HD no longer recognizable by XP pro once used in XP Home

[Elora_Grace]

Hello, can someone please help me,

I have a WD 1200 HD in an external USB case.I was using it with XP
PRO.
I needed to transfer some files to a PC that's running XP Home. Every
thing was working fine until I returned drive to the XP Pro PC. Now XP
PRO displays "The disk in Dive H is not formattted. Do you want to
format now?"
I checked the drive under Administrative Tools -> Computer Management
-> Disk Management:
It shows the drive as blank under"File System",
were the other drives as "NTFS."

Is there anything I can do to have the drive back? I wish I don't have
to format and lose all data on it

Thank you for you time.

 

[caterbro]

blank under"File System",
were the other drives as "NTFS."

Is there anything I can do to have the drive back? I wish I don't have
to format and lose all data on it

Thank you for you time.

You can try something like this:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk


to see if the partition information can be recovered. you may need to
format it before using a utility like this- this doesn't neccessarily
destroy your data, although it certainly doesn't help.

the cause of something like this is most likely pure bad luck- the
drive had its brains scrambled somewhere between PC A and PC B.

carl

 

[John Doe]

Is there anything I can do to have the drive back? I wish I don't
have to format and lose all data on it

The first thing you do is make a clone of the hard drive. If you
ever get back into Windows, you make copies of any important files
on your computer.

Good luck.

 

[Rod Speed]

Hello, can someone please help me,

I have a WD 1200 HD in an external USB case.I was using it with XP
PRO.
I needed to transfer some files to a PC that's running XP Home. Every
thing was working fine until I returned drive to the XP Pro PC. Now XP
PRO displays "The disk in Dive H is not formattted. Do you want to
format now?"
I checked the drive under Administrative Tools -> Computer Management
-> Disk Management:
It shows the drive as blank under"File System",
were the other drives as "NTFS."

Is there anything I can do to have the drive back?

A decent recovery app should get the drive back.

I like Easy Recovery Pro, but it isnt free.

 

[OhNo]

Hello, can someone please help me,

I have a WD 1200 HD in an external USB case.I was using it with XP
PRO.
I needed to transfer some files to a PC that's running XP Home. Every
thing was working fine until I returned drive to the XP Pro PC. Now XP
PRO displays "The disk in Dive H is not formattted. Do you want to
format now?"
I checked the drive under Administrative Tools -> Computer Management
-> Disk Management:
It shows the drive as blank under"File System",
were the other drives as "NTFS."

Is there anything I can do to have the drive back? I wish I don't have
to format and lose all data on it

Thank you for you time.

the wonders of XP..........before you do anything try using ExplorerXP to
look at the drive

http://www.explorerxp.com/

its a very small prog and is more sensitive to mass storage devices.

once installed, looking in the left pane, right click My Computer then click
Manage.

Under Storage select Disc Management.............does the drive appear in
the right pane, but with no letter.

If yes, right click and give it a new letter.

You may now have to close ExXP and reopen for it to be fully recognised.

If this all works you now have the chance to save all the data to another
drive.

dj

 

[Elora_Grace]

the wonders of XP..........before you do anything try using ExplorerXP to
look at the drive

http://www.explorerxp.com/

its a very small prog and is more sensitive to mass storage devices.

once installed, looking in the left pane, right click My Computer then click
Manage.

Under Storage select Disc Management.............does the drive appear in
the right pane, but with no letter.

If yes, right click and give it a new letter.

The drive does appear in the right pane. It does have have a letter,
but it does not show what type it's file system is (blank)

 

[Elora_Grace]

A decent recovery app should get the drive back.

I like Easy Recovery Pro, but it isnt free.

Thank you for answering. I'll try to buy the program if nothing else
worked.

 

[Elora_Grace]

The first thing you do is make a clone of the hard drive. If you
ever get back into Windows, you make copies of any important files
on your computer.

Good luck.

Thank you. Can I still make clone even though windows can't access it?

 

[JAD]

did you use 'dynamic" formatted disk?

