[External Hard Drive Woes]

Western Digital Passport portable external hard drive. It is a 2.5" drive with a USB connection, no power supply.

For the first one:

Does the cord have 2 usb plugs that go into the pc? All my externals that I have had have had a total of 3 connectors on the cord. Think of it this way one for data and one for power...

You might not be getting enough power to the drive for windows to use it fully...

As for the second drive:

It might just be dead...

No, the cords don't have 2 pc-side plugs. They are just like the one that came with the HDD, but if I find one like what you describe I will give it a whirl. Any idea where I could find one?

All external (2.5") drives I've seen are just normal drives in

a small enclosure and can be attached directly to a computer.

With P-ATA drives you would need a simple adapter that converts

the pin-spacing from the 2.5" to a regular 3.5" connector

http://msfn.videoripper.org/pata25.jpg

while a SATA drive can be connected as is.

http://msfn.videoripper.org/sata25.jpg

There are also 1.8" drives around, but these will only be found

in embedded devices like MP3-players and if you want to connect

these to a PC, you'll need a special adapter with powerconvertor.

http://msfn.videoripper.org/pata18.jpg

Sometimes you'll have to strip everything away to get to the actual

drive, but 999 out of 1000 times it really is just a standard drive.

Greetz,

Peter.

Well it is a standard 3.5" SATA drive but unfortunately it has a PCB soldered directly to the SATA ports.

here is where hte mini-usb connector fell off, this is the side of the hard drive:

and here is where it is soldered onto the ports:

[External Hard Drive Woes]

I have 2 external hard drives that I am having trouble with.

The first is a Western Digital Passport portable external hard drive. It is a 2.5" drive with a USB connection, no power supply. I plug it in and the light on the drive comes on but it does not appear in My Computer or Disk Management, and in Safely Remove Hardware it is only labeled as "USB device"

I have tried multiple computers (all XP), USB cables, and ports. Is there anything I can do to get the files off it or is it doomed?

I don't get any warnings or errors or anything when I plug it in. I hear the noise that occurs when you plug in stuff like thumb drives and also when you remove them. It doesn't show up in disk management and I haven't changed anything on the computers that I'm using.

The second is a Seagate that was damaged in shipping. It is out of warranty so I cracked it open. From what I can tell just looking at it, it should be in working order except that the mini-USB connector has simply popped off. I can't just plug the SATA directly to my motherboard because of how the PCB is connected.

So what I'm wondering is how I should go about getting the data off of it? If I soldered the mini-USB connector back on it would work fine, correct? I don't know how to solder and I only have a handful of friends who can, and they aren't very good at it. It's a pretty small connector, I wouldn't be comfortable doing it myself even if I bought a soldering iron and learned how. Can I take it somewhere that will do it for me?

Thanks in advance.

[Can't get unattended installation to work]

oops I guess I left out the time zone huh

now that is completed for me but it still asks me to "take a minute and set up windows XP" where it asks about the firewall settings and other stuff.

[Can't get unattended installation to work]

Did nLite generate a WINNT.SIF file, is it in your i386 folder, and if so, could you post that?

yes, here it is

; Generated by nLite 1.4.9.1

[Data]

AutomaticUpdates="Yes"

Autopartition=0

MsDosInitiated=0

UnattendedInstall="Yes"

[unattended]

UnattendMode=DefaultHide

UnattendSwitch="No"

OemPreinstall="Yes"

OemSkipEula="Yes"

FileSystem=*

WaitForReboot="No"

NoWaitAfterTextMode=1

NoWaitAfterGUIMode=1

DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore

NonDriverSigningPolicy=Ignore

Hibernation="No"

[GuiUnattended]

OemSkipWelcome=1

[Components]

Iis_common=Off

Iis_ftp=Off

Iis_inetmgr=Off

Iis_internetdataconnector=Off

Iis_nntp=Off

Iis_serversideincludes=Off

Iis_smtp=Off

Iis_webadmin=Off

Iis_webdav=Off

Iis_www=Off

Iis_www_vdir_scripts=Off

Iis_asp=Off

[userData]

ProductKey=""

[RegionalSettings]

LanguageGroup=1

Language= "0409"

[Networking]

InstallDefaultComponents="Yes"

[WindowsFirewall]

Profiles=WindowsFirewall.TurnOffFirewall

[WindowsFirewall.TurnOffFirewall]

Mode=0

[Can't get unattended installation to work]

I'm having trouble getting my customized installation to be unattended, and during installation asks me about settings that I have specified in nLite. this is what it looks like when I install from .iso in VirtualBox. why does it do this or how can I fix it?

