I have 2 external harddrives, one mp3 player and a 80 GB hard disk and they are connected by usb. lately I have been running into a problem with them that when I connect them to a computer (any computer, tried 3 diffrent ones) the computer finds the drive and it shows up in the device manager but it does not appear in the my computer folder so I can't access it... has anyone encountered this or heard of a solution?

<font color=skyblue>I had a problem that was similar...but not exact. My computer was not finding any of my USB hook-ups, but the problem was with the hub that they all plugged into before the hub plugged into the machine. Have you tried plugging any one of the devices straight into the PC without going through a hub?

I am only going to assume you have a hub. Apologies if this does not help at all.

In the event with my broken hub...I took it back to the store and they replaced it for free even after 3 months and with no receipt!!</font>

<font color=fffccc>1. From my computer, have you tried ~view~refresh?
2. From Device Manager, have you checked for any 'splots'(Yellow means Malfunction, RED means Failure)? If so, are they USB related?
3. From Device Manager, have you~USB Hardware~Scanned for changes?
4. From ~right click~My Computer~Tried~Manage?
5. Is the connection good, lights light, and Most importantly, does it appera~Device Manager~USB Hub~Mass Storage?</font>

Have you tried accessing it through the command prompt?

To paraphrase... it sounds like you're connecting multiple devices through a hub. You've transported it to three computers, and it still doesn't work right.

What I don't know is whether "it" refers to the entire hub connection, or to the individual devices. I'd take the hub out of the mix first, and see if you can connect to each device individually. I'd then swap in a different hub to see if it works. And I'd do that on all three computers.

Since you've got multiple devices, it would be rather coincidental to have all of them go on the fritz at the same time, which leads me to suspect the hub.

'Course, it could also be something as simple as the folders on the drives now being hidden. Do you have Explorer set to show you all files, including hidden ones?

<font color = lightgreen>Perhaps viewing the Entire Network and then mapping the network drive?</font>