View Full Version : Computer won't recognise slave drive
DubTrub
5th Dec 2006, 11:53
My work PC died last week (XP Pro), although I believe the HDD is fine (it slaves OK to a friend's XP computer OK).
I bought myself a 3.5" caddy to plug into my home PC (Win98SE) as a slave, but it doesn't recognise the drive. In BIOS, it sees it but not in "My Computer". Jumpers set correctly.
The caddy (& home PC) work fine with an exact same spec HDD (Maxtor 80Gb) that I've been using as a slave at home for a year or two.
Is it possible that because the my work HDD is XP Pro, my home Win98SE computer won't recognise it?
my home Win98SE computer - 2 thoughts, then:-
1) It is a USB cradle and have you enabled USB in W98?
2) Is it a NTFS formatted drive?
Argonautical
5th Dec 2006, 14:58
I agree, your win98 HD is FAT32 and your XP HD is NTFS.
DubTrub
5th Dec 2006, 15:34
Hi, thanks for the replies.
It's not a USB cradle, it plugs into the IDE cable.
If the HD is NTFS then is there a way round it? Or must I find another NTFS system to enable this HDD to be read?
Thanks.
Mac the Knife
5th Dec 2006, 15:40
Use Sysinternals NTFS for Windows 98 - (readonly) - free - http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/NtfsWindows98.html
Mac - thanks - never knew that existed:ok:
DaveO'Leary
5th Dec 2006, 16:11
Convert FAT/FAT32 to NTFS
1) Back-up files
Start>My Computer>Right click hd you want, then click Properties on short cut menu.
In the Properties box for the disk (note the file system which will be FAT,FAT32 or NTFS.
If the file system is listed as either FAT or FAT32, make a note of the volume label, shown in a box next to a disk drive icon at the top of the General tab.
Now lets convert them to NTFS.........
Start>All Programs>Accessories>click command prompt.
In the Command prompt type...."convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs" replacing 'drive_letter' with the letter of HD you want to convert. eg...... convert d:/fs:ntfs
Hit enter
Type the volume label THAT YOU NOTED to confirm you want to convert the drive. Hit enter.
Just in case.........If you change your mind about this, press Ctrl+C then type exit
Hope it helps
Dave
I don't think Win98 can read NTFS, can it?
Keef - see post#5 - it works!