Hi. I would just like to say that this is probably one of the most useful threads for tis problem that I have found, and I think it has helped me solve my 'usb device not recognized' issue.
I have a Western Digital 250gb hard drive which has served me very well for a year up until a few day ago. I started getting the 'usb device not recognized' malfunction error. After reading serveral posts I decided it was a power issue (although the error did not specifically say so), and decided to buy a USB booster cable (usb lead with 2 usb heads for twice the power).
I was going to order a Lindy cable off amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-USB-Cable-Dual-Power/dp/B000FKP7XK) but the one and only reviewer of the product, it seemed, had exactly the same problem as me and upon trying the cable found it did not work. He instead advised to buy a usb powered hub, which I did.
I received the hub today, tryed it, and guess what, didn't work. That's when I searched and found this thread. I have been using the usb cable supplied with the hard drive. Some people in this thread seemded to have been using a different cable, got the error, tryed the orignal supplied WD cable, and the HD has magically worked.
I on the other hand, like a few other people in this thread, have been using the supplied WD usb cable from the start. I decided, after reading this thread, to try a different cable. I managed to find a usb cable of the same sort that came with my brother's Sony mp3 player, have just tryed it, and Eureka!
So I kinda wish I'd bought the Lindy two head usb adaptor after all, as it was a lot cheaper than the hub I don't even need.
So my advice it to try a diffrent cable, maybe even the Lindy one, or maybe a hub would work for you?
Who knows.
I think people saying that you need a new HD and that the data has gone is rubbish. The data must still be on there, after all nothing has happened to it. I think it's just easier for Western Digital support to say 'you need a new hd' than it is to troubleshoot.
I was considering opening the casing up and just retrieving the hard drive and giving it to someone who would know how to re-case it. If it goes again maybe I will have to. For the time being though it seems to be ok. And I hope everyone else manages to fix theirs.
