Nothing Is Ever Easy
So SUCCESS! Sort of. I bought the USB enclosure today ($44.50 total from Staples in Timonium), and I successfully transferred my favorites, bookmarks, saved game files, etc. from my primary drive. Then I connected my storage drive... and nothing. Vista could see the storage drive in the device manager, but not in explorer. It didn't have a letter assigned to the drive or anything. I couldn't check the file size or access the files, but I could see that the drive was "functioning properly" and "healthy."
Great. So after hours of reading and researching online (and by hours I mean hours and hours and hours), I believe I've identified this issue. At least I think I have.
Apparently some old machines have their own bios settings which prohibit the FAT table from being read on a new machine. The new computer sees it but can't read it. I think that is what is happening here. I'm not 100% sure that this problem relates to the fact that I had Windows 2000 on the old machine and now I've attempted to connect this hard drive to Vista, but who knows. All I know is that I found some freeware (freeware... for now) that can operate in a Windows 2000 environment. It has been scanning my hard drive for 35 minutes now, and it's definitely "seeing" data on the drive, but I still don't know if I'll have access to it yet... or if I'll need to buy the full version of the program.
Anyone have any ideas? I refuse to post some rambling plea on a discussion board. That is why I have my own blog, after all.
Great. So after hours of reading and researching online (and by hours I mean hours and hours and hours), I believe I've identified this issue. At least I think I have.
Apparently some old machines have their own bios settings which prohibit the FAT table from being read on a new machine. The new computer sees it but can't read it. I think that is what is happening here. I'm not 100% sure that this problem relates to the fact that I had Windows 2000 on the old machine and now I've attempted to connect this hard drive to Vista, but who knows. All I know is that I found some freeware (freeware... for now) that can operate in a Windows 2000 environment. It has been scanning my hard drive for 35 minutes now, and it's definitely "seeing" data on the drive, but I still don't know if I'll have access to it yet... or if I'll need to buy the full version of the program.
Anyone have any ideas? I refuse to post some rambling plea on a discussion board. That is why I have my own blog, after all.
posted by Charissa at 11:20 PM
5 Comments:
Hmm. Find out what motherboard you have on the new compy. An update to the BIOS on there may fix the problem... it's an easy upgrade, but you may wanna have someone who's done it before do it. You don't want to jack the mobo. Alternately, it could be as simple as adjusting some settings in the BIOS without having to update it. I forget what f-key you usually hold to bring up the BIOS while it boots (F4 maybe?), but you can tab through the BIOS settings (without changing anything) and see if the drive pops up there. Also, maybe a firmware update on the hard disk to bring its compatibility into line with the new Windows OS? I dunno. Enthusiast here, not expert. I can hook you up with someone if you're really, really stuck. Definitely check the forums on the hard disk's manufacturer's site if you haven't already. That would be the first place to look. I can guarantee you someone else has had this exact same problem with it.
i love my mac ;)
Jon: I checked out Western Digital's web site, and it states, "We are currently in the process of updating our software utilities to work under the Windows Vista Operating System. Please check our Download Library regularly for new versions of our software utilities that are compatible with the Windows Vista Operating System." And guess what? There aren't any Vista updates in the library. They have a whole line of new products that work with Vista, but they obviously haven't spent much time working on upgrades. That said, the program I was using last night looks like it's working. It's ZAR - zero assumption recovery - and was just $30. Not much, but damn, it has been an expensive week.
Marie: Traitor.
I wish I could offer advice, but I don't have enough know-how - only enough to ruin a computer, not fix it again. So instead: what Jon said.
Vista is evil. That's why the next computer I get I will either reinstall XP (I hear that Vista is giving so many headaches to so many people that the Microsoft people are now offering optional rollbacks to XP - for a price) or else it will be a Mac. Just wish the Macs were cheaper.
Can you see a thumb drive or other USB device if put on the same slot?
I have the same problem with my machine at work, the two USB slots in front don't work properly.
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