Q. How do I install a font into a program?

Fonts are installed into the operating system, and once installed should be available to all programs.

How to install fonts
Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314960
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/fixfonts/ht/install_fonts_w.htm

Mac
The simplest way is to drag fonts into the Library: Fonts: folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2435

Fonts often come in rar or zip archives, they have to be extracted from the archive before being installed, use WinRAR or WinZip or 7-zip (Win) or Stuffit Expander or Archive Utility (Mac). Right click (Control-click on Mac) on the archive file and see if there are options under Open With…, Expand or Uncompress.

There are a few programs that have non-standard ways of using fonts, consult the owners manual for instructions for those programs.

Look for free fonts here
http://www.dafont.com/

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Q. My Mac just has a question mark on the screen

The ? means that the machine cannot find a drive with a valid operating system. This means either that your hard drive has failed, or the operating system on it is damaged.

What to do: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1411?viewlocale=en_US
Safe Mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
(Starting in Safe Mode will automatically run the fsck disk maintenance routine.)

If you can’t boot at all, and the lights are acting strangely or you don’t get the question mark, try a System Management Controller reset and try again
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

First step: Boot from the DVD of OSX that came with your machine (insert the DVD, restart the machine with the power switch, hold the C key down throughout the restart to force it to boot from the DVD)

Once it has booted, answer the language preference screen, and it will take you to the Installer screen. DO NOT start an Install now. Instead, go to the Utilities menu and choose Disk Utility.

Does the icon of your hard drive show up on the left pane?
If not, then your hard drive is damaged and unreadable. Take the machine to a technician.

If your hard drive icon does show up, click it once to select it, and choose Repair Disk from the right hand pane of Disk Utility.
If it says that it repaired the problems, then try restarting again from the hard drive.
If it doesn’t restart, then you have to get more involved in repair.

If DiskUtility gave the drive a clean bill of health, you could try proceeding into the Installer, and do an  Install (OSX 10.6) or “Archive and Install” (OSX 10.5 and earlier)  (Do not choose Erase and Install!!) This will install a new OS X on the drive, and will attempt to preserve your settings, data, user accounts and programs.

Otherwise, consider getting one of the repair utilities listed below, or take to a technician.

Maintosh repair resources

Apple’s DiskUtility http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
Alsoft DiskWarrior http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
TechTool Pro http://www.micromat.com/
Recovery
MiniTools Mac http://mac.powerdatarecovery.com/
DataRescue http://www.prosofteng.com/
FileSalvage (Mac) http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1

Support
MacRumors http://forums.macrumors.com/
ehMac: http://www.ehmac.ca
MacFixIt  http://www.macfixit.com/
Apple Support http://www.apple.com/support/
Apple Support Discussions http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

Your other option is to physically remove the hard drive and put it into a USB drive enclosure. Then hook that up to a different computer to copy your files off of the old hard drive.

You can boot a Macintosh with a Firewire port into Firewire Target Disk Mode (hold the “T” key down through boot up until the firewire symbol appears on the screen).  If you cable your machine to another Mac with a Firewire cable (plug the cable in when both machines are off) then boot in Target Disk mode, the other machine will see your hard drive as if it was a Firewire external drive. You can then do disk repairs on it, or copy data off. If the two machines are the same model, then you could also reinstall the OS onto the target drive.

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The Best Of: Video Cards

Here is an ongoing collection of highly rated and best value video cards and reviews, last update May 2011

Video card performance is not critical for office-based software or web browsing, the built in graphics in any machine made in the last 5 years or so will be adequate.  For playing 3D games however, the performance of the video card can make or break the game play.  The higher the resolution of the game, and the higher the Anti Aliasing (AA) and Ansiotropic Filtering (AF) is set, the more powerful a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) that is required.

