Which external HDD is compatible with Vista x64?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Qu0ll
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Q

Qu0ll

I am trying to find an external hard disk drive that is fully compatible
with Vista x64.

I purchased a Western Digital My Book Premium II drive and it doesn't work
properly even though their web site states that is Vista compatible. I
contacted them and they fairly ridiculed me for assuming that that meant it
would be compatible with 64-bit Vista. I can still use the drive to
actually copy files to but there is no 64-bit driver so the bundled software
doesn't work and Vista keeps telling me that it needs to install a driver
for this device.

I contacted Seagate about their FreeAgent Pro product and they claim it
should work even though there is also no 64-bit driver for it. I don't
trust that statement after my experience with the WD drive.

Does anyone have an external HDD that works fully with Vista x64?

--
And loving it,

-Q
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Qu0ll said:
I am trying to find an external hard disk drive that is fully compatible
with Vista x64.

I purchased a Western Digital My Book Premium II drive and it doesn't
work properly even though their web site states that is Vista
compatible. I contacted them and they fairly ridiculed me for assuming
that that meant it would be compatible with 64-bit Vista. I can still
use the drive to actually copy files to but there is no 64-bit driver so
the bundled software doesn't work and Vista keeps telling me that it
needs to install a driver for this device.
Click to expand...

Do you really need the bundled software if all you're doing is
copying/storing files?
If not, then you may simply re-format the drive which will delete the
unusable software, giving you use of all of the HDD space and just use
it for storage.
Frank
 
Frank said:
Do you really need the bundled software if all you're doing is
copying/storing files?
If not, then you may simply re-format the drive which will delete the
unusable software, giving you use of all of the HDD space and just use it
for storage.
Click to expand...

You are quite right that I don't actually need the bundled software but the
fact that Vista keeps complaining that there is no driver for this device
and the fact that it gets an "!" next to it in Device Manager bothers me. I
would just like to know if any external HDD actually has a 64-bit driver.

--
And loving it,

-Q
_________________________________________________
(e-mail address removed)
(Replace the "SixFour" with numbers to email me)
 
Qu0ll said:
You are quite right that I don't actually need the bundled software but
the fact that Vista keeps complaining that there is no driver for this
device and the fact that it gets an "!" next to it in Device Manager
bothers me. I would just like to know if any external HDD actually has
a 64-bit driver.
Click to expand...
The driver request is for the bundled software that came pre-installed
on the drive.
Otherwise no drivers are needed.
Frank
 
I have a WD My Book that I plug into the eSata port of my Vista 64bit and it
works just fine. I don't bother with any of the software that came with it.
 
I have a WD My Book that I plug into the eSata port of my Vista 64bit and
it works just fine. I don't bother with any of the software that came with
it.
Click to expand...

Mine is connected via 1394. The Button Manager doesn't work, the RAID
Manager doesn't work and the inner concentric circle on the device itself is
supposed to display the usage of the drive, It doesn't.

Western Digital told me that some of the My Book series ARE compatible with
64-bit but that the Premium II model is not.

--
And loving it,

-Q
_________________________________________________
(e-mail address removed)
(Replace the "SixFour" with numbers to email me)
 
KingOfChaos said:
Connect it via USB and the drivers will install automatically. I
attempted to connect it through firewire at first as well and Windows
wouldn't even recognize it and the disk didn't come with the drivers on
it already. So I plugged it into a USB port and BAM, Vista took care of
it.
Click to expand...

If you are referring to the same device (there are lots of different My Book
models of which some actually are 64-bit compatible) then I originally tried
USB and got the same results. I ended up with 2 devices listed in Device
Manager, one under Disk Drives which is said to be working properly and the
other under Other Devices which has an "!" next to it complaining that it
doesn't have a driver.

Are you using a My Book Premium II 2TB drive and, if so, have you looked in
Device Manager? Do you get prompted to install a driver every time Windows
starts? As I said, it does work in that I can store files on it but these
other problems are the issue here.

--
And loving it,

-Q
_________________________________________________
(e-mail address removed)
(Replace the "SixFour" with numbers to email me)
 
FYI,

I had problems with the 1394 (Fire Wire) port on 32Bit Vista. I have to
connect the drive to an USB port to get it working right.
 
It sound like you may have both the USB and Fire wire cable connected to
your PC. The problem you are having is with the fire wire. Unplug this cable
and your problem may go away.
 
Bob Eyster said:
FYI,

I had problems with the 1394 (Fire Wire) port on 32Bit Vista. I have to
connect the drive to an USB port to get it working right.
Click to expand...

I have tried it with USB as well and it is somewhat better in that the usage
feature seems to work but I still have the same problems with the driver.

--
And loving it,

-Q
_________________________________________________
(e-mail address removed)
(Replace the "SixFour" with numbers to email me)
 
It sound like you may have both the USB and Fire wire cable connected to
your PC. The problem you are having is with the fire wire. Unplug this
cable and your problem may go away.
Click to expand...

LOL. Do I sound that lame?

--
And loving it,

-Q
_________________________________________________
(e-mail address removed)
(Replace the "SixFour" with numbers to email me)
 
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