External Drive Troubleshooter - Windows Error Messages - Common External Drive Errors

Common External Drive Errors

This list of errors is organized by operating system. The top category (All Operating Systems) is for error messages and concerns that are relevant for multiple or all Windows operating systems.

All Operating Systems:

Drive clicks when I plug it in and does not show up in My Computer
STOP errors in Windows, 0x00000x
My Maxtor OneTouch software or FreeAgent software gives an 8-digit (eight digit) diagnostic error code
My Seagate external pushbutton drive falls asleep and will not wake up
My Seagate FreeAgent drive falls asleep and will not wake up
Windows will not allow me to safely remove my drive. It keeps reporting the drive is busy or in use
Windows reports that a high speed device is plugged into a low speed port
My drive occasionally gives a $Mft error
Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (Code 43)

Windows Vista:

Windows Vista gives this error message: "Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device" when I connect my external drive, especially FreeAgent

Windows XP/2000:

My external drive is not detected in Windows XP/2000 (and displays a yellow ! icon next to it in the Device Manager)
"Delayed Write Failure" error appears in Windows XP/2000
When I connect my drive to my XP/2000 computer via USB, it says "Cannot install hardware"

MacOS X:

Windows Me:

Windows ME keeps prompting for a driver, but the only driver I have is for Windows 98

Windows 98SE:

Drive is not found when I install under Windows 98SE

Drive clicks when I plug it in and does not show up in My Computer

This issue occurs if the Seagate Portable, Seagate FreeAgent Go, or Maxtor OneTouch Mini are plugged into a USB port that does not provide enough power (usually a USB 1.x port) or into an unpowered USB hub. These drives come with a special USB cable (see the figure below) that allows the drive to use additional power from another USB connector.

If the drive clicks and is not detected, attempt the following:

Plug in the Power + Data connector labeled #1 on the figures below.
Plug in the Power only connector labeled #2 on the figures below.
Connect the USB cable into the back of the drive (item #3 on the figures below).


Seagate Portable Cable	FreeAgent Go Cable / Maxtor OneTouch Mini Cable

*Note: The USB connectors of the Maxtor One Touch III Mini cables are not labeled. The connector on the end provides Power only and should be connected first, when following the troubleshooting steps listed above.

If a powered USB hub or a USB 2.0 port is being used, this should not be necessary.

STOP errors in Windows

STOP errors are difficult to diagnose since they are so diverse.
A good place to start troubleshooting is the Microsoft Support knowledge base.
Experiment with the problem by

shutting down the computer, removing the external drive, and working for a while with the drive disconnected
checking the Windows Event Viewer for entries around the time the STOP error occurred
connecting the drive again once the computer is on and has been functioning properly for a while
connecting the drive to a different Windows computer to see if the problem follows the external drive.

Please also see this Knowledge Base article for more information.

My Maxtor OneTouch software or FreeAgent software gives an 8-digit (eight digit) diagnostic error code

Unfortunately, an 8-digit code from either the Maxtor OneTouch Manager software or the FreeAgent diagnostic/Test My Drive software signals a drive failure. Please be sure to backup the data contained therein as soon as possible and prepare a return order to request a replacement. Remember also that many retail stores will allow a return directly to the store within 30-90 days of purchase.

Note: FreeAgent Pro drives can give false diagnostic failures when tested using the FreeAgent Tools and connected via the eSATA interface. Please see Seagate Knowledge Base article 208311 for more information.

Windows Vista gives this error message: "Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device" when I connect my external drive, especially FreeAgent

Please see this Seagate Knowledge Base article to resolve this issue.

My external drive is not detected in Windows XP/2000 (and displays a yellow ! icon next to it in the Device Manager)

If your external drive is not detected in Windows XP/2000, it is always a good idea to check the Disk Management and Device Manager.