High End Dual-GPU

Radeon HD6990 Dual GPU 830MHz 4GB-DDR5 256 Bit, 1 x DVI, 4 x Mini DisplayPort Gigabyte GV-R699D5-4GD-B
$749 at CanadaRAM
MaximumPC article
PCWorld Review 4.5/5

Crossfire Dual Radeon HD6950 cards 810MHz 2GB-DDR5 256 Bit, 2 x DVI, 4 x  DisplayPort, HDMI (with adapter)
$339 each at CanadaRAM x 2 = $678
(the motherboard has to support 2 full size PCI-e x16 cards in Crossfire mode)
Tom’s Hardware article
PCWorld Review 4/5

High end Single GPU

NVidia GTX580 782 MHz 1.5GB GDDR5 384-bit PCIE 2.0 16x,  2 x DVI-I, 1 x HDMI, 1 x DisplayPort
$539 at CanadaRAM
Maximum PC 9/10 KickAss Award,
PCWorld Review 4/5
Tom’s Hardware article

Upper Midrange (under $ 300)

NVidia GTX 560 TI 950MHZ 1Gb DDR5 RAM, 256BIT, 2 x DVI, 1 x MINI HDMI, VGA (with adapter)
$299 at CanadaRAM
PCWorld Review 4/5 “A Strong Contender For The Midrange Crown”

Radeon HD6870 DirectCU Radeon  915 MHz 1GB GDDR5 256 bit, PCI-e 2.0 16x,   1 x DVI-I, HDMI (with adapter), VGA (with Adapter), 2 x DisplayPort
$239 at CanadaRAM
PCWorld Review 4.5/5 “AMD takes midrange crown”
MaximumPC 9/10 KickAss award (article)

Low Midrange (under $200)

Radeon HD6850 Overclock 820MHz 1GB-DDR5 256 Bit, 2X DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
$199 at CanadaRAM
PCWorld Review 4.5/5
“Great performance at a stellar price”

Budget (under $150)

NVidia GTS450 DirectCU 1GB GDDR5 PCIE 2.0 16x,  DVI-I, HDMI and VGA ports
ENGTS450 $149 at CanadaRAM
MaximumPC Review

Things to think about before buying a new video card https://computer-answers.ca/2011/computer-questions/windows-questions/q-will-this-new-video-card-work-in-my-machine/

Video card benchmarks for specific games: http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-spring-2011/

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Favorite: Windows utilities from Piriform

Some utilities you use once in a blue moon. Some utilities you end up using every day until they become indispensable.  One company that makes shareware that is part of my everyday toolkit is Piriform.

CCleaner cleans out cache files, cookies, temp files and registries. One excellent reason to use it is to eliminate the 10’s of thousands of cache and temporary files before doing antivirus scans or backups – this saves the scanning or backup software considerable time.

Speccy reports the specifications of your Windows computer, including the characteristics of your RAM modules, which is handy when you want to upgrade RAM to match the originals. It also reports the make and type of the motherboard, video card and hard drives, and the hard drive sizes and SMART status.

Recuva is for recovering lost data, including undeleting that critical report that’s due tomorrow which you accidentally deleted and emptied the trash on. Oops.  It will also work on problem flash memory cards and iPods, resurrect crashed Word documents, and attempt to bring back files from a formatted or crashed hard drive.  As long as the drive is still spinning, it is worth giving Recuva a crack at it.

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Add a SSD to a 2012 or older MacBook Pro or Unibody MacBook

One way to increase the performance of a MacBook Pro is to change the hard drive out for a fast Solid State Drive (SSD).  The problem is that large SSDs are still more expensive than hard drives, so getting faster means accepting less drive space.

The alternative for Pre-Late-2012 MacBook Pros and MacBook Unibody machines is to install the SSD in place of the MacBook Pro’s hard drive and move the existing hard drive to the optical (DVD) drive.  Kits from MCE, OWC and others provide a bracket for a standard 2.5″ SATA SSD to fit in the larger space vacated by the optical drive.  They also have the option of an external USB enclosure for the optical drive mechanism to fit in, so you can still use it as an external DVD drive.

