External hard disk problem

• Gordonator

  12 Oct 07, 00:35

  hi, please pardon me if this problem have been posted before but i'll really need some advice on this.
  
  my friend has a external 20gig hard disk but i can't access it on my windows ME. at first when i plug it in, it prompt me to insert the windows ME CD to install its driver.
  
  after installing, it can be detected but when i click to open it, it says hard disk is not formatted and ask me to format it. i can't format it as there are data inside.
  
  i'm able to access it on windows XP. any advices on this?
• allentyb

  12 Oct 07, 00:37

  all sort of hard disk have to reformat before you can use it.........
• Gordonator

  12 Oct 07, 00:53

  Originally posted by allentyb:

  all sort of hard disk have to reformat before you can use it.........

  as i mentioned above. this hard disk already has data inside. it can be opened in windows XP but not on my windows ME.
  
  i don't want to reformat as this will wipe out the data inside.
  
  so was wondering is there any ways to access the data on my windows ME.
• whereismyrib

  12 Oct 07, 01:23

  Probably cannot. Experiences tell me that.
  
  Experts should be around to advise you.
• FireIce

  12 Oct 07, 01:32

  u may need to install the driver tt comes with the hdd
  
  i think ME no auto detect or plug and play.........
• LatecomerX

  12 Oct 07, 05:48

  I'm guessing that the hard disk is formatted in the NTFS file system, which Windows ME doesn't recognize.
  
  Info:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS
  http://buildyourown.org.uk/forums/topic.asp?topic_ID=18249
  http://help.lockergnome.com/windows2/xp-formated-hd-viewed-Windows-system-ftopict449563.html
  
  You would probably need something like a NTFS reader for Windows ME. I can't seem to find the one by SysInternals, but you can try the one below if you would like to.
  
  Link:
  http://diskinternals.com/products/ntfs-reader/
  
• Gordonator

  12 Oct 07, 10:12

  thanks LatecomerX for your info. i'll take a look.
  
  may i ask if let say i buy a brand new hard disk, will i face the same problem? will formatting it in windows ME helps? and after formatting i should be able to use it both on windows ME and XP right?
  
  pardon for asking so much.
• thoreldan

  12 Oct 07, 10:36

  Originally posted by Gordonator:

  thanks LatecomerX for your info. i'll take a look.
  
  may i ask if let say i buy a brand new hard disk, will i face the same problem? will formatting it in windows ME helps? and after formatting i should be able to use it both on windows ME and XP right?
  
  pardon for asking so much.

  u can format using xp...but choose fat32 instead of ntfs so that older OS like Win ME can read
  
  side topic a bit...win me is problematic..thought of changing to xp?
• UrPwned

  12 Oct 07, 10:38

  yar, that can be done,
  
  but u can also do that in XP, just right click, format using FAT32, and not NTFS.
• Hanagata

  12 Oct 07, 11:03

  ADRC Data Recovery Centre... your best friend...
• LatecomerX

  12 Oct 07, 17:39

  Originally posted by Gordonator:

  thanks LatecomerX for your info. i'll take a look.
  
  may i ask if let say i buy a brand new hard disk, will i face the same problem? will formatting it in windows ME helps? and after formatting i should be able to use it both on windows ME and XP right?
  
  pardon for asking so much.

  Yup, thoreldan has the answer. Format it with the file system set to "FAT32". You can do it in either Windows ME or XP - it doesn't matter. But just a note that you can't format a partition, using FAT32, over 32 GB in Windows XP. More info about its limitations here.
  
  Link:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314463
  
  

  
  You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk.
  

• kenn3th

  12 Oct 07, 23:20

  Originally posted by FireIce:

  u may need to install the driver tt comes with the hdd
  
  i think ME no auto detect or plug and play.........

  i thought 98 onwards have plug and play le
• ndmmxiaomayi

  12 Oct 07, 23:30

  Originally posted by kenn3th:

  i thought 98 onwards have plug and play le

  Yup, but there's no such thing as auto installation of drivers needed.
• Gordonator

  13 Oct 07, 00:02

  thanks all for the advice, i'll be buying my new hard disk maybe next week. i try it out and if any problems i'll ask u all again.