Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

Windows XP forum: F and G Drives Are Not Recognized

by: gp2426 July 11, 2008 3:29 PM PDT

Like this

0 people like this thread

Staff pick

F and G Drives Are Not Recognized

by gp2426 - 7/11/08 3:29 PM

I have a dual boot system with Windows 98SE on drive C and Windows XP OEM on drive D. I have a floppy drive on A and a Zip 100 on E. Drive F and G are only available in safe mode. What can I do to get the F and G drive accessible when not in safe mode?
In the BIOS the primary master is on (Auto) and the secondary master is the cd-rom drive, I don't remember what the slave drive was on but the secondary slave is the CD-RW drive which is the G drive.
Any help appreciated!!
gp2426


Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

Which OS isn't seeing the drives?

by Steven Haninger - 7/11/08 5:09 PM

In Reply to: F and G Drives Are Not Recognized by gp2426

Since you boot from two drives, this can get tricky. Win98 and XP can follow different drive letter assignment conventions. As well, Win98 isn't going to see NTFS partitions. Depending on what drives were visible when you installed XP, it will move it's drive letter further down the alphabet as it sees fit. I've seen it even place a ZIP drive ahead of it's own letter. Therefore, to Win 98 and XP, your F and G drives could be different physical entities.


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

RE: Which OS System Isn't Seeing The Drives

by gp2426 - 7/11/08 10:24 PM

In Reply to: Which OS isn't seeing the drives? by Steven Haninger

Windows XP isn't seeing the drives. I boot up using the XP operating system. I can't add my printer or other software because it doesn't see the drives. In My Computer on XP it shows Local Disk (C:) and Local Disk (D:)(Windows 98SE in on the C drive and XP on the D drive). On Devices with Removable storage in XP it shows 3 1/2 Floppy as the A and the Zip 100 as the E. When I boot up in Safe mode on XP it shows the C and D drive and under the Devices with Removable storage it shows the A, E, F and G drive.
gp2426


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

By dual boot

by Steven Haninger - 7/12/08 3:02 AM

In Reply to: RE: Which OS System Isn't Seeing The Drives by gp2426

do you mean both OSs on one physical drive or separate ones? Do you remember if the ZIP was present during the XP installation process or added afterwards?..and if so, was a disk in the drive at the time? The reason I ask this is that I've seen these ZIP drives seem to seem to cause XP to handle drive letter assignments strangely with these devices. I've since learned it best to install XP by itself with no more than a floppy and one CD ROM device and plug in others after the installation.


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

So it's XP...

by R. Proffitt Moderator - 7/12/08 6:18 AM

In Reply to: F and G Drives Are Not Recognized by gp2426

My thoughts.

This can be the old upper and lower filters issue. I won't detail why or how this occurs but head straight to known solutions. I leave the why and how research to you.

1. In safe mode, device manager, find the CD/DVD drives and click on them, press the delete key and remove them. Sometimes this will correct this on the next boot. If so, done.
2. Remove the registry entries noted at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060 and no I won't tell every member to ignore looking for the error code noted and that I use this KB for the procedure. Some get hung up about the article's verbiage.

Bob


Was this reply helpful? (0)   (0)

Staff pick

Reply
Report offensive post
Email to friend

More Discussions

Forum Icon Legend

  • UnreadUnread
  • ReadRead
  • Locked threadLocked thread
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  • ModeratorModerator
  • CNET StaffCNET Staff
  • Samsung StaffSamsung Staff
  • Norton Authorized Support TeamNorton Authorized Support Team
  • AVG StaffAVG Staff
  • avast! Staffavast! Staff
  • Webroot Support TeamWebroot Support Team
  • Acer Customer Experience TeamAcer Customer Experience Team
  • Windows Outreach TeamWindows Outreach Team
  • DISH staffDISH staff
  • Dell StaffDell Staff
  • Intel StaffIntel Staff
  • QuestionQuestion
  • Resolved questionResolved question
  • General discussionGeneral discussion
  • TipTip
  • Alert or warningAlert or warning
  • PraisePraise
  • RantRant

You are e-mailing the following post: Post Subject

Your e-mail address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the e-mail and in case of transmission error. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose.

Sorry, there was a problem emailing this post. Please try again.

Submit Email Cancel

Thank you. Sent email to

Close

Thank you. Sent email to

Close

You are reporting the following post: Post Subject

If you believe this post is offensive or violates the CNET Forums' Usage policies, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the post). Once reported, our moderators will be notified and the post will be reviewed.

Offensive: Sexually explicit or offensive language

Spam: Advertisements or commercial links

Disruptive posting: Flaming or offending other users

Illegal activities: Promote cracked software, or other illegal content

Sorry, there was a problem submitting your post. Please try again.

Submit Report Cancel

Your message has been submitted and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.

Close

Your message has been submitted and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.

Close

You are posting a reply to: Post Subject

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Please refer to the CNET Forums policies for details. All submitted content is subject to CBS Interactive Site Terms of Use.

You are currently tracking this discussion. Click here to manage your tracked discussions.

If you're asking for technical help, please be sure to include all your system info, including operating system, model number, and any other specifics related to the problem. Also please exercise your best judgment when posting in the forums--revealing personal information such as your e-mail address, telephone number, and address is not recommended.

Sorry, there was a problem submitting your post. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem generating the preview. Please try again.

Duplicate posts are not allowed in the forums. Please edit your post and submit again.

Submit Reply Preview Cancel

Thank you, , your post has been submitted.

> Click here to view your post. > Manage your tracked discussions. > Track this discussion. Close

Thank you, , your post has been submitted and will appear on our site shortly.

Close