MacBook Pro Optical Drive Bay Adapter

MacBook Pro Optical Drive Bay Adapter SATA – shown with optional USB external optical drive enclosure (left)

One important thing is to know whether your MacBook Pro has a Serial ATA (SATA) optical drive or a Parallel ATA (PATA or IDE) optical drive.

Retina MacBook Pros do not have DVD drives, and do not use 2.5inch SATA hard drives.

Unibody MacBook Pros from late 2008 to Mid 2012 have Serial ATA DVD drives; here is a list of the model numbers:

Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro models,

  • MacBook : MB466LL/A, MB467LL/A, MB881LL/A, MC240LL/A, MC207LL/A, MC516LL/A
  • MacBook Pro: MB470LL/A, MB471LL/A, MB604LL/A, MC026LL/A, MB990LL/A, MB991LL/A, MC118LL/A, MB985LL/A,
  • MB986LL/A, MC226LL/A, MC371LL/A, MC372LL/A, MC373LL/A, MC374LL/A, MC375LL/A, MC024LL/A,
  • MC700LL/A, MC721LL/A, MC723LL/A, MC724LL/A, MC725LL/A

order the OptiDriveDV21 SATA bay adapter.

If you have an older 2006 – 2008 MacBook Pro machine with a PATA optical drive, you can upgrade by ordering the PATA mounting hardware OptiDriveDV23.
You can install the optical drive you removed into an external USB SATA enclosure.

Installation is straightforward, but it requires careful tracking of the screws that come out so you can get them back into the right places. There are a number of online tutorials for disassembly and installation in different models of Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro.

You will need a Philips #00 screwdriver and a plastic spludger or thin guitar pick for prying the case open without scratching.  Then depending on your model of machine you my need a six-point Torx T-8 driver, a Tri-Wing Y-0 or Y-1 driver or a 5 point Torx Pentalobe driver.  (When you are undoing the case screws, use the correct driver and bear down firmly on it. Do not try to unscrew the small Philips screws with a driver that does not fit the screw exactly, the driver tip will cam out of the screw and strip the head. That’s bad.)

Note: There are some MacBook Pros in the 2009 region which have a non-standard SATA controller chip. These machines have trouble with SATA 3 (6.0 Gbps) SSD drives, and require either a SSD drive that is locked to SATA 2 speed (such as the OWC Electra 3G) or one with a compatible controller chip (such as the Crucial MX series).

The optical drive brackets are not compatible with Pre-2008 white or black plastic body MacBooks or with Powerbooks.

How to upgrade a hard drive in a Mac Notebook

CanadaRAM stocks optical drive bays and SSD drives.

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Q. What is running on my PC?

How do I tell what programs are running on my machine that aren’t listed on the Task Bar?
Hit Control – Alt – Delete — this brings up the Task Manager.
Windows XP http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/taskman.htm
Windows 7 http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/reap-the-benefits-of-windows-7s-task-manager/2576
You can now view a list of applications, and a list of dozens of processes – which are the background tasks that make the applications run.

You will not be able to make sense out of all of the process names – and quitting them willy-nilly is a good way to crash your machine, so find out what they are before terminating them.

Write the names down, and then research with Google what each one does.
This site is a library of processes and their descriptions
http://www.what-process.com/

ProcessExlorer form Microsoft gives you more details http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

A good program for turning on and off processes that load at startup is Autoruns http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902

When you have a lot of processes running in the background, your machine has less memory and CPU power to devote to what you are working on.  By turning off toolbars, features, widgets, helpers, updaters, and other non-essential processes, your machine can perform faster.

Checking the running processes is sometime necessary to catch virus and malware infections. But there are a lot of legitimate processes running on any machine, so don’t panic if you see some names you don’t recognize, do a bit of research first.

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Q. Can I use faster RAM with the slower RAM I have?

For example, your machine has PC2-4200 (533 MHz) DDR2 memory in it, and you have another module of PC2-5300 (667 MHz). Can you use it?

