I have a 40gb, ran out of space, bought a 160gb wd, (both eide), installed xp on my new drive- transfered excel docs and music to my new hard drive from my old hd via master/slave style. Now I can't open my docs and I can't open itunes. I downloaded itunes onto my new hd and it opened fine- but after I transferred the music it locked. Says it's on a locked drive- same with my office files. What's up with this?

You may need to take ownership of the files. Look at the link below to learn how.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

I already tried that and it doesn't work. I think it has something to do with the file system (ntfs, fat32,etc..) and the size of the hard drive- something about being over 127gb- but the permissions and ownership security stuff doesn't fix it-

I didn't notice the Itunes notation before. Itunes has DRM (digital rights management) incorportorated into the files. I don't think you can copy Itunes files to another harddrive.

Next issue is the file format. WinXP can use either or both FAT32 and NTFS.

The issue of the HDrive being over 127GB may be an issue if your MBoard BIOS doesn't support 48bitLBA. This would not stop you from viewing the files. WinXP with at least service pack one on the install CD can mount drives larger than 127GB. Problems may occur with data corruption of the BIOS isn't 48bit LBA compliant. This however wouldn't cause an immediate problem.

I think your issue is with Itunes. You may find someone here with more knowledge than I have with Itunes but I suggest you see if Apple has a FAZ or forum for the Itunes software to find a solution.

You stated you transferred the music files. Did you copy or cut and paste?

Going back to the issue of support for the 160GB drive. Watch the startup screens. ALL drives should be identified by model number and size. If your MBoard is 48bit compiant the 160 should show properly.