 

[JAD]

look here at the last post
http://forums.devshed.com/windows-help-34/import-secondary-hdd-in-xp-pro-57496.html

 

[caterbro]

Thank you. Can I still make clone even though windows can't access it?

not with windows. you can make an image of the drive with Ghost or
similar, but the image will be as useless as the drive is currently.

your drive no longer remembers what kind of partitions are on it.
cloning it would simply clone the "empty" disk. you need to restore
that memory in order to access the information in there.

the drive may have suffered physical damage; it may have had its MBR
scrambled, or etc. you may find that you cannot restore the partitions
at all, in which case you need to move to more extensive data recovery
software, like Spinrite or Stellar Phoenix or some such. these check a
disk bit by bit (literally) and recover available data.

that can be a time consuming process for modern hard drives- sometime
several days continous operation.


carl

 

[Rod Speed]

Thank you. Can I still make clone even though windows can't access it?

Yes, with something like True Image that
will clone when you boot the rescue CD.

 

[John Doe]

not with windows. you can make an image of the drive with Ghost or
similar,

That's correct.

but the image will be as useless as the drive is currently.

That is very wrong.

Copy and paste is a fundamental part of computing. This is an
example where it can be very useful. When in trouble and before
trying to correct the situation, you make a copy so you can easily
restore and start over if things go wrong.

your drive no longer remembers what kind of partitions are on it.
cloning it would simply clone the "empty" disk. you need to
restore that memory in order to access the information in there.

That is horribly wrong. Since you screwed up in the first place, now
is the time to make sure you don't screw up any further.

This cannot be emphasized enough.

WHEN YOU RUN INTO PROBLEMS, THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS COPY OR BACKUP
WHAT YOU HAVE, ANYWAY YOU CAN, WITHOUT OTHERWISE MANIPULATING THE
DATA. THAT GOES DOUBLE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE A COPY TO BEGIN
WITH.

Before you start messing with your storage media, make sure you have
copies.

the drive may have suffered physical damage; it may have had its
MBR scrambled, or etc. you may find that you cannot restore the
partitions at all, in which case

In which case you are basing your advice on a diagnosis you haven't
made.

you need to move to more extensive data recovery
software, like Spinrite or Stellar Phoenix or some such. these
check a disk bit by bit (literally) and recover available data.

The first thing you do before checking or trying to recover anything
is to clone the drive in order to back up any important files,
especially if you don't have any recent backup to begin with.

If Elora_Grace didn't have any important files, maybe that wouldn't
matter, but she does.

 

[Elora_Grace]

You can try something like this:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk


to see if the partition information can be recovered. you may need to
format it before using a utility like this- this doesn't neccessarily
destroy your data, although it certainly doesn't help.

the cause of something like this is most likely pure bad luck- the
drive had its brains scrambled somewhere between PC A and PC B.

carl

IT WORKED. I have my drive and all data on it back thanks to you and
this nice utility.
According to the utility the BOOT SECTOR of the drive was corrupt. It
has an option to re wite it. and the drive is back.

Thanks again to you and all the others who responded. )

 

[John Doe]

IT WORKED. I have my drive and all data on it back thanks to you
and this nice utility.
According to the utility the BOOT SECTOR of the drive was corrupt.
It has an option to re wite it. and the drive is back.

Thanks again to you and all the others who responded. )

Some people aren't so lucky, you might not be so lucky next time.
But now since you know how valuable some of the files on your
computer are, of course you already bought a USB flash drive or two
and made copies so you won't risk losing your files next time
something goes wrong. Hopefully the memory will remain useful.

 

[caterbro]

That is very wrong.

if you image a drive with corrupted or invalid partition information,
the image will have the same problems. no matter if working with the
copy or the original disk, further work has to be done to possibly
restore that data. the is no getting around that.