Your motherboard’s memory speed will always be set to the speed of the slowest module you have installed. As long as it is the appropriate type of module for the machine, the PC2-5300 module *should* clock down to 533 MHz OK, but this relies on the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) programming being done properly on the module by the memory manufacturer. This data tells the motherboard the identity of the memory module, and the range of speed, voltage and latency settings that can it be used with. Some cheaper memory doesn’t have complete SPD programming and these will cause you problems.

This is machine dependent, some chipsets restrict the amount of faster memory that can be used and the number of Ranks of memory that can be used.  You can use the Kingston memory configurator to check the specs of your machine by model number. Also remember that memory is not backwards compatible across types – you cannot use DDR3 memory in a machine that requires DDR2.

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Q. Is PayPal safe?

PayPal the company is trustworthy
However you are dealing with third parties who are sellers or buyers — and those third parties can be good or they can be a problem.

There are many terms and conditions that can affect whether your transaction with a seller or a buyer is covered by PayPal protection.  Do not assume that PayPal will automatically protect you if the other party commits fraud. Read and understand the PayPal terms before entering into transactions.

Purchase protection https://cms.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=security/safe_online_shopping

Seller Protection https://cms.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=security/seller_protection_learn_more

When shipping goods ALWAYS insist on insurance, ALWAYS ship only to the PayPal verified address for the buyer, and ALWAYS require signature on delivery. No exceptions.
Do not use PayPal for goods that are picked up in person – only ship with proof of delivery. Taking a digital photo of the goods before shipping could help in settling damage claims.

When buying goods, insist that the seller send it by an insured, trackable method. If you have an issue with a seller, you need to file a dispute within 45 days. Do not let the seller talk you into waiting – you can always cancel the dispute if the goods show up, but you can’t do anything after the expiry of the dispute period.

International: If you are purchasing cross-border, realize that you the buyer will be responsible for all import duties, taxes and customs brokerage fees.  These fees can add up quickly, do your research before bidding.  Often the best method is to have it shipped by parcel post, registered and with insurance, as the post office doesn’t tack on large brokerage service charges as some couriers do.  A cross border package needs to be declared accurately for customs, with the actual purchase price. Do not permit the seller to understate the price, and conversely, do not permit them to insure the package for an inflated amount (hoping for a windfall if it is lost or damaged).  You could be charged tax and duties based on the inflated insured value, and it is difficult or impossible to get that money back.

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Q. How do I use Photoshop?

Here is a collection of learning resources for Adobe Photoshop, the premier image editing program.

I like the Missing Manual series of books the “Missing Manual” series http://missingmanuals.com/
Peachpit Press has good instuctional books, and video podcasts here http://www.peachpit.com/podcasts/index.aspx
Adobe has the Classroom in a Book series of structured learning http://www.adobe.com/training/books/

Adobe Tutorials http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/
Adobe Support http://www.adobe.com/support/photoshop/
Lynda.com (high quality paid tutorials) http://www.lynda.com/
Good-Tutorials.com http://www.good-tutorials.com/tutorials/photoshop
Tutorialized  http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Photoshop/1
Photoshop Tuitorials http://photoshoptutorials.ws/
Photoshop Roadmap http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-tutorials

Keep in mind that there are many resources, and there is no “best” choice because it depends on your learning style which ones will work for you. Also check your local community college, school districts and neighborhood centres, they often have beginners evening classes, if you learn best in a classroom environment.

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Q. I have Illustrator – how do I use it?

Adobe Illustrator is an immensely powerful vector graphics drawing program. It can be intimidating for first time users.

