I have a 500GB SATA, 2.5", USB hard drive which I've been using regularly with my laptop. The laptop has Windows XP Home Service Pack 3.

Recently, my laptop does not recognize my hard drive anymore. Instead of showing "USB mass storage device" as usual, Windows now opens Hardware Update Wizard to install driver for the USB hard drive.

Naturally, I was baffled, because previously Windows never asks for driver for the USB hard drive. In fact, my Windows has never asked for driver for any generic USB mass storage device I've used with my laptop.

But then, I follow the Hardware Update Wizard anyway. I have tried everything. I have tried installing the driver from the internet, but Hardware Update Wizard can never find one. I have tried installing the driver from the \i386 folder in my laptop, and Hardware Update Wizard fails to find the the driver. I have tried swapping USB cables, connecting to different port, etc, and it just doesn't work. Windows keeps opening the Hardware Update Wizard every time I plug in the hard drive.

Oddly enough, when I plug my old 80GB USB hard drive to my laptop, the HD is recognized without problem.

First, I thought it was my Windows. However, I've tried plugging the 500GB hard drive to a desktop PC (Windows XP Pro SP3), and it does the exact same thing; that is, opening the Hardware Update Wizard instead of recognizing my hard drive as "USB mass storage device". Just for record, this particular PC previously recognized the USB hard drive without problem.

I highly suspect the problem is in the hard drive casing (switching USB cables proven futile); probably it's got damaged somehow, but am I correct so far? It is not the problem with the hard drive itself, isn't it? Has anyone had experienced such problem before?

FYI, the hard disk is a Seagate, but the external casing is a "generic", el-cheapo FreshGear. I usually use such combo because I don't like the extra (and sometimes mandatory) software that usually comes with "branded" external hard drives.