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Old May 21st 08, 03:37 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers,microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices,microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware,microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware
Mike Hall - MVP
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Default 2 External USB HD for XP and ME

"Patrick Keenan" wrote in message
...
="New Orleans Novice" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have 2 PC's. 1 with XP with an External USB HD. The 2nd PC has Win
ME. Is there such a thing as an External USB HD that will work with Win
ME?


Sure. Many of them, if not most.


Where, when and how can I purchase it and install it?


There are two issues. The first is the file system - FAT or NTFS. If
the external drive is formatted NTFS, you won't access it with ME. So,
you have to ensure that the drive is formatted FAT32. You will be
limited as to the size of files you can copy to this drive. For FAT32,
the limit is around 4 gigabytes.

The second issue is simple, you install the ME driver that comes with the
external drive or case. The driver is for the circuitry of the case, not
for the drive. It won't allow you to access NTFS volumes from WinME.

The way I approach the external drive issue is to choose a case that I
like, which will be around $25 - $45, and then a drive that I think I can
trust; and where I am, a bare half-terabyte SATA3 disk is under $90.

If you do need to access NTFS volumes from ME, you can do this over a
network connection. Connect the external drive to the XP system, share
the drive, then go to the ME system and map the drive to a letter.

HTH
-pk


snippage



To work with both, you will have to use the FAT32 format..

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