I recommend any book in the “Missing Manual” series http://missingmanuals.com/, and the Peachpit Press “Non-Designer’s Book of” series by Robin Williams   http://www.peachpit.com/search/index.aspx for people new to graphic design.
Adobe has structured training in their “Classroom in a Book” Series  http://www.adobe.com/training/books/

There are lots of Adobe Illustrator tutorials and videos available on the Web:

Adobe  http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/
Lynda.com (high quality paid tutorials) http://www.lynda.com/
nDesign Studio http://www.ndesign-studio.com/resources/tutorials/
Tutorialized  http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Illustrator/1
Smashing Magazine http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/04/50-excellent-adobe-illustrator-video-tutorials/
Good-Tutorials.com http://www.good-tutorials.com/tutorials/illustrator
About.com http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/illustratortutorials/Essential_Tutorials_for_Adobe_Illustrator.htm
Free Illustrator Tutorials  http://www.adobeillustratortutorials.com/free/index.php?cat=1

For more advanced work, http://vector.tutsplus.com/

Keep in mind that there are many resources, and there is no “best” choice because it depends on your learning style which ones will work for you. Also check your local community college, school districts and neighborhood centres, they often have beginners evening classes, if you learn best in a classroom environment.

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Q. What is a Dell Service Tag and where do I find it?

The Service Tag is Dell’s name for a serial number, and allows Dell to identify your individual machine. It should be on a sticker glued to the bottom, back or side of your computer case.

Using Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, click on the “Find My Service Tag” link here
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/my_systems_info/details?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~tab=2

With the service tag number, you can check on the warranty of your Dell, and check the components of the original configuration of the machine, which is useful to know when you are upgrading.

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Q. Doesn’t a new computer come with Office?

Microsoft Office software is included on a computer’s drive only if it was purchased in a bundle with the machine.  Far more often, what is pre-installed on a hard drive is the Microsoft Office Test Drive version, a trial version that only works for 60 days or 25 uses. The problem with the Test Drive is that after your trial period expires, you won’t be able to save, edit or print the documents you created.

If you want to continue using Office, you can order an activation key (serial code) from Microsoft online to turn the test drive into the full product, you can install a retail version of MS Office, for non-commercial use you can get the Home and Student version of Microsoft Office which can be installed on up to three machines in the same household. If you are in university or college, check with your uni bookstore or computing services, they may have even better deals on the software.

It is usually recommended to do a de-installation of the Trial version of Office before installing a new Office product.

Don’t download pirated software — if you can’t afford Office, or prefer not to use Microsoft, then look at OpenOffice http://www.openoffice.org, NeoOffice http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php or LibreOffice http://www.libreoffice.org/download/ – open source alternatives which will open and save most Microsoft Office format files.

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Favorite sites: Douglas Magazine and Y.A.M.

Victoria BC is home to an excellent magazine publisher, Page One Publishing, and their magazines Douglas (business) and Y.A.M. (lifestyle) are a treat.

Douglas is a quality business magazine that connects local businesses and people through its in-depth articles and award-winning design and photography. While serving as a resource to promote good business in Victoria, British Columbia, this bi-monthly publication defines current issues and developing trends and has become essential reading for the Greater Victoria business community.

Page One also produce the print edition of British Columbia magazine and a number of tourism publications of interest to visitors to BC.

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Q. My HP computer didn’t come with disks

Hewlett-Packard, like many manufacturers, is saving money by not including Windows recovery or install DVDs with new machines.  The customer is expected to spend a couple of hours when they first unpack the machine, and burn their own disks.  Guess what? Most computer owners skip that step because they are eager to start using their machine and, hey, nothing will ever happen to my new machine, right?

To create a recovery disk set, go to the Recovery Manager – instructions are here http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01895783&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&os=4062&rule=42309&product=4030066&sw_lang=

If you have already burned one set of recovery disks and lost them, this won’t work because Recovery Manager limits you to one set only.  Check these instructions for restting the counter: http://www.troublefixers.com/create-more-than-one-set-of-recovery-cd-on-hp-laptop-computer/

What if you can’t boot the machine all the way into Windows?  Try hitting F11 after powering on the machine, to see if it will boot into Recovery Manager from the hidden recovery partition.

