Hi, byounk.

> I've gone
> through Computer Management

You didn't specifically mention Disk Management, which is the component of
Computer Management (actually a snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console)
that has been the main tool for managing hard drives (and other devices that
can be assigned a "drive" letter) ever since Windows 2000. Rather than go
through Computer Management, just press Start, type in "diskmgmt.msc" and
press Enter, then Maximize the window so that you are not working through a
keyhole.



In DM, click Help and then Disk Management. Search for "foreign" to find a
page or more of information on installing "foreign disks", such as moving
your old disk to your new computer.

> and the drive is there but not assigned a
> letter and I can't assign it a letter.

As I'm sure you know, letters are assigned to partitions and logical drives,
not to the entire disk. Is this disk now shown as Disk 1 (in the left-hand
column of the Graphical View)? Does that view show at least one partition
on the disk? What does the Status column (in the Volume List) show about
that partition?

Mixing IDE and SATA HDDs can be a real adventure sometimes! Older
motherboards and BIOSes always insisted on enumerating IDE devices before
SATA (or SCSI, which is where I learned this hard lesson about 10 years
ago). You may need to deal with the BIOS to get your HDDs recognized in the
proper sequence. If you tell us the make and model of your mobo/CPU/BIOS,
someone here may be able to recognize it and offer some specific advice. (A
link to the manufacturer's web page showing your hardware might help us
understand just what you are dealing with.)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@xxxxxx
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 RC 7100

"byounk" <byounk@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:185eaecaf749ada83feec8728981c259@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

>
> I had an old computer running Windows XP. I decided to build a new
> computer and bought all new components including a new hard drive and
> installed Vista on this new computer. I want to get some pictures and
> other files off the old HDD but Vista is not recognizing the old drive.
> My old HDD is an IDE and new one is SATA. I have the jumper set to
> slave (DVD is master) and when I started the computer, Vista recognized
> the drive and installed drivers, but I can't access it. I've gone
> through Computer Management and the drive is there but not assigned a
> letter and I can't assign it a letter. I've also tried converting it to
> run through USB and the same issue. Any thoughts?
>
>
> --
> byounk

"byounk" <byounk@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:185eaecaf749ada83feec8728981c259@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

>
> I had an old computer running Windows XP. I decided to build a new
> computer and bought all new components including a new hard drive and
> installed Vista on this new computer. I want to get some pictures and
> other files off the old HDD but Vista is not recognizing the old drive.
> My old HDD is an IDE and new one is SATA. I have the jumper set to
> slave (DVD is master) and when I started the computer, Vista recognized
> the drive and installed drivers, but I can't access it. I've gone
> through Computer Management and the drive is there but not assigned a
> letter and I can't assign it a letter. I've also tried converting it to
> run through USB and the same issue. Any thoughts?
>
>
> --
> byounk

byounk:
Since you indicate this HDD non-recognition problem exists when the disk is
connected both as an internal drive and also as a (external) USB device,
this is an ominous signal that you may be dealing with a defective HDD
although I do recognize that there's an indication from your post that the
drive was working just fine on the "old" computer.

In any event it would be wise to check out the disk with a HDD diagnostic
utility that's generally freely available from the disk's manufacturer.

We're assuming of course that you've correctly connected/configured
(jumpered) the drive. Also, that you've tried changing the IDE data cable.

I don't know if your new PC is equipped with two IDE channels. If it is,
have you tried connecting the drive to a different channel? Also, have you
tried connecting the drive as Master on its present IDE channel and
re:connecting your optical drive as Slave?
Anna

"byounk" <byounk@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dafe6cb10f524f4453040404fa7cfd9e@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

>
> I appreciate everyone's help with this.
>
> I do have the drive jumpered correctly and have tried switching the IDE
> cable with no luck.
>
> RC, I went through DM following your instructions, however, the drive
> still shows up as Disk 0 still without a letter. I tried to locate the
> foreign disk and nothing changed. The status says "Healthy,(Active,
> Primary Partition)"
>
> I am running an ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD
> Motherboard - with an AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W
> Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX. I don't have the BIOS
> available but it was as of January 2009.
>
>
> --
> byounk

You had previously stated "I've also tried converting it to run through USB
and the same issue.". I assume from this that you mean you installed the HDD
in an external enclosure having USB connectivity and the non-recognition
problem still existed. So when the disk was installed *either* as an
internal HDD or an external HDD, the same non-recognition problem resulted.

As previously suggested, would it not be wise to check out the disk with a
HDD diagnostic utility that hopefully can be obtained from the disk's
manufacturer to determine if the disk may be defective? Or have you
reinstalled the HDD in your old PC and it functions without problems there
so you know the disk is non-defective?
Anna

> "byounk" <byounk@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:dafe6cb10f524f4453040404fa7cfd9e@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

>>
>> I appreciate everyone's help with this.
>>
>> I do have the drive jumpered correctly and have tried switching the IDE
>> cable with no luck.
>>
>> RC, I went through DM following your instructions, however, the drive
>> still shows up as Disk 0 still without a letter. I tried to locate the
>> foreign disk and nothing changed. The status says "Healthy,(Active,
>> Primary Partition)"
>>
>> I am running an ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD
>> Motherboard - with an AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W
>> Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX. I don't have the BIOS
>> available but it was as of January 2009.
>> --
>> byounk

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23Ocqt3m3JHA.1420@xxxxxx

> You had previously stated "I've also tried converting it to run through
> USB and the same issue.". I assume from this that you mean you installed
> the HDD in an external enclosure having USB connectivity and the
> non-recognition problem still existed. So when the disk was installed
> *either* as an internal HDD or an external HDD, the same non-recognition
> problem resulted.
>
> As previously suggested, would it not be wise to check out the disk with a
> HDD diagnostic utility that hopefully can be obtained from the disk's
> manufacturer to determine if the disk may be defective? Or have you
> reinstalled the HDD in your old PC and it functions without problems there
> so you know the disk is non-defective?
> Anna

"byounk" <byounk@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:49c625e025666b445205634bb57e3765@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

> Anna, you are correct. The HDD is not recognized as either an internal
> or external USB.
>
> This is a Seagate HD. I downloaded SeaTools and ran all the tests and
> all came back PASS. The software was able to recognize the drive and
> test it, but still no connectivity.
> --
> byounk

It is puzzling.

1. Can we assume that when you re:install that HDD back into your old PC,
there's no non-recognition or any other problem affecting the drive? It
functions perfectly?

2. And you're reasonably certain your USB external enclosure is
non-defective? Assuming you have another HDD at your disposal, have you
tried installing it in the enclosure?

3. With your optical drive connected to the motherboard's IDE channel (I'm
assuming that device is an IDE, not a SATA device), have you tried
connecting the "problem" HDD to that IDE channel both as Master & Slave?
Same non-recognition problem, right?

Have you tried connecting the HDD so that it's the *only* device connected
on the IDE channel?

Have you tried jumpering the HDD as Cable Select, with or without the
optical drive connected to the IDE channel?

4. When the HDD is internally-installed, have you accessed Device Manager,
right-clicked on the "Disk drives" listing and clicked on "Scan for hardware
changes"?
Anna