External Hard Drive and USB Port Query

The first query is by Rahil :

Can any body help me to sort out the issue that i am facing with my USB 150GB External Hard Drive, i was using is smoothly, last two days before i could not access it, its giving an error message “File or Directory corrupted and unreadable”

Appreciated if some one tells me the solution.
As i have lot of important stuff on it.

First you need to check if the hard drive is getting detected by the operating system properly or not. If it does, you have just saved yourself some money! By reading your query, it does seem that the hard drive does indeed get detected by the operating system.

Moving on to the next step, check if the problem exists across all the partitions that exist on the hard drive. It if exists only on a single partition, then that is probably the corrupted partition. If it exists across all partitions, it is a bit more serious and can also be internal damage.

If you do not have important data on the hard disk, then the best way is to format the hard drive and see if the partitions become readable again. If you have important data, then try using data recovery software to recover data if possible. If that is not possible and you need to recover the important data, then you need to get its data recovered which can be a costly affair. If formatting does not help, then your best bet is taking it to the service center to get it repaired.

The second query is by Josil Mathai :

Sir,
USB ports of my home PC is not providing enough power for my USB Webcam,USB KBoard and Mouse,along with USB internet dial-up device.
PC have only two ports and I am forced to use only two at a time.If I use multiple USB port device connected to one of above said ports,then the connected devices will not work due to power failure.(This was noticed when I connected USB HDD)
Can I introduce another USB panel in the PC as to use all my USB based devices.
Waiting for the advice.
Josil Mathai

Seems like you have USB 1.1 ports on your PC which is under powered for today’s devices. You must be having PCI slots on your motherboard which can be used to add a USB 2.0 panel to your PC. You need to have a free PCI slot to be able to install the card. As PCI slots have become obsolete now, it would be hard to find a PCI to USB card now. But do look around in your local market or search the net. This should most probably solve your problem.

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