Or, configure a boot drive on a USB memory stick from the DOS prompt to boot into Recovery Console http://www.technixupdate.com/create-a-bootable-usb-drive-with-xp-recovery-console-with-usb-recovery-console/

Or you can order a Recovery disk set from HP http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00810334&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=4030066

Or you can configure a Universal Boot CD http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ or BartPE http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

If your machine is old enough to have a floppy disk, then you can create a bootable MS-DOS floppy http://www.ehow.com/how_2089400_create-msdos-boot-disk.html

But the moral of the story is – take the time to create the recovery disks when you first set up the machine, label them, and keep them in a safe place where you can find them when you need them.  Some people glue an envelope to the outside of a desktop computer where the critical disks can be stored.

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Q. My computer is broken and I need the data

If your computer has a broken screen, failed motherboard or bad power supply, the data on the hard drive is probably still OK – so you want to be able to get it copied to a new machine or another hard drive.  But if the machine can’t boot, how do you get at the data?

First step is to shut the machine down and unplug it, and remove the battery if it is a laptop.  Then, break out the toolkit and remove the hard drive.  That’s a pretty straightforward job for a desktop or tower machine, but it can be more difficult for an all-in-one, notebook or netbook.

First go to the website of the computer manufacturer, and see if they have manuals in the Support or Downloads section.  If not, Google for your machine’s model number plus “take apart”, “teardown”, “service manual” or “replace hard drive” – you will probably find step by step instructions or YouTube videos.  If you have a Macintosh, go to iFixIt http://www.ifixit.com, the best collection of repair step by steps going.

Failing that, inspect your machine, on laptops there is often one or more hatch doors on the bottom. You can look carefully for symbols molded into the plastic – a symbol of a cylinder would be the mark for the hard drive hatch.  Other machines will require taking the whole bottom off, or taking the keyboard out.  Carefully lay out all the screws so that you can keep track of where each of them go back. You will probably need Philips (x shaped) size #0 and #00 screwdrivers, and you may need Torx (six point star) #6 or #8 drivers.

Once you have the hard drive out, there may be a caddy or bracket attached to it. Remove the caddy and keep it with the machine.

Now you can either install the drive into another machine, or better yet, use a USB external enclosure.  First check whether your drive is a SATA or an IDE drive – SATA has been used for the past 5 years or so.  Then, get an external drive enclosure to fit the drive – you will need to know whether it is 2.5″ (laptop) or 3.5″ (desktop) size, and whether it is IDE or SATA.  The other machine should be running the same operating system as the drive you are recovering from (while it is possible to do cross-platform file recovery it has complications outside the scope of this article).

Laptop SATA hard drive enclosures

Laptop SATA 2.5"

Laptop IDE hard drive enclosures

Laptop IDE 2.5"

Once you have installed the drive and connected the enclosure to the USB port of another computer, you should be able to read the files from the hard drive.

 

Desktop SATA hard drive enclosures

Desktop SATA 3.5"

Desktion IDE hard drive enclosures

Desktop IDE 3.5"

If you can’t read the files on the disk, double check to see that the drive is firmly seated in the enclosure, that all cables are connected, and that the drive is spinning.  If it is not spinning and it is a laptop drive, it’s possible that the USB port is not supplying enough power. Check with the enclosure’s instructions, often they come with a dual-head USB cable, to get additional power from a second USB port, plug both USB “A” connectors into your machine.

If the drive is spinning and you can’t recognize files, then you may need to repair the drive volume or catalog structure, or recover the files from the drive with recovery software.

Windows:
SpinRite http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm
Diskinternals Partition Recovery http://www.diskinternals.com/products.shtml
OnTrack software http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/file-recovery-software/
Pandora Recovery http://www.pandorarecovery.com/
DataRescue PC http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue_pc.php
Recuva (free) http://www.piriform.com/recuva
Restoration (free) http://download.cnet.com/Restoration/3000-2094_4-10322950.html?tag=mncol

Recovery Review – list of recovery software http://recovery-review.com/

Mac Repair:
Apple’s DiskUtility http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
Alsoft DiskWarrior http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
TechTool Pro http://www.micromat.com/
Recovery
MiniTool lMac http://mac.powerdatarecovery.com/
DataRescue http://www.prosofteng.com/
FileSalvage (Mac) http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1

Article on recovery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_recovery

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