Problem - new MacBook Air cannot see external HD

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help, as I have seen similar questions in the forums, but not with an answer that helps me solve my problem.
Ok, I have a new MacBook Air running Lion (bought last year), a MacBook Pro running Leopard which is approx 4 years old and a Windows Laptop. I use the MacBook Air for Work and when travelling (weekly with work), the MacBook Pro for home and managing my other apple devices (iPad/iPhone etc..). I no longer use the PC, but there are loads of files both work and home, I wish to keep on an external HD for use with both Apple Laptops.
So, the external HD used to work with the MacBook Air when I first bought it (a couple of weeks ago) and formatted it with the MacBook Air, but it couldn't be seen or used with the Windows PC. When I formatted it with the Windows PC, I could use it with the MacBook Air but could not write to the disk.
So I have now partitioned and formatted it with the MacBook Pro running Lion, but now the MacBook Air cannot even see the disk in Disk Utility.
My MacBook Air otherwise runs absolutely fine with no problems, and the MacBook Air is a critical piece of kit that I use on a daily basis to do my job. As such, I have no appetite for deleting any drivers etc... from the MacBook Air as it could originally see the disk and I do not want to make a mistake and cause myself problems.
So the question is, how on earth do I get the MacBook Air to see the drive again in Disk Utility? So I can do the partitioning and formatting there, this drive is of no use if can only be seen by the MacBook Pro. The drive is a portable USB powered Toshiba 1TB disk Part Number: HDTB110EK3BA.
Am going to wait for some suggestions, my next thought is to erase everything using the windows PC assuming it can see it, and then see if the Mac Book Air laptop can see it in Disk Utility... no other options left really.
I hope someone can help, otherwise I may be off to buy a new disk and could hit the same problems again!
Thanks
Alex.

http://www.phonenews.com/toshiba-acknowledges-macbook-woes-canvio-usb-3-0-hard-d rives-18699/
Toshiba Acknowledges MacBook Woes in Canvio USB 3.0 Hard Drives
By Christopher Price on December 27, 2011
Following tests conducted by PhoneNews.com, Toshiba has acknowledged an issue affecting their Canvio USB 3.0 hard drives. The issue prevents current-generation MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models from properly connecting and powering up the drives.
Read more to see our findings, and the resulting (ongoing) investigation by Toshiba.
We began our tests based on tips from readers like you, and went out and purchased five (yes, five) Canvio USB 3.0 drives, along with a brand new 2011 MacBook Air.
Drive problems happened immediately, and were relatively isolated to the MacBook Air. Of all the systems we tested on, we were only able to reproduce issues on a Sony VAIO laptop late in our testing, as well as a current-gen MacBook Pro.
Essentially, the drives failed to mount, and in most tests never even spun up on these systems.
The Canvio USB 3.0 hard drives have sat under many people’s Christmas trees, as they were hot sellers during Black Friday. Retailers like Office Depot slashed prices on the slim, 2.5-inch drives down to $79 for a 1TB hard drive. With coupons, Radio Shack was selling the 500GB model for a mere $39.
Canvio USB 3.0 drives tout on the box compatibility with USB 2.0 systems, including both Mac and PC. The advantage of a Canvio USB 3.0 hard drive for a MacBook owner lies in Thunderbolt. Purchasing such a drive today can achieve USB 3.0 speeds with upcoming Thunderbolt-to-USB 3.0 adapters. USB 3.0 mass storage was designed to be fully backwards compatible with USB 2.0.
To get to the bottom of the problem, we probed the five Canvio drives purchased, in an effort to better understand the issue. And, we were able to isolate the problem; the Canvio USB 3.0 drives draw more power than the USB standard permits. The drives were drawing, upon connection, slightly more than the five watts that the spec allows. And, the new MacBooks appear to promptly shut the device down because of this.
Why? Well, Apple can assert that this is to protect the MacBook Air/Pro from a malfunctioning USB device. However, the answer really lies in tablets. Apple allows iPad and MacBook to perform a hardware handshake, which then allows Apple devices to draw 10 watts from the USB port. This is why you can charge an iPad directly on a Mac, but not on a PC.
Apple does not want to allow rival tablet manufacturers (Android) to have the same access to Apple’s USB port. Hence, any device (like a tablet) that wants to draw even slightly more than five watts, is shut off from communicating with the Mac. We affirmed this by testing a powered USB hub. With a powered hub connected to the hard drive, and the hub connected to the MacBook, the drive instantly came to life, and worked without issue.
This creates a bit of an odd situation; Toshiba is technically in the wrong for making drives that technically breach USB specifications… but Apple seems to be the only manufacturer to enforce this aspect (as well as breach it with their own devices).
Toshiba, to its credit, has owned up to our issue, right down to our suggestion to them that a powered hub works around the issue. Quoting an official statement in response to our research:
Toshiba DPD has identified an isolated USB connectivity issue between the Canvio USB 3.0 drive and currently shipping MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops. The issue involves the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air being unable to recognize the Canvio USB 3.0 drive when connected directly to the laptop USB 2.0 port. Toshiba is actively working to remedy this USB connectivity issue. In the interim, Toshiba recommends MacBook Pro and MacBook Air users employ a powered USB hub to connect their Canvio USB 3.0 drives.
We have asked Toshiba if they intend to inform retailers to accept returns for affected drives, or if they will offer some form of refund program in the interim. Retailers such as Office Depot do not permit refunds on opened technology items, including Canvio drives. Toshiba has said are looking into that aspect of this problem, and will get back to us shortly.
In all, we spent a few hundred on hard drives, and confirmed the issue. Unfortunately, because it is a power drain concern, Toshiba will likely have to offer an exchange program to fix it. We seriously doubt that this can be fixed at the firmware level. Theoretically, it’s possible a USB cable replacement might be able to mitigate this issue however, so there is hope that Toshiba won’t have to recall a bazillion hard drives.
Update: As a follow-up, Toshiba has informed us that they have completed their investigation, and will replace affected drives.

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