this is my .ini file copy and pasted

[Main]

Env = 1.4.9.1 - 2.0.50727.832.Microsoft Windows NT 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2

Target = Windows XP Professional SP3 - 5.1.2600.5512 - English (United States)

[Tasks]

Remove Components

Unattended Setup

Tweaks

Create a Bootable ISO

Options

[Components]

;# Applications #

Accessibility Options

Defragmenter

Games

Internet Games

NT Backup

Pinball

Screensavers

;# Drivers #

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

Display Adapters (old)

IBM PS/2 TrackPoint

IBM ThinkPad

ISDN

Logitech WingMan

Microsoft SideWinder

Serial Pen Tablet

Sony Jog Dial

Toshiba DVD decoder card

;# Hardware Support #

Brother Devices

CPU Transmeta Crusoe

Firewire Network support

Gravis Digital GamePort

Multi-port serial adapters

Ramdisk

Windows CE USB Host

;# Keyboards #

(all keyboards)

;# Languages #

(all languages)

;# Multimedia #

AOL ART Image Format Support

DirectX diagnostic tool

Intel Indeo codecs

Mouse Cursors

Music Samples

Speech Support

;# Network #

Client for Netware Networks

Communication tools

Comtrol Test Terminal Program

Connection Manager

FrontPage Extensions

MSN Explorer

Netmeeting

NetShell Cmd-Tool

Network Diagnostic

Network Monitor Driver and Tools

NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Protocol

Peer-to-Peer

Share Creation Wizard

Synchronization Manager

Windows Messenger

;# Operating System Options #

Administrative Templates

Administrator VB scripts

Blaster/Nachi removal tool

Color Schemes

Disk and Profile Quota

Disk Cleanup

Document Templates

Extensible Storage Engine (Esent97)

FAT to NTFS converter

File and Settings Wizard

Format drive support

Help and Support

Manual Install and Upgrade

MS XML 2.0

Private Character Editor

Search Assistant

Service Pack Messages

Shell Media Handler

Tour

Zip Folders

;# Services #

Alerter

Application Layer Gateway

Distributed Link Tracking Client

Indexing Service

Messenger

Network DDE

QoS RSVP

Quality of Service (QoS)

Remote Registry

RPC Locator

Simple TCP/IP Services

System Restore Service

Telnet

;# Directories #

DOCS

SUPPORT

VALUEADD

;# Compatibility #

Compat01

Compat02

Compat03

Compat04

Compat06

Compat14

Compat15

Compat16

[KeepFiles]

msconfig.exe

odbccp32.dll

msvbvm60.dll

hhctrl.ocx

npptools.dll

net.exe

net1.exe

taskkill.exe

tasklist.exe

ping.exe

ftp.exe

ipconfig.exe

tracert.exe

xcopy.exe

dmocx.dll

[RemoveFiles]

clock.avi

yahoo.bmp

swtchbrd.bmp

telnet.exe

[Options]

DupeFiles

ProfilesDir = "%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings"

TargetPath = "WINDOWS"

temp_dir = %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp

DelDrivers

AdvTweaks

[Patches]

TcpIp = 1000

DoUxTheme

[services2]

[Tweaks]

Boot and Shutdown-Ctrl-Alt-Del at logon-Enabled

Boot and Shutdown-Logon Page-Welcome screen

Boot and Shutdown-Numlock-Off

Boot and Shutdown-Status Messages-Default

Desktop-Internet Explorer icon-Hide

Desktop-My Documents icon-Hide

Desktop-My Network Places icon-Hide

Desktop-Recycle Bin icon-Show

Explorer-Add 'Command Prompt' to folder context menu

Explorer-Advanced Search: preconfigure options

Explorer-Disable Autorun

Explorer-Disable Prefix: Shortcut to

Explorer-Disable shortcut arrow

Explorer-Display the contents of system folders

Explorer-Launch folder windows in a separate process

Explorer-Restore previous folder windows at logon

Explorer-Show Drive Letters in front of Drive Names

Explorer-Show extensions of known file-types

Explorer-Show hidden files and folders

Explorer-Show the full path in the Address Bar

Internet Explorer-Disable Internet Explorer link creation

Internet Explorer-Disable Market Place bookmark

Internet Explorer-Disable Media Player 6.4 created bookmarks

Internet Explorer-Disable Outlook Express link creation

Internet Explorer-Keep IE URL-History for-20 Days (default)

