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FAQs and Troubleshooting Tips

Frequently Asked Questions - Portable and Signature Mini Hard Drives


  1. I have the drive plugged in but I cannot find the drive in "My Computer", why?
  2. If I wanted to use the portable drive on a MAC "and" a PC, what is needed?
  3. Why can't I see my portable drive when connected to Windows Millennium?

1) I have the drive plugged in but I cannot find the drive in "My Computer", why?

The most likely cause would be not enough power provided by a single USB port on your computer. Unplug the portable drive from the cable and unplug the cable from the computer. Now, plug the cable into 2 USB ports directly on your computer. (If you have a desktop, you should plug the USB cable directly into the USB ports on the back of the computer. If this is a laptop, you should plug directly into a USB ports on the computer. Do not plug into a USB hub or docking station). Then plug the drive into the cable. In a few seconds you should see the drive listed in the "My Computer" window as a SimpleDrivePS.

2) If I wanted to use the portable drive on a MAC "and" a PC, what is needed?

For use on a MAC and PC you will need to re-format the drive to be compatible. You can do this by going to disk utilities and selecting "the drive" (not the untitled volume). You will then select "erase" from the top of the screen. The process will allow you to select a format option. You should choose "MS-DOS File System". Then select the "erase" from the bottom of the screen.

Once the process is complete, you will have an additional folder on your desktop that is the SimpleDrive. You can copy and paste or drag and drop file to it. If during the first pass you are unable to change the volume format option, please repeat all steps and it should allow you to select this on the second try.

3) Why can't I see my portable drive when connected to Windows Millennium?

To have your drive seen properly in Windows Millennium follow the below steps:

  • Right click on my computer and choose properties.
  • Then click on the device manager tab.
  • Now click the + next to disk drives. There you should see listed either Samsung, WDC, STT, or HDS.
  • Double Click on the device.
  • Go to the Settings tab on the page that opens.
  • Now check the box for removable. There is no need to adjust any additional settings on this page.
  • Click OK and then close the device manager.
  • Upon closing the system should ask you to reboot.
  • Allow the system to reboot and now the drive should appear properly under "My Computer" as removable disk drive (X:). With the "X" being the next available drive letter assigned in your computer.
  • At this point the drive will need to be formatted.
  • Please note that while the reformat will not hinder performance on WinXP or 2000, it will erase the drive. If the drive has been used previously on one of these systems and contains data, you will want to remove that data back to the XP or 2000 system before completing the rest of this process.
  • Double click on the new drive and you should receive a message stating that the drive is not formatted and would you like to format it now.
  • Choose yes and then click start. There is no need to change any of the default settings.
  • The format process will then proceed. Time for this will vary depending on drive size, but should take no more than 15min to complete.
  • At this point your drive will be ready for use.