View Full Version : My old computer (Win98) won't recognize my external HDD - Help!
javeryh
03-31-2007, 12:02 PM
I hooked my external HDD up to my old computer to try and transfer some files but it is not being recognized - is there any way to fix this? The HDD is usually hooked up to my laptop which runs XP. I have the driver CD and it says the drivers don't match what I'm trying to install. I think it might be a USB 2.0 issue because my old computer only had USB 1.1 or something...
Thanks.
Kendro
03-31-2007, 12:26 PM
You should try going to the website of the company that made your HDD and download their latest 98 drivers. Just about all external hard drives are only supported by Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) so that might be a problem as well if you have only the original release of 98.
johnnypark
03-31-2007, 12:32 PM
^What Kendro said. Check the website, might have to update your OS. Check the site's forums, too, see if anyone else has had the same problem.
Or just upgrade your OS :)
bmulligan
04-01-2007, 03:11 AM
It should still work even if the drive is 2.0 and the port is 1.1, it'll just default to the slower transfer speed. More than likely it's a driver issue.
Do you get the pop up window and "ding-dong" acknowledging the connection at least ?
It does sound like a driver issue, but...
Be aware that if the HDD is formated with NTFS, then win98 won't be able to read it no matter what...
javeryh
04-01-2007, 05:08 PM
After further research and looking at the drivers, I think it's just incompatible. I ended up burning 17 data CDs to transfer the files (and archive them, I guess). What a pain!
I'm going to wipe that computer clean and install XP (or TinyXP if I can figure it out) - will that fix the problem or do you think it is purely hardware related?
Vinny
04-01-2007, 08:15 PM
I'm almost sure it was because the computer was a Win98. Externals weren't all too common back then and I doubt any recent externals are compatible with Win 98. Win98's plug and play features weren't the best either.
If your external works with another computer, and your Win98 computer can read other USB devices- I'd definitely say it was a Win98 problem.
javeryh
04-01-2007, 08:20 PM
I'm almost sure it was because the computer was a Win98. Externals weren't all too common back then and I doubt any recent externals are compatible with Win 98. Win98's plug and play features weren't the best either.
If your external works with another computer, and your Win98 computer can read other USB devices- I'd definitely say it was a Win98 problem.
That must be it - I am using the external with my laptop and my other computer recognizes other USB stuff (printer, gamepad, etc.) so it's probably that. Hopefully a full install of XP will fix the problem...
uli2000
04-02-2007, 08:23 PM
It does sound like a driver issue, but...
Be aware that if the HDD is formated with NTFS, then win98 won't be able to read it no matter what...
This is it. Externals were as equally avalible in the days of Win98 as they are now (though cost was a much bigger factor then). YOur drive is most likely formated ntfs, which win98 cant recognize. If you want to use the drive between both computers, back up the info on it and format it to fat32.