# Western Digital USB Hard Drive Not Showing Up?



## paulwinnicki (Feb 14, 2008)

i just got a 150gb western digital hard drive...i have a 17" G4 powerbook running leopard...when i plug it in it does not show up nor can i feel the hard drive turning...however i plugged it into my friends new imac as well as my other friends macbook and it showed up instantly?

Why is this happening? do i have to format it somehow? please help.


----------



## ElDiabloConCaca (Feb 15, 2008)

Internal or external drive?  USB or FireWire?  Self-powered or port-powered?


----------



## paulwinnicki (Feb 15, 2008)

external hard drive....usb....port powered


----------



## ElDiabloConCaca (Feb 15, 2008)

It's possible that your PowerBook's USB ports aren't supplying enough power for the drive to operate.  Have you tried using a different USB port, or perhaps using a powered USB hub in between the PowerBook and the hard drive?

I believe Western Digital offers special USB cables for computers whose ports don't supply enough power... it's simply a USB cord that connects to the drive on one side, and then connects to TWO USB ports on the computer.  Perhaps that would be something to try as well...


----------



## paulwinnicki (Feb 15, 2008)

hey thanks a lot for the info!


----------

