failing to recognise external HD

Thanks for the quick reply Bob.

Actually I am pretty sure it has usb 2.0.

One of the reasons for my doing this was to keep all the info and data thats on the old HD and then access through my laptop. Are you saying that this cannot be done? Why?

Thanks

As to why it cannot be done, I don't write it cannot be done but that such moves are unsupportable. Here's why. USB enclosures have a little firmware and chip to connect it all together. One mis step and the external may not be readable in the OS if the drive was moved from some other machine but could work fine if one partitions and formats the drive in the new enclosure.

Many will scream and shout it should not be like this.

Bob

...the instruction manuals and it says 2.0, i even came across the broucher and it said 2.0. Also, it has the "Direct HD" function, not that I have used it, but in the blurb for it it also specifies 2.0. Perhaps the version put out here(Japan) of this machine is different to the specs of the one you saw.

The usb ports seem to work ok for other things, web cam, printer etc.

Actually, tried connecting it again via usb and the computer made the "ding-****" noise it usually does when something is connected. Nothing came up in the systems tray though. It then "ding-donged" again.

So, any further suggestions?

Thanks for the answer too. Would there be any alternative ways to connect my old HD to my laptop?

Thanks

I only used google to see what ports your machine has and wasn't happy with the sites I read so I couldn't tell if it was USB 2.0 or not.

-> I may have missed what OS you have on there, but there are USB 2.0 issues in XP SP1 or less.

Also, for XP we use a Drive or Disk Management tool noted in Start Help and Support to prepare the drive for use. Try that and see if the drive is listed there.

If you are trying to save files from the drive, try another machine.

Bob

1. is it worth while upgrading to sp2
2. if it does actually connect, will i be able to get the data from the HD?
3. just want to confirm the usb thing so is there some way i can check in the computer itself?

I will also try and the Drive or Disk Management but the only problem is that its all in Japanese and is going to take me some time! Gulp. What exactly should I be looking for with the drivers?

Thanks

1. is it worth while upgrading to sp2

For us at the office it was. Here's why. We could not run CHKDSK on USB 2.0 external drives until SP2. Microsoft has been tightlipped about why this was so.

2. if it does actually connect, will i be able to get the data from the HD?

You will know when it connects. Any other answer from me would be from the magic 8 ball.

3. just want to confirm the usb thing so is there some way i can check in the computer itself?

Sorry, but I don't understand this question.

"I will also try and the Drive or Disk Management but the only problem is that its all in Japanese and is going to take me some time! Gulp. What exactly should I be looking for with the drivers? "

If the OS was from the laptop's maker, there is nothing to seek.

Bob

re question 3: I was wondering if it was possible to check the usb are actually 2.0, perhaps through control panel?

I live in Tokyo and I bought the machinee here, hence why the os is in Japanese. If I am going to be looking around for the it will take me a while as my Japanese especially as far as computer terminology goes is limited.

Yes the os came with the machine. Does this mean I dont have to look for the Drive and Disk Managment?

USB drivers would be proper (or should be) so let's leave those as-is, whereis.

As to Drive Management, it's the tool that comes with XP to look at and manage drives. It's one of my first stops when I go looking for a missing drive. I don't write about it in any detail since if not in Start, Help and Support we have GOOGLE to read up about this tool.

Bob