Right-click on My Computer.
Click on Manage.
Choose Disk Management from the left column.
Try to find the external drive in the lower window. It should be "Disk 1" or some other number (but not Disk 0).
Then choose Device Manager from the left column.
Choose Disk drives.
If the drive is not seen there, check under Universal Serial Bus Controllers (if the drive is connected via USB). The drive should appear as a USB Mass Storage Device.
If a yellow ! icon is displayed next to it, double-click on the drive.
A Properties window will appear and will probably say "This device is not working properly" and will give either (Code 28) or (Code 10).
If Code 10 appears, the drive has most probably failed. Verify by trying the drive with another USB cable or port, or on another computer. You can begin a drive replacement order online.
If Code 28 appears, you will need to test the drive on another computer. If the drive works fine on another computer, there are a few steps to follow:
1. Open a Windows Explorer window (right-click on Start > Explore).
2. In the address bar, type c:\windows\inf and press Enter.
3. Right-click on the file INFCACHE.1.
4. Select Properties.
5. Click on the "Security" tab.
6. Click "Edit" to edit permissions.
7. Click "Add" to add Group or User name.
8. Delete the file.
9. Reboot and the file should be rebuilt, correcting the problem.
10. If that fails, you will need to try to reload the USB drivers for the operating system by inserting your Windows install CD, rebooting, and attempting a Repair/Restore.
  Warning! This can be dangerous to your data and you should disconnect your external drive before attempting this.

My Seagate external pushbutton drive falls asleep and will not wake up

This problem can be remedied simply by cycling power on the drive. That is, first safely remove the drive (if possible), power the drive down, wait 30 seconds, then power the drive back on again.
Also, it is a sign of a minor defect in the unit. It is not dangerous at all, but it can be a frustrating problem from time to time. It is grounds for replacing the drive, so you may visit our replacement order page and prepare an order if you like. However, again, this does not make the external drive any less reliable or stable as a data backup unit.

My Seagate FreeAgent drive falls asleep and will not wake up

Seagate FreeAgent drives are bundled with Drive Management software that can control the interval of inactivity before the drive goes to sleep. Once asleep, it usually requires 30-60 seconds for the drive to wake up to full readiness once the user attempts to access it.
Note: The default value is 15 minutes. Since the software is for Windows only, the 15 minute sleep interval cannot be changed in MacOS.
Solution: See the following Seagate Knowledge Base articles for information on how to manage the sleep interval.

The original generation of FreeAgent Desktop drives did not come with any software and thus there was no way to change the sleep interval. However, this link leads to the download site for the new FA Desktop software, which will allow changes to the sleep interval for any FA Desktop drive, new or old.

Windows will not allow me to safely remove my drive. It keeps reporting the drive is busy or in use

This is usually caused by a program that is trying to read from the drive. Please see this Seagate Knowledge Base article for a full treatment of this issue.

Windows reports that a high speed device is plugged into a low speed port

This means that you have plugged your USB 2.0 drive into a USB 1.x port. Your drive will still work, but at a reduced speed.

Solution: For best performance, use USB 2.0 ports or Firewire ports (1394, ie Firewire, is not available on some drive models).

My drive occasionally gives a $Mft error

Please see this Seagate Knowledge Base article for a full treatment of this issue.

My drive is reporting "Write Protected" when I try to move files onto it or delete files from it. How do I remove files from or save files to the external drive?

This typically means that you have connected an external drive that is formatted with an NTFS partition. Mac cannot write to NTFS partitions and so will often indicate the drive is write-protected.
Solution: Reformat the drive in Mac Disk Utility to make it available for use in MacOS.
Warning! Reformatting the drive will ERASE ALL DATA on the drive. Please note that Windows partitions and MacOS partitions are not easily compatible at this time, so using an external drive to transfer data between a Windows computer and a MacOS computer can be difficult and sometimes dangerous to your data. Using CDs or DVDs to transfer data is often a better solution.

Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (Code 43)

This usually means that the driver (which does NOT come from Seagate; this driver comes from Windows) has lost communication with the drive or the driver has crashed.

Solution: Connect the drive directly to the back of your (desktop) computer (as opposed to the front USB ports of the computer or a USB hub) (for laptops, any USB port on the laptop is fine) and run diagnostics on the drive.

"Delayed Write Failure" error appears in Windows XP/2000 or Vista

Delayed write failure errors have many causes, most of which are specific to individual computers. The problem is dealt with extensively on this Seagate Knowledge Base article.

Windows ME keeps prompting for a driver, but the only driver I have is for Windows 98

Windows ME includes all the drivers needed to support our drive. However, certain OEM installations of Windows ME call for the file USBNTMAP.SYS while attempting to load drivers for the external drive. This file can be located on the Windows ME installation or recovery CD in the WIN9XBASE2.CAB folder.

Drive is not found when I install under Windows 98SE

Windows 98SE requires additional drivers.

Solution: Go to our external drive page and click the drivers link for your drive model.

For more information on errors, please see our list of Knowledge Base links.

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