Windows 7: Is my external HDD writeable or just readable

On vacation with my wife, and laptop. I brought along the internal HDD out of my desktop computer as well as a docking station to slave it to the laptop. I'd like to do some work with the desktop HDD but not sure if the data on the drive would be writeable or just readable.


thanks,

brian

It should be writable BUT if your desktop is running Win 7, you may need to "take ownership" of the files before you can have write access. Here's a tutorial about taking ownership: Take Ownership - Allow or Prevent Users and Groups To

Instead of removing the internal HDD of your desktop and carrying it along, it would have been better if you could have copied all data into another external drive and carried it. ( In any case it is advisable that you have such a backup of all your data.) Just my thoughts on it.

I like how you say.....wife and laptop LOL.

You should really get an external hard drive to do this with, as suggested.

But you should be able to read and write to it, as suggested you may have to take ownership of the data.

I should have mentioned that the two devices are both loaded with Win XP. I figured the process would be the same with XP or 7. I'll check out the tutorial, thanks

It's a long story---I have all data backed up on other ext. HDD's My initial thought was that I could bring the desktop HDD along, buy a used desktop and swap out the HDD with mine and I'd be good to go. STOP LAUGHING!! I now know it can't be done. I bought a docking station and a used XP laptop (the desktop HDD is XP) and have slaved the desktop to my used laptop. I suppose I could just add some data to the file I'm working on and see if it remains there. I would have brought the whole desktop computer with me but the wife said, "you're not hauling that thing back and forth to florida every year".

Security wasn't as tight in XP so you shouldn't need to "take ownership" of the data if both machines are running XP.

This begs the question though, if not pertaining to Win 7, why ask the question on a Win 7 forum?

Yes well, I didn't believe there would be a whole lot of XP forums still around, and as I saw it the situation I was in would have very nearly the same answer with either OS, I just asked the question on the forum I subscribed to. You are correct. After a bit of trial and error I've found that I can access my family tree maker program off the desktop HDD and work has begun. Without the help I receive and direction I am given from this forum I would have been lost.

thanks