I use many different types of external devices, and all connect to my desktop using the USB ports. Two of the devices are external hard drives that I use to backup my data files. One of the hard drives is a small, portable drive that I store offsite, while the other is a regular, full-size external hard drive.
Recently, however, I ran into a problem where Windows 7 was displaying an error indicating that it couldn’t recognize the external hard drive. The connection between the hard drive and the computer was fine, and the hard drive appeared to be functioning properly. After performing those checks I did some research online, and found my answer.