Thank you, Niel! I was able to mount the disk manually by following the instructions at the linkhttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT1331you provided to Apple Support Knowledge Base article HT1331.
For those in a similar situation (please read my OP above for specifics) I add the following details:
- The article has instructions for both Mac OSX and Windows XP and Vista operating systems. Obviously, followed the Windows XP branch.
- Within the Windows XP instructions, there are three options. I chose the second one:
Mounting by mapping a Network Drive
Go to My Computer (Start > My Computer)
From the menu, pull down Tools and select "Map Network Drive"
Enter a drive letter that is not in use (for example, "Z")
Enter the path to the drive. This is formatted as: \\IPaddress\drivename (for example, \\10.0.1.1\mydrive)
To complete step three, I looked at My Computer to see which drive letters were already in use (in my system, that's A:, and C: through G:), then I chose the next available drive letter (H:).
To complete step four, I got the IPaddress parameter from the Airport Utility's main screen, 'IP Address' field. I got the drivename parameter from the Airport Utility's Settings > Disks > Disks tab, 'Name' field.
Thereafter the drive appeared in My Computer along with the other disks and devices attached to my system.
Now, I ask for additional advice: how can I make this process automatic for future connections and disconnections of this USB drive (or other USB drives connected to the Airport Extreme Base Station)? In other words: a USB device connected directly to a USB port on the computer is automatically recognized and added to the system's devices. Can the same automatic connection be made with a device connected to the USB port on the AEBS?