WinXP will not recognize WD External HDD - please help
I have a two WinXP machines and I want to backup the data on each. These are being used with Software that will not run on newer OS's. I plugged the HDD into the XP machine and although it recognizes it (shows up as connected to pc), I cannot open it to view the folders on the Ext HDD. Anyone have any ideas? The are brand new WD MyPassport 1TB external HDD's.
25 Replies
How is this drive formatted?
USB drivers might be an issue too to check.
NTFS - as it came from WD
How is the HDD formatted. Found what I recall Windows XP 32 bit doesn't support GPT and only support MBR.
I suspecct you are correct about the drivers but I'm not sure how to resolve this. Any suggestions?
When I plugged the drives in, XP appeared to be hunting for a driver as irecognized new hardware but in the end, nothing.
- Are the computers on a network with mapped drives? Many times, a removable drive will take a drive letter already in use but Explorer still displays the name of the network share to the mapped drive. This makes the user believe that the drive isn't recognized even though it is.
- Have you looked in Disk Management or DISKPART to see if the drive was assigned a letter, or if the file system is even recognized? Is the drive offline there?
- Does Disk Management even show the device? If not, try removing the device manually from Device Manager, then the system registry, and then reload the drivers and reconnect the drive.
Boot Clonezilla Live https://clonezilla.org/show-live-doc-content.php?topic=clonezilla-live/doc/03_Disk_to_disk_clone and follow procedure to clone (create an image) of your XP HD stored on the WD My Passport and job done. If ever your XP HD goes faulty you can restore that image to a HD that is the same size or bigger than the XP one.
Chuck9901 wrote:
I have a two WinXP machines and I want to backup the data on each. These are being used with Software that will not run on newer OS's. I plugged the HDD into the XP machine and although it recognizes it (shows up as connected to pc), I cannot open it to view the folders on the Ext HDD. Anyone have any ideas? The are brand new WD MyPassport 1TB external HDD's.
Some of the WD MyPassports need a weird driver to work in XP.
Look in your device manager and see if you see a ! on an 'SES Device'. If you do it's because it's a 3.0 USB controller with a security chip and it doesn't automatically install when you plug it in.
http://download.wdc.com/smartware/WD_SES_Device_Driver.zip
Download that from WD, install it and you should be good.
The drive has a letter and it is NOT a networked pc - it is a stand alone....no external connection(s).
While I appreciate every response, why are you talking about Clonezilla? I don't see how that would get an external hard drive to be recognized. Please advise.
Thank so much for your response. I did not look at Device Manager but will when I go back to the office tomorrow. Thanks for the WD driver link. I will have it ready to go.
I will double check to make sure it is SP3. Great suggestion.
Alan Hult - I checked and my drive is GPT! I think you hit the nail on the head. Because it was NTFS, I just assumed MBR.
I will report back to the group tomorrow after I visit the site with the re-formatted drives.
Hi Chuck9901. Hopefully that WD driver will solve your problem.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding your needs. When you say, "I have a two WinXP machines and I want to backup the data on each", I am assuming that you need to have a complete copy of the XP hard drive (OS and files, etc) and hence the reference to Clonezilla which is designed to make a complete copy of the hard drive. It is modern and will recognise the WD Passport so that if you boot Clonezilla on a USB stick then you can go through the steps of making an image of the hard drive which can be stored on the WD Passport.
If you just want to copy data from it to the WD Passport then I can recommend Linux Distros that will happily boot from a USB stick and read the XP NTFS so that it can copy the data you want with a click and drag.
Anyhow, the WD driver should do what you need and if it does not then there are the alternative ways that I have suggested for you.
2300peterw wrote:
Hi Chuck9901. Hopefully that WD driver will solve your problem.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding your needs. When you say, "I have a two WinXP machines and I want to backup the data on each"...
That was thoughtful to provide an alternative for him. However, to me it sounds like he wants to be able to use these drives with some type of automated method and/or recurring backups, not a one-time backup that requires a live boot disc. Personally, I do use Clonezilla for archiving and transporting some images, but it's not practical for a basic workstation-level backup on any type of regular basis.
Peter, thanks for your explanation. I am planning to use Windows Backup. I have never used Clonezilla but I might try it on another project. Have you ever used Acronis? That is my go-to program right now but I'm always open to something new. Thanks
Chuck9901, No, I have never used Acronis but from all the reports that I have read it is a good cloner. If you have a good product that you like and are familiar with then carry on using it. I am not sure how Acronis keep what you have got up to date so that as new hardware comes out it is still able to boot and recognise it. Presumably, you can download a new version every so often.
Certainly, Clonezilla is updated frequently and is free to download. Clonezilla uses a menu driven procedure and for the main part you just accept the defaults and connect your USB storage (in your case) when requested to do so. The first time you use it, it takes awhile as you check what you are doing, but after 2 uses it is a very fast procedure. If you want to image and clone to smaller HD then that needs a bit of work and I would not recommend it - always use same size or bigger. If you want to install a OS, etc, and copy that to many PCs then install the OS, etc, on the one with the smallest HD and make your image of that so that the copies all fit and work with a little spare unallocated bit of storage left at the end on the other PCs.
Acronis is a great tool and easy to use. Clonezilla is a little more technical but equally effective
Chuck9901 wrote:
Alan Hult - I checked and my drive is GPT! I think you hit the nail on the head. Because it was NTFS, I just assumed MBR.
I will report back to the group tomorrow after I visit the site with the re-formatted drives.
That will do it. You'd have to wipe that disk and diskpart->clean it to get rid of the GPT in another machine before XP will read it.
If you can see the drive letter in the XP box then you won't need that driver. Just put it in a newer machine, open diskpart, select the disk, clean it (this will completely erase the disk!) then pop it back in the XP box and setup the backup.
p2v these PCs drives then virtualize em!
Big_Mark wrote:
p2v these PCs drives then virtualize em!
IMO, This is what i would do with them. Then include the VM in your backups
Xp your are stuck with smaller format hard drives.
I would build a virtual windows xp machine and use smaller thumb drives to port them across or if you have access to them via network clone them to the other machine. I have win 3.0, 3.1, 3.11, xp, 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, 7, 8, 10 all running on my Linux box... I even threw in a C 64 for a splash of color. my co workers are often confused when the c 64 spins up. Could not get a Model III session ever started my greatest shame.
External Hard Disk Not Detecting In Windows xp , how can open external drive in windows xp solution
