XP does not recognise my second hard disk

[patti]

My PC has two hard disks - a 20 GB master and a 40GB slave, and is set up
to dual boot with Windows 98SE and XP installed in separate partitions on
the 20GB hard disk. While 98SE recognises both installed hard disks, XP will
only recognise the 20 GB master disk. Is there anything I missed when
installing XP?Thanks for any help or advice you can give me.

Stanley

 

[Guest]

Try right clicking on "My Computer" than chose "Manage" than chose "Disk
Management" on the left (in XP). Now do you see both of your hdd's listed?
If so what is the "type" and "status?" I do not reccomend using 98 if you
have xp. 98 does not support NTFS which is a much faster and more secure FS.
You can convert your Fat into NTFS through the command prompt. Looks like
im getting away form the main point. Let me know what is the type and its
status? Try right clicking on the drive you dont see and change it to
active or basic, I cant remember which it is. It should not mess up your
files on the hdd. Good luck and reply here, ill be looking out for it.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Stanley.

As Jesse said, Disk Management is the tool to use. This is a new utility
that first appeared in Win2K, 5 years ago. It replaces the old DOS programs
FDISK and Format, plus it (re)assigns drive letters, which we did with
Device Manager in Win9x/ME.

Set up Disk Management to suit yourself by clicking View. I like to have
the Volume List at the top and the Graphical Display at the bottom, but you
can suit yourself. Click Help | Help Topics and explore; there are tons of
information about hard drives and file systems here.

You might need to initialize that second HD, or otherwise tweak it so that
WinXP can recognize it.

RC

 

[patti]

Hi guys, Thanks for your advice. I followed your instructions but nothing
happened. The second HD was not recognised. I also have an external 40 GB
Buslink HD, and that also was not recognised on XP until it was powered up
with XP running (but I did have software for that Buslink HD).

I should add that there is one complication on my PC. I have a 120 MW LS120
installed which doubles as a 1.44 MB floppy drive, although it needs the
same EIDE connection as any other HD. On Win 98SE, BelArc Advisor
identifies it as having a floppy drive, with my master HD identified as
Drive 0 and the slave HD as Drive 1. On XP, however, my master HD is Drive
0, bit it is the LS120 which is identified as Drive 1, with no mention of my
40GB slave disk.

I don't understand why XP should prove to be so difficult to use. Win 95,
98, and ME gave me no trouble. I am quickly losing patience with XP.
Any further suggestions would be welcome.

Stan

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Stan.

On XP, however, my master HD is Drive 0, bit it is the LS120 which is
identified as Drive 1, with no mention of my 40GB slave disk.

If you unplug the LS-120, does WinXP's Disk Management see your slave drive
as Drive 1? Is your 40 GB HD connected (and jumpered) as Primary Slave, as
Secondary Slave or as Secondary Master? Same question for the LS-120?

I have a 120 MW LS120 installed which doubles as a 1.44 MB floppy drive,
although it needs the same EIDE connection as any other HD.

I've never had an LS-120 drive, but I suspect that this is the root of your
problem. Not that the LS-120 is not a good idea, but that it uses the IDE
connection. I thought that the LS-120 connected to the FDD. Perhaps a
special Floppy Disk Drive controller to handle the LS-120 as a floppy
sometimes and as an LS-120 at other times.

Your answer may lie in the details of your LS-120 owner's manual. Make sure
that your LS-120 jumpers, cables and settings are compatible with your BIOS
and CMOS settings.

You didn't mention either LS-120 or your Buslink HD in your first post. Any
other non-typical features that we should know about in your system? If you
tell us about those, it might keep us from going on a wild goose chase - or
sending you on one. :>(

RC