winME can't detect 120 gig HD w/ntfs..

[leepalao]

my friend has been using windows xp with a secondary 120 gig HD that was being format using ntfs to store data. Now, he doesn't really like xp because of drivers issues so he decide to go back to windows ME. after doing a clean install of ME, he can't detect the 120 gig HD in windows anymore although it did appear in cmos. I think that windows ME using fat32, and the slave HD using ntfs MIGHT have something to do with it. He has a lot of stuff on the 120 gig HD and doesn't want to mess with it. On top of that, he also wants windows ME. So, what's the solution to this? windows ME update? some setting somewhere that we can just change? some driver, or software we can use? Remember, the 120 gig HD doesn't show at all in windows ME, but it show in XP, or 2000 in my computer. Thanks.

His computer is an HP p3 600mhz.

[newme]

cant say for sure but i think there is 60 gb limit with me.i think you have to use an overlay or controller card,could be wrong but this will bump it to get everyones attention.

[reverendantibagl]

Im pretty sure ME cant read NTFS. If he wants to stay with ME you might look into backing up the important stuff on the drive and formatting in fat32.

[GaryRouth]

Hi Leepalao

As the good reverend mentions, WinMe can't read NTFS volumes, only WinNT/2000/XP can. To quote an Anandtech FAQ article,
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"Before you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, consider the following:
The conversion to NTFS is essentially a one-way process. After you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot convert it back to FAT or FAT32. To restore back to FAT32, you will either need to FDISK, or use a third party program such as Partition Magic."
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The solution for your friend is to use Partition Magic to convert the partition to FAT32. Fdisk would destroy all the data on the drive. Partition Magic can convert the partition without destroying the data.

[Or he can try WinXP again (which is a wonderful OS. . . ) perhaps the driver updates that made life difficult for him on his first try are a bit more refined by now. . . ]

If he has an older version of Partition Magic, he can purchase the newer, XP NTFS compatible, version at a substantial discount. (There also might be student discounts available). Version 7 is XP NTFS compatible, I think it's full retail is about $70. (I have a copy myself - it's a bit amazing what it can do).
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Note of warning: because NTFS has features that FAT32 doesn't have, it's possible that data will be lost in the conversion, and some files cannot be converted at all . . . Have your friend browse pages 73-76 in the Partition Magic 7 User Guide (probably readable online at their website: "NTFS Information Lost When Converting to FAT or FAT32" (the page numbering might be different online - compared to a hard copy).

Hope this helps
. . . Gary

(I think he ought to try XP again)

[Confused]

If you decide to go the Partition Magic route www.directdeals.com has version 7 for $33.00 and version 8 for $36.00
Chas

[leepalao]

Okay, thanks u guys. I'll let my friend knows his options. Because he can't even see the secondary HD in windows ME, he'll have to reinstall windows Xp, then use partition magic to convert it back to FAT32, then reinstall windows ME on the master HD. For anyone to like their recovery HP windows ME disc more than a clean windows xp is beyond me!