How to read a HDD with Vista on it in XP

[Guest]

Hi

I've installed Vista on a HDD, and now I want to read it in XP. I removed
the HDD from the computer I used to install Vista, and put it in an external
HDD case, and then tried to access the disk via USB, but for some reason XP
can't recognize the HDD at all, it just won't show up in XP.

Does Vista do something special to the partition which makes it unreadable
in XP? Or am I doing something wrong?

 

[Rock]

Hi

I've installed Vista on a HDD, and now I want to read it in XP. I removed
the HDD from the computer I used to install Vista, and put it in an
external
HDD case, and then tried to access the disk via USB, but for some reason
XP
can't recognize the HDD at all, it just won't show up in XP.

Does Vista do something special to the partition which makes it unreadable
in XP? Or am I doing something wrong?

What do you mean "it won't show up"? Does it appear in Windows Explorer?
What about in Disk Management? Is the drive jumpered properly?

 

[Malcolm H]

Hi

I've installed Vista on a HDD, and now I want to read it in XP. I removed
the HDD from the computer I used to install Vista, and put it in an
external
HDD case, and then tried to access the disk via USB, but for some reason
XP
can't recognize the HDD at all, it just won't show up in XP.

Does Vista do something special to the partition which makes it unreadable
in XP? Or am I doing something wrong?

I have XP and Vista installed on two separate internal disks. All files on
both disks are accessible from either operating system as are all files on
any external disks I use.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

You may need to run diskmgmt.msc and use the 'import foreign disk' function.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Ron Sommer]

How do you know that the USB enclosure isn't the problem?
--
Ronald Sommer

: Hi
:
: I've installed Vista on a HDD, and now I want to read it in XP. I removed
: the HDD from the computer I used to install Vista, and put it in an
external
: HDD case, and then tried to access the disk via USB, but for some reason
XP
: can't recognize the HDD at all, it just won't show up in XP.
:
: Does Vista do something special to the partition which makes it unreadable
: in XP? Or am I doing something wrong?
:

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

A good point. Some enclosures are problematic under Vista.

 

[Richard Urban]

I tested three cheap enclosures that a friend got at a computer fair. None
of them worked with Vista.

Conversely, I have never had an enclosure made by Adaptec that had any
design problems. But, you get what you pay for.

People fail to realize that there is an electronic interface within the
enclosure that is supposed to identify itself to the computer so that the
O/S knows which driver to use. If this interface is mucked up, no driver
will be suitable.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

And Vista is a lot pickier than XP. I have an enclosure that works fine
when I am in XP but simply is not recognized by Vista, even on the same box.
It is in the firmware in the enclosure.

 

[Richard Urban]

Yep! And a $14.95 enclosure is not likely to have firmware updates. Not
likely to have support of any kind at all.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Jay]

Many people who have responded have suggested that it may be the enclosure that Vista doesn't like.
If I've understood the original poster correctly, he has plugged the HDD+enclosure into the USB of
an XP PC, not a Vista PC. In that case, I assume that if it is an enclosure problem, it is the XP PC
that has the problem with it.

Hi

I've installed Vista on a HDD, and now I want to read it in XP. I removed
the HDD from the computer I used to install Vista, and put it in an external
HDD case, and then tried to access the disk via USB, but for some reason XP
can't recognize the HDD at all, it just won't show up in XP.

Does Vista do something special to the partition which makes it unreadable
in XP? Or am I doing something wrong?

 

[Daze N. Knights]

Perhaps the XP disk is formatted with FAT32 and the Vista disk is
formatted with NTFS? FAT cannot "see" NTFS.

Daze

 

[Richard Urban]

A modern Windows operating system can see a disk that is formatted as fat16,
fat32 or NTFS. Vista just can not be installed on other than a NTFS
partition. Many have been using a mix of both fat32 and NTFS
drives/partitions on their computers for years. Also, USB thumb drives are
formatted using the fat file system and can be used fine with Win2K, Windows
XP and Vista.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Daze N. Knights]

You're saying that, from a FAT32-formatted partition with Windows, one
can see the files on another partition that is formatted with NTFS?

Daze

 

[Frank]

You're saying that, from a FAT32-formatted partition with Windows, one
can see the files on another partition that is formatted with NTFS?

Daze

Windows installed on a FAT partition will not see any NTFS (unless you
use a 3rd part utility like NTFS98Pro).
Windows on NTFS will see all FAT's.
Frank

 

[Daze N. Knights]

That's exactly what (I thought) I said, but Richard seemed to be
disputing it. Anyway, I was suggesting that the OP may be trying to see
a NTFS-formatted hard drive (with Vista on it) *from* a FAT32-formatted
hard drive with XP (currently running) on it, which cannot ordinarily be
done.

Daze
---------

 

[Frank]

That's exactly what (I thought) I said, but Richard seemed to be
disputing it. Anyway, I was suggesting that the OP may be trying to see
a NTFS-formatted hard drive (with Vista on it) *from* a FAT32-formatted
hard drive with XP (currently running) on it, which cannot ordinarily be
done.

Daze

I'm sure that's what Richard meant.
He's knows what he's talking about.
Frank

 

[Daze N. Knights]

I know he does, as I've learned from him here. (Surely much more than
he's learned from me. ) So I was assuming that he just misunderstood
me, probably either because I didn't express myself well enough or he
was reading me too fast.

Daze
-------

 

[Michael Cecil]

That's exactly what (I thought) I said, but Richard seemed to be
disputing it. Anyway, I was suggesting that the OP may be trying to see
a NTFS-formatted hard drive (with Vista on it) *from* a FAT32-formatted
hard drive with XP (currently running) on it, which cannot ordinarily be
done.

XP can read NTFS drives no matter what filesystem it is itself installed
upon. XP doesn't somehow gain the ability to read NTFS just by being
installed on NTFS.

 

[Frank]

XP can read NTFS drives no matter what filesystem it is itself installed
upon. XP doesn't somehow gain the ability to read NTFS just by being
installed on NTFS.

You're right. Need to clarify this FAT/NTFS thing. WinX's (95-ME)
installed on FAT's cannot see NTFS unless you use some 3rd party utility
such as NTFS98PRO.
WinNT's (2k & UP) can see everything no matter which file allocation
(FAT32/NTFS) they're installed on.
I think the above is correct...correct?
Frank

 

[Richard Urban]

That is precisely what I am saying.

Win2K and Windows XP have native ability to work with partitions/disks that
are formatted using the NTFS file system - even though the operating system
is installed on a fat32 partition. The O/S's are file system agnostic. They
O/S's can work with any DOS type or NTFS type partition.

As a double check on my information I just installed Windows XP again on a
Virtual machine under VirtualPC 2007 (running under Vista). I installed the
O/S on a fat32 partition I created during the install. After I booted up
into windows XP I created a 2nd partition in the unallocated space as NTFS.

I am able to download files to this NTFS partition and then install the
downloaded program from said NTFS partition to the operating system that
resides on the fat32 partition.

It has been this way for ages. I just wanted a refresher for myself as
reinforcement for my information.

BTW: I can also access the NTFS partitions in my host computer under while
using Vista.



--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!