Internet Explorer-Set Homepage-www.google.com

Internet Explorer-Set IE-Cache limit to-20 MB

Internet Explorer-Set Internet Explorer to accept 10 connects at a time

Network-Allow receiving Remote Assistance-Disable

Network-Remote Desktop-Disable

Performance-Disable Tracking of Broken Shortcut Links

Performance-Do not cache thumbnails

Privacy-Remove Alexa

Security-Disable Firewall notification

Start Menu-Clear most recently opened documents list on logoff

Start Menu-Control Panel-Display as a link

Start Menu-Disable Highlight newly installed programs

Start Menu-My Computer-Display as a link

Start Menu-My Documents-Display as a link

Start Menu-My Music-Display as a link

Start Menu-My Network Places-Don't display this item

Start Menu-My Pictures-Display as a link

Start Menu-Network Connections-Don't display this item

Start Menu-Number of programs on Start menu-10

Start Menu-Printers and Faxes-Display as a link

Start Menu-Reduce popup delay

Start Menu-Remove Search For People from Search

Start Menu-Remove Search the Internet from Search

Start Menu-Remove Set Program Access and Defaults

Start Menu-Use small icons in Start Panel

Taskbar-Lock the Taskbar-Yes

Visual Effects-Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing-Disable

Visual Effects-Show translucent selection rectangle-Enable

Windows Media Player-Accept Privacy Statement

Windows Media Player-Disable auto-add music to library

Windows Media Player-Disable automatic codec download

Windows Media Player-Disable metadata retrieval

Windows Media Player-Disable MRU

Windows Media Player-Disable scripting commands

Windows Media Player-Disable silent acquisition

Windows Media Player-Disable starting with Media Guide

Windows Media Player-Enhanced privacy settings

Windows Media Player-Optimize fullscreen mode behavior

Windows Media Player-Remove all context menu entries

Windows Media Player-Zoom video to window size

[unattended]

ComputerType = Automatic

HibernationNo

FirewallOff

MaximumDataStorePercentOfDisk = 12

RestorePointLife = 30

DesktopTheme = Default||

IISInstall = 2

AutoUpdates = 2

AutoUDay = 5

AutoUHour = 15

ProgFilesPath = "\Program Files"

[DesktopThemes]

C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\Husky.Theme

C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\Royale.Theme

[NetAdapter1]

connname = ""

macaddress = ""

ipaddress = "192.168.0.1"

subnetmask = "255.255.255.0"

defaultgateway = ""

dnsserver1 = ""

dnsserver2 = ""

winsserver = ""

netbiossetting = "0"

ipxnetworknumber = "00000000"

ipxnetworkframetype = "0xFF"

[GuiRunOnce]

[Drivers]

[Hotfixes]

[Making 3 Installs, I Have Questions On The Options]

sorry to double post but ive got a lot of questions here, and im trying to organize it and generalize them to make it easier on you guys. so heres the most general ones and ill ask specifics later when i have more time.

first things first is compatibility

what is NT Backup | Volume Shadow Copy or how do i determine if i need it?

about drivers, i can just delete all of them and then install my own, correct? like cameras/camcorders will be replaced by my Canon/Sony drivers, display will be replaced by nvidia, wireless ethernet by Linksys, etc? but i have a ThinkPad so i think i need "Display Adapters (old)" but will i need "IBM PS/2 TrackPoint" or "IBM Thinkpad" or both?

for hardware support, if im not sure should i remove it or keep it?

for multimedia, what exactly is "Images and Backgrounds" and it sounds like something XPize would replace, is it? also is it ok to remove the Intel Indeo codecs if you add them back in with K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, or could there be compatibility issues?

under network, im not sure if this is relevant or not but i have Vonage. is there anything i need to make sure i keep in order to keep Vonage working?

OS options, again should i remove or keep if im not sure?

also, is there a preferred way to test (VirtualPC or VMWare) or one that runs better than the other?

[Making 3 Installs, I Have Questions On The Options]

i am making 3 nLited Windows installations. 1 is XP Media Center Edition, and 2 are XP Pro. the MCE and 1 Pro is for a desktop, and the 2nd Pro is for a laptop. i planned on making a base installation, removing everything that none of the 3 need, and then customize the base 3 times to suit each installation. so i made a base install from XP Pro and used that .ini to make a base for MCE becuase i figured they might be a little different.

i have a few questions. is there a place where i can find more documentation on the different options? something more in depth than what is in nLite? there were some things i had questions on but if there is already a topic explaining that, i dont want to waste anyone's time. but if not i will ask some more questions.