Windows 7 HDD isnot recognized from vista after some time.

[vskordas]

i already have vista and xp. 4 hdds so i have many partitions to install new win 7. After installation everything was ok and all the three windows (7 32 bit - vista 32 bit - xp) was working fine.

after a few reboots vista and xp stopped recognize the win 7 HDD.
when i open windows explorer in vista or xp i can see the HDD but with no info for it (free disk space e.t.c.)
when i click on it it keeps searching and finally returns an error (I/O problem with the device)
if i reboot in win 7 everything is normal and all the disks are recognized. (So no hardware problem)
Finally the win 7 partition drive is accessible only through win 7
The strange thing is that in the first few times the disk was acessible through vista or xp too.
why this happened after sometime of the win 7 installation and not right after the installation?
Has anything to do with updates?
The disk is 1.5 TB but up to know was working fine with all windows.

Does win 7 make any changes to NTFS system so its not fully compatible with the older windows versions?


any suggestions?

PS. this happened two times. The first time i formatted the drive and i reinstlled win 7.
Same thing, at the beginning everything was ok and after some reboots (two days after) the win 7 HDD was no acessible from the older versions

tnx for your abvice,
vangelis skordas

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you are encountering a problem where after a few reboots, both Vista and XP no longer recognize the Win 7 HDD, while Win 7 itself recognizes all the disks without any issues. This issue could be related to changes made by Windows 7 to the NTFS file system that might not be fully compatible with the older versions of Windows. Here are some possible suggestions to troubleshoot and resolve this issue: 1. Check Drive Configuration: - Ensure that the drive partitions were set up correctly during the Windows 7 installation. Check the disk management tool in each operating system to see if the partitions are recognized and properly formatted. 2. Drive Letter Assignments: - Check if the drive letters assigned to the partitions are consistent across all operating systems. Sometimes, drive letter conflicts can cause issues with accessing disks. 3. File System Errors: - Run a disk check utility in Windows 7 to ensure the file system is healthy. You can do this by opening a command prompt with administrative privileges and running the command chkdsk /f on the Win 7 partition. 4. Update Drivers: - Make sure that the drivers for your hard drive controller are up to date in all operating systems. Outdated drivers can sometimes cause compatibility issues with newer operating systems. 5. Compatibility Mode: - Try running the older operating systems (Vista and XP) in compatibility mode for Windows 7. This may help in accessing the Win 7 partition more seamlessly. 6. Legacy Boot Mode: - Ensure that your system is set to boot in legacy mode rather than UEFI. The difference in boot modes can sometimes affect disk recognition across different Windows installations. 7. Windows Updates: - Check if any recent Windows updates have caused the issue. It's possible that an update in one of the operating systems interfered with the disk recognition. 8. Partition Alignment: - Verify that the partitions are properly aligned on the disk. Misaligned partitions can sometimes lead to access issues on certain operating systems. 9. Third-Party Software: - If you are using any third-party disk management software, ensure that it is compatible with all versions of Windows on your system. By following these suggestions, you may be able to identify and resolve the issue of Vista and XP not recognizing the Win 7 HDD after a few reboots. If the issue persists, further troubleshooting may be required.