Computer will not recognize my external hard drive when plugged in?

Question

I have a verbatim external hard drive and when I plug it into my computer, the computer doesnt even recognize it. I plugged in my thumb drives thinking it was the USB port, but they worked fine. I REALLY need the stuff on there please help!

Answer 1

It might just be a bad cable. If you can try to use a different cable to see if it fixes it up.

Answer 2

Does your external HDD appear if you plug it into someone else's computer? When did it stop being recognized?

Perhaps you need to try a different USB port or restart your computer.  

Answer 3

try another cable or port