HDD Like A USB Memory Stick For File Transferes

I picked up a shiny new PC yesterday much to the annoyance of the wife (oops) and verything seemed to be running nicley untill I wanted to use an old HDD like a USB memory stick for file transferes. I plugged it in and a little message popped up saying device installed (i think), but I could not find it anywhere. No folder or options as to which way I'd want to view the files and nothing on the "Computer" tab. It was like there was nothing plugged in. I know it should work as it shows on the wifes laptop with 32bit Vista on it.

A friend with a bit more Vista experience tried to install WMD from a menu which came up as failed and now tries to install on every time I switch the machine on. But also, now when I click the "Computer" tab, explorer crashes and hangs. Task manager tries to close it but nothing happens, so I have to reset the PC. It seems like the HDD is searching for something while it tries to close. Could my HDD be at fault or should I just reinstall Vista and cross my fingers? Games and the internet work fine, but I can't access the computer tab.