The Import option may not be available in My Pictures or in My Videos after you connect an external hard disk drive or a USB flash drive to a computer that is running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (904409)

SYMPTOMS

After you connect an external hard disk drive or a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive to a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, the Import option may not be available in My Pictures or in My Videos.

Note A USB flash drive is also known as a memory key or a thumb drive.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because some external hard disk drives and USB flash drives report themselves to Microsoft Windows as local hard disk drives instead of as removable storage. The Import command in My Pictures or in My Videos is not available for local hard disk drives.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, follow these steps to view the external drive from My Pictures or from My Videos:

Access the Media Center main menu. To do this, select the green button on the top Media Center menu bar, or press the green button on the Media Center remote.
From the main menu, select My Pictures or My Videos.

The external drive now appears.

MORE INFORMATION

Media Center Technical Support

Because Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition was included with your hardware device or system, the hardware manufacturer provides technical support and assistance for this software. Your manufacturer may have customized the installation with unique components such as specific device drivers and optional settings to maximize the performance of that manufacturer's hardware. If you require technical help with Windows XP Media Center Edition, contact your manufacturer directly because the manufacturer is best qualified to support the software that the manufacturer has installed on the hardware.

You can also visit the Windows XP Media Center Edition product information Web site at the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/