Hello,

I have some computer knowledge but none as far as Windows 3.1. My question is about a friends computer. He has a computer about 10 or 11 years old that uses Windows 3.1. I think the motherboard is on the way out. Can I take the hard drive out of this computer and use it as a secondary drive in another computer using a WindowsMe operating system. Would I be able to access the files or programs on that drive? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Well it would all depend on what the hard drives are formated as.. the 3.11 hard drive is formatted as fat and depending on what the windows me harddrive is formated to then you might be able to read it.. post back with the me hdd info

Hello,

Thank you for your help. The hard drive with the WindowsMe operating system is formatted with the fat32 file system. If it was up to me I would throw the whole system in the trash but he seems to want a certain automotive program on that ancient drive. Thanks again for your help.

It doesn't matter what way the original ME drive is formatted. All versions of Windows can read FAT16, which DOS formats to.

Yes, he should be able to use the old hard drive as slave and either dual-boot or just pull off the files he wants. The problems:

To take the software off of the old computer and install it on the new could be difficult. There are probably configuration files and other things that would have to be located and transferred.

To use the drive as slave and dual-boot Me and 3.1, he would have to add drivers and change setting because it's a different computer. He'll also need to install a boot manager to allow him to select which OS at boot.

Best Luck,
Bob