Can't read disk in USB enclosure (Vista, XP)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Thomas Tooltucker
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T

Thomas Tooltucker

Hi,

I'm presently abroad, away from my main computer, and relegated to a laptop.
Before I left home I backed up my data onto a WD 750 GB disk. I'm not sure
what format it's in - whatever XP did by default. I planned to simply
enclose the drive in a USB case upon arrival and access my data that way.

Unfortunately, although I've tried 2 USB enclosures I am unable to see the
disk in either XP or Vista. The USB device appears in the Task Tray, and
correctly identifies the disk, however it doesn't appear in Explorer.

When I look under System Administration > Storage, the disk appears as
"Foreign" and asks if I'd like to convert it to a Basic disk.

If I do this however, won't I lose my data? And while we're at it, where is
my data, and can anyone think of a reason why I wouldn't be able to see it?

Thanks,

Tom
 
Hi, Thomas.

The Help file in Disk Management is pretty good - but it is not always easy
to locate the info I'm looking for in it. But I did find 3 references for
"foreign". The best explanation may be on the "Troubleshooting Disk
Management" page. On the "Move Disks to Another Computer" page, there is
this paragraph:

"On the new computer, open Disk Management. Click Action and then click
Rescan Disks. Right-click any disk marked Foreign, click Import Foreign
Disks, and then follow the instructions on your screen."

That Help file seems unduly focused on "dynamic disks" rather than the
common "basic disks", and it also devotes a lot of space to GUID
disks -which practically nobody has yet and might not for several more
years. So we just have to read around those distractions. See the top of
the page headed "Change a Basic Disk into a Dynamic Disk", where it explains
that a dynamic disk can "span multiple volumes". My guess is that this does
not apply to your situation and that you should not worry about the caveat
that dynamic disks will be converted to basic disks when imported.

Please post back with your experience; it might help us help other users
with similar questions.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta 2 in Vista Ultimate x64)
 
Uncheck the option to convert to basic disk, then once you have dismissed
the dialog, you can choose "Import foreign disk" from the right-click menu
for the disk. This is how it works in Win2003, anyway, and I would think
that XP/Vista are similar.
 
That's it. Thanks!

Tom

Nick Payne said:
Uncheck the option to convert to basic disk, then once you have dismissed
the dialog, you can choose "Import foreign disk" from the right-click menu
for the disk. This is how it works in Win2003, anyway, and I would think
that XP/Vista are similar.
Click to expand...
 
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