External HD compatibility

[The Olde Man]

Thinkpad 600

So I have this external 40 gig HD which I use to backup my mainframe. There is plenty of space so why not the '600' too. Well the mainframe is USB 2.0, while the 600 is USB 1.1 or somesuch.

It refused to recognize the HD.

Would it have worked if I had done it the other way around? "Initialize' the HD with USB 1.1 and then used the USB 2.0?

[whizkid]

Your 600 should see a 40GB drive just fine. What is the partition type? What operating system is on the mainframe? What OS is on your 600?

[Six_Shooter]

I agree with Whizkid.

The fact that your external is USB 2.0 just means that it will work at 2.0 speeds on 2.0 ports. It will be backwards compatible to 1.1.

Your 600 may just not recognize the file system on the external. It may be NTSC, when the 600 is looking for FAT32.

You can check the file system by plugging it into a computer that is recognized by the external and right click on the icon, and then click on properties.

Do other USB devices work on the port on the 600?

[The Olde Man]

Not thinking too clear here. One is FAT 32, one isn't. That is probably the problem.

Thanks for the help.