External USB hard drive not being completely recognized

[John Jackson_7]

Windows 2003 OS Enterprise Server not recognizing portable Seagate USB 100 GB drive as an available drive.

We have an HP Proliant DL 380 running Windows 2003 Enterprise Server and are trying to "back it up" using the external portable USB 2.0 Seagate hard drive. After plugging in the USB drive to the back of the DL380's USB port, the OS claims to have discovered it when observing the little system tray area. Immediately after plugging it in, it displays a message stating "New Device Found". The problem is that when opening the Windows Explorer file manager program, the drive is not being displayed at all or with any drive letter assigned. Additionally, when looking in the Control Panel --> Device Manager, the USB storage device device does appear and seems to be in order.

What additional steps must be taken to have Windows 2003 recognize the external USB device as an additional hard drive that we can access?

Any advice?

Thanks,

John Jackson
Hewlett Packard

[SRoth]

Perhaps the drive isn't formatted. Then you will have to use the disk manager to initialize, partition, and format the drive.

I don't have 2003 right in front of me so I don't remember the exact steps, but you should be able to get there via either Manage Computer or Start->Settings->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Computer Management (at least on XP).

Hope this helps.

Steve