JimmyD75

Hi,

I got an external hard drive for a gift and the package and web site don't list Windows 2000 as compatible (only 7, Vista, and XP). I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I figured I'd ask the experts here before opening the package and ruining the eBay value.

It's a Western Digital Elements Portable 320 GB USB 2.0 and can be seen here:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=674

On a side note, these other models on the WD site (that look and sound darn similar to the one I got) are listed as compatible with Windows 2000:

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=391

and

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=408

So I called WD to ask why some of their external drives work with 2000 and some don't, and their customer support basically said it's "possible" my drive might work, just that it hasn't been tested under 2000 so they don't list it as an option or offer support.

So, can any of the people here much more knowledgeable than I about these sorts of things please give me their best educated guess/opinion as to whether or not this drive will work with my ancient OS? Thank you so much for any help you can provide.

raptor_pa

Give it a shot, not going to hurt anything if you already have the drive, you may need USB2.0 drivers for Win2K tho before it is recognized

JimmyD75

raptor_pa,

Thank you very much for the reply. The hard drive is still sealed in the box and hasn't been opened yet, so I was hoping to get some educated guesses before breaking the seal. If people who know about this sort of thing tell me they don't think it will work, then I'll just put it on eBay and a sealed package will bring in more money than an open/used one.

raptor_pa

Like I said, you may need to update drivers for windows 2k, but other than that, providing it is an externally powered drive ( has it's own power supply rather than getting power from the USB bus - then there is no good reason it won't work. Your hardware may only be USB1.1 capable so it may not transfer at the best rate, but it should work.

JimmyD75

Hi raptor_pa,

That might be a problem because the WD drive in question is powered by the USB. The web site says:

"USB powered - These drives require no power adapter; they are powered directly through the USB cable.*

* An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port."

Don't laugh but (I think) my computer is actually USB 1.0 (it's about 10 years old now), so I was hoping just to get the drive working under Windows 2000 and then I was going to get a PCI/USB 2.0 card from NewEgg for 10 dollars.

Do you think my existing USB 1.0 will not be able to power the drive? I'd hate to open the packaging, and order the optional power cable, and order the USB 2.0 card, only to find out it still will not work because of the old operating system.

When I plug my iPod into the USB port, it powers the iPod (and charges it - actually I broke the iPod charger about a year ago and now charge it exclusively through the USB port) and it shows it as a generic mass storage device in My Computer, so I assumed (hoped) that the WD drive would be able to get power the same way, and act as a mass storage device the same way. Do you not think this is possible? Thanks a lot for your help.

raptor_pa

The 2.5 inch drive is probably going to need more current than the ipod. It's one of those hit and miss things. You can order a third party cable for about $4.00 US, probably cheaper than the WD one. What that cable does is it has two USB A Plugs, one for data/power and one for power only, so it actually plugs into two USB ports to run the drive. I would think there would be enough power to run the drive, but again, it is a variable you won't know for sure till you try.

JimmyD75

Thanks a lot raptor_pa, I guess I'll think about it for a bit and then probably just try it and see what happens. The third party cable you mentioned, do you know what it's actually called so I know what to look for on the web or even do you think Best Buy might have it? Thanks again.

raptor_pa

Best buy probably has it, don't know about the price, commonly called a USB Y Cable as far as I have seen one link here.. http://www.bixnet.com/5vps2powercord.html again I saw them at another site for a bit less, but this is a good pic of what it looks like, and of course if your drive uses a different format connector then you would have to find that on the cable.

JimmyD75

That's perfect raptor_pa, thanks a lot for all of your help!

JimmyD75

Just to close this thread, all of my worrying was for nothing. I plugged in the drive with the supplied cable and Windows 2000 recognized it and installed it right away. Thanks again raptor_pa for all of your help and your patience.

raptor_pa

Glad it worked! I'll mark this solved.