After you connect an external hard disk drive or a USB flash drive to a computer that is running Windows Vista, the Import option in Windows Media Center may not be available

After you connect an external hard disk drive or a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive to a computer that is running Windows Vista, the Import option in Windows Media Center may not be available. The Import option is used to copy files from removable storage devices to a computer for use in Windows Media Center.

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

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 devices. The Import option in Windows Media Center is not available for local hard disk drives.

To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Media Center.
2. Click picture library or music library.
3. Right-click a picture or a video, and then click Library Setup.
4. Click to select the option button next to Add a folder to watch.
5. Follow the prompts to add a folder from an external hard disk drive, from a removable media drive, or from a network location.
   
   Note Pictures and videos in folders that are on the watch list will automatically be added to those files that are available in Windows Media Center.