External Hard drive issue

[twowheeler]

Hi everyone,I`ve just replaced my hard drive for a larger one.I have now XP PRo on laptop instead of XP Home which is on the drive i replaced.My problem is now how to access the drive i took out of machine which is now in a caddy to use as portable drive thru a usb connection.My drive isn`t being recognised by "my computer" or Device manager,i suspect it is trying to boot up,but my VGN S4Z doesnt allow to boot from external drives.Is there someway to access the drive for a couple of files,or even to format it,so that i can use it as a spare drive? The drive spins up and the pc knows that a usb connection has been made and new hardware is detected,but then reports a problem occured and might not work properley and then when i go into "my computer" it isnt recognised.Any help would be appreciated,by the way i`ve tried on two other pc`s and the same happens.I know the drive is ok because it was ok when it was in the pc.

[staby123]

When the HD is connected, have you given a look at the device manager, specifically in the USB section to see if it is recognized? ie. is there the yellow exclamation mark on the said device....

Alternatively, as an option, it might be worth downloading a Linux distro, and using the Live CD which will load that OS and maybe that might see the HD, if so, it so, it is only an option off copying and formatting the said HD.

I hope you get it sorted....

Regards..

James..

[twowheeler]

I`ve looked in device manager at all usb connections and no yellow exclamation mark,also just tried linux and that doesnt see the drive either,dont know what to try next really!.Any more sugestions ?