ok so i have a WD 500GB external hard disk, however due to a problem with something, (not the hard disk) and not my windows software installation (rebooted) it keeps tripping out and saying the data cannot be read, i understand this is a pretty common problem with large external disks and xp. could i remove the plastic caseing and put the 500GB disk into the computer as another internal drive, would this solve the problem, can an external be changed into an internal ??

Mr No Name...

whats the exact error message and what do you usally do just before it happens?
are you using sp1 or sp2?
have you tried connecting the drive to a diffrent usb/firewire port?
if its connected thru usb,try disconnecting all other usb devices (if any) to see if its a power issue
check the drives health with wd's diagnostic software
http://support.wdc.com/download/inde...pid=999&swid=3

external hard drives are nothing special (its simply a regular hard drive in an external box) in most cases the drive itself is IDE , so yes an external hard drive can easily become internal, you could just take it out of the external enclosure and connect it as internal (at least if you have a desktop pc) however openning the enclosure could void your warranty , i dont think it will solve the problem

Hey,

After doing some serious revision and testing i found that its a pretty common problem with large externals and xp. i read that it is usually the brand of chip used on the usb 2.0 ports conflicting with the motherboard and processor and large disk,

eg AMD Athlon, WD 500GB, ALI usb2.0 PCI card = problem

Therefor i changed my usb card to one with a VIA brand chip on it and problem solved, i had tried everything else including rebooting windows etc.

thanks for the info on external to internal disks, but problem solved