that one noise, indicating that it has detected my hard drive. It also says in the bottom right hand corner of my screen that something has been plugged in. Usually right after that, the autoplay box is supposed to pop up, asking me what action I want to take. We haven't done anything new to the computer, but now, it fails to read my hard drive.

After a few seconds, the icon in the bottom of the screen disappears, and nothing happens. I tried to open it manually by going to My Computer, but the hard drive isn't even listed there. I went through all the troubleshooting steps, but my problem remains unsolved. I checked the Device Manager, and my hard drive is listed there. I checked the properties, and it indicates that my hard drive is working properly. So.. I don't know what's wrong. I plugged my hard drive into my other computer, and the problem persists even there.

It'll really stink if there's no way to fix this problem. I have all my songs for my iPod in there. Yep. So if doesn't work, I can't ever update my iPod anymore unless I start all over. :/

[awdark]

There are ways, we just have to figure out whats wrong with the stupid thing. =P

Ill assume you have restarted your computer..

Oh wait wait...
You tried another computer. good good.

Now we know its the drive =)
Okay... it can be
File system of the drive got corrupted, like unplug without proper eject.
Enclosure circuit is damaged
Drive is physically damaged (like you dropped it while running)

Does the drive sound right? Not the windows the drive... should spin up... click click that type of thing. No scratchy sounds etc.

Some people have had luck taking the enclosure apart, unplugging the hard drive, and connecting it directly to their computer internally.

Lastly if those two fails, hard drive recovery software such as Recover My Files will take hours to run... but will bring back much if not all of your files. 40gb isn't bad... maybe 4 hours... =\ you should try a 300gb drive >_< 24 hours and it still wasn't done yet...

[DaRkViEt73]

Before you assume the worst, first check your hard drive and see if there's a drive letter conflict first (like two drives trying to use the "C:" letter which isn't allowed). That also causes a drive not to show up in My Computer. Do the following:

Right-click My Computer and select Manage. From the Computer Management window that pops up, go to Computer Management (Local) > Storage > Disc Management. In the bottom right window, find your hard drive, right-click it and change the drive letter to an unused letter. Now it should show up in windows.

[annyong]

^ thats usually the problem. i had a similar problem like that. it would have the auto play thing but i couldnt access or explore the hard drive. but i just had to change the drive letters.after that it showed up in my computer again. hope it works