External Hard Drive Drivers

External hard drives like most computer components require drivers to operate properly. External hard drives function and are very similar to, the internal hard disk drive on a computer. They consist of a rotating platter with a magnetic surface that rapidly stores digitally encoded data. Their storage capacity may range from 80 GB to 4 TB and they normally have their own power supply. They connect to your computer by way of USB, IEEE FireWire, SCSI, or eSATA connections and they may or may not be bootable.

The external hard drive driver is the means for providing the communication between the drive and the computer to which it is connected. It does this through a kernel program (one that resides in the computer’s memory and runs automatically). The driver provides a name for the drive so that the operating system can recognize it. The driver files also list the hard drive’s serial and/or model number as well as physical information about the drive such as the number of cylinders, heads, sectors, and size in terms of storage capacity. The hard drive driver also provides the information for the computer to be able to communicate with the device depending on the type of connection and how to handle the actual storage of the data on the drive (sectors to place data in, sectors that may be bad, how to move the platters and the heads, and how to create file allocation tables). Also, since external hard drives can be shared among computers, the drivers often incorporate “mini drivers” within themselves that provide programming that allow the device to be used with different operating systems. Finally, unlike most internal hard drives, external hard drives are often used as data back-up devices and the external hard drive driver instructs the operating system to use the manufacturers’ proprietary back-up program if there is one or how to treat the drive if the operating system’s backup utility is used.

Common Problems Associated with External Hard Drive Drivers

1) Missing driver files

2) Corrupted driver files

3) Incompatibility with the operating system

4) Inability to run back ups properly

5) In ability of the operating system to correctly identify the drive

Troubleshooting the External Hard Drive Driver

Generally, if the driver file is missing or corrupted, the computer or operating system may crash or simply fail to recognize the drive without the display of an error code. Also, if the drive fails to back up properly, or fails to run the manufacturer’s backup program, it may be due to a corrupted driver. To remedy any of these situations try disconnecting the drive, install or re-install the drivers, and reconnect the drive. Updated drivers maybe obtained by contacting the manufacturer.