OT - XP can't see drive anymore .. but Mac does

shotgun

Not graphics related but I hope some tech monkeys here might help:

My external USB drive url=http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11062]link[/url is no longer readable on my XP and another XP machine I tried, but works fine on a Mac. All data remains intact.

- XP assigns it a letter.
- Disk management indicates Healthy status but incorrectly reads 100% free space.
- Autoplay / right-click on drive / command-prompt access doesn't work.
- No error message.

I am trying to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it. HD recovery service won't take it since there is no data recovery needed.

What led to this:
During boot time I must have the external HD turned off or winXP will give me the blue-screen on start. On a recent reboot I switched it off just as XP was starting out, on the crucial moment of the would-be error, and XP loaded fine... except the HD would no longer read.

Any help?

Ryan Clark

I don't know what's wrong, but here's how I'd try to fix it:

1. Find a second drive with sufficient space for your files.

2. Use a mac to back up your files onto the second drive.

3. Reformat your external drive.

Minor disc errors are sometimes preludes to more serious ones. Even if the drive seems to work again, I wouldn't trust it. Keep your important data backed up somewhere else.

EarthQuake

I think there are some formats that will read on mac but not pc, or visaversa, so that might be the problem here. Did it previously read on your PC but not anymore? If so, back it up!

Otherwise, look into backing it up and formatting with something that both mac and XP can read.

shotgun

yea guys, i guess ill make a backup (of this backup) and reformat. i reckon that should work, good call. thanks!