Can't see USB external HD in Parallels

Just installed Parallels and Windows XP on iMac.

Everything seems to be working okay, except I can't see my USB external HD. When Parallels is stopped, the external HD appears on the Mac Desktop. But when Win XP is running in Parallels, and Devices > USB > External HDD is checked, the external HD does NOT appear in the Win XP My Computer window.

I've tried different settings in the Configuration Editor USB Controller, but none seem to make any difference. Currently I have Device Status Enabled and Connection Options set to Connect to Guest OS.

What am I doing wrong or what do I need to do differently? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Please keep them as simple as possible, since I'm already feeling like I'm knee-deep in the big muddy.

Thanks

 

1. Check is Device is formatted as HPFS - will not be shown
2. Check device in Disk management

 

Thanks for the reply.

The file system on the drive is FAT32.

 

Can you see device in Disk Management?

 

How do I check it in Disk Management?

 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000

 

I do NOT see the external HD in Disk Management.

 

You didn't connect it so,
may be in Devices-USB you have several IDE devices, try to connect disconnect while it is running, also make sure, that no file is opened from that drive while you are trying to connect that device to VM

 

Tried disconnecting and reconnecting while Parallels running, but didn't make any difference.

The strange things is that, although the HD was formatted for and ran on my previous Win XP machine, it now shows up on the iMac desktop but is MIA when Parallels is running. Go figure.

 

Could you paste screenshot when this disk is selected in Disk Utility? (partition)

 

John, as much as I appreciate your continuing efforts to help, I'm beginning to think that maybe I don't really need to get this external HD to work in the Win XP mode.

Am I correct in assuming that when I do a complete Mac backup, I've also backed up all the files on the Win XP "C" drive and the shared files as well? If so, I don't need to use an external Win XP drive.

 

If you want to have VM backup, please use one of the methods described in Parallels Desktop for Mac user guide from http://www.parallels.com/en/download/file/doc/Parallels_Desktop_for_Mac_User_Guide.pdf on page 243

 

I just had the same issue again with PD4.0, fixed the same way as PD3.0 - easy http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=22027