WHEN YOU RUN INTO PROBLEMS, THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS COPY OR BACKUP
WHAT YOU HAVE, ANYWAY YOU CAN, WITHOUT OTHERWISE MANIPULATING THE
DATA. THAT GOES DOUBLE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE A COPY TO BEGIN
WITH.

take a pill, friend. you are striving to a make a point that not in
contention here and obscuring the straightforward nature of this
question.

first, depending on exactly what kind of higgedly-piggedly has gone on
in the drive, it may not be "image-able" at all. so theres a
possibility of a lot of wasted effort before doing the most generic
kind of troubleshooting imagineable.

second, it would take all of 10 minutes to download, install and
test-fly some partition recovery software, which will not make the
drive in any worse shape than it is now, and may resolve the problem
post-haste, and is free.

third, imaging a drive like this, depending on your needs, requires a
significant effort and set of resources that far exceed the necessary
for basic diagnosis and troubleshooting. that may not be available; it
may be troublesome and costly and it is defintely time-consuming. so i
vote for baby steps.

In which case you are basing your advice on a diagnosis you haven't
made.

astonishing that that would happen on USENET! my heart may never beat
again!

we are also assuming the OP has exhuasted all the logical steps to
narrow the cause of the problem to the hard drive in specfic- i don't
see you spazzing out about that possibility.

The first thing you do before checking or trying to recover anything
is to clone the drive in order to back up any important files,
especially if you don't have any recent backup to begin with.

great, provided you have 2-5 spare hours lying around, an empty HDD
larger than the one you want to clone, bootable media of your image
technology of choice, which can range in price from $30-$300, and a PC
that will boot it and support your choice of HDD connectors

fantastic. lets do that instead of the 10-minute diagnosis/recovery
that's free and unlikely to cause any additional harm.

carl

 

[caterbro]

look here at the last post
http://forums.devshed.com/windows-help-34/import-secondary-hdd-in-xp-pro-57496.html

I like this answer, mainly because it hadn't occured to me that
someonbe would use dynamic disks without a compelling reason. good
post.

carl

 

[caterbro]

IT WORKED. I have my drive and all data on it back thanks to you and
this nice utility.
According to the utility the BOOT SECTOR of the drive was corrupt. It
has an option to re wite it. and the drive is back.

Thanks again to you and all the others who responded. )

hooray!!! now, make some backup CDs right away!

carl

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

if you image a drive with corrupted or invalid partition
information, the image will have the same problems.

Yes, but imaging the drive before you try any recovery software
does allow you to recover back to the original bad state if the
recovery software cant manage to recover whatever is bad.

That allows you to try different recovery software.

no matter if working with the copy or the original disk, further work has
to be done to possibly restore that data. the is no getting around that.

Yes, but imaging the bad drive does allow you to try more than one
piece of recovery software. They arent all identical capabiity wise.

take a pill, friend. you are striving to a make a point that not in contention here

Wrong, he's commenting on your original that there is no point
in imaging the bad drive and your original is just plain wrong.

and obscuring the straightforward nature of this question.

You cant manage to grasp the basics on imaging the
bad drive before attempting to repair the problem it has.

first, depending on exactly what kind of higgedly-piggedly
has gone on in the drive, it may not be "image-able" at all.

Wrong. And decent imager can image at the sector level.

so theres a possibility of a lot of wasted effort

Nope, just enough of a clue to image at the sector level.

before doing the most generic kind of troubleshooting imagineable.

Which can screw the drive data structures even worse than they
are already. If you have an image, you can try various fixes.

second, it would take all of 10 minutes to download, install
and test-fly some partition recovery software, which will not
make the drive in any worse shape than it is now, and may
resolve the problem post-haste, and is free.

And it makes more sense to image the drive before using something
that you have just downloaded and havent tried before.

third, imaging a drive like this, depending on your needs,
requires a significant effort and set of resources that far
exceed the necessary for basic diagnosis and troubleshooting.

ALL it needs is another drive.

that may not be available; it may be troublesome
and costly and it is defintely time-consuming.

The time to image the drive is trivial and you can
do something else while its happening anyway.

so i vote for baby steps.

More fool you.

astonishing that that would happen on USENET!
my heart may never beat again!

we are also assuming the OP has exhuasted all the logical steps
to narrow the cause of the problem to the hard drive in specfic-

Stupid assumption. Makes more sense to do it the safe way instead.

i don't see you spazzing out about that possibility.

great, provided you have 2-5 spare hours lying around, an empty HDD
larger than the one you want to clone, bootable media of your image
technology of choice, which can range in price from $30-$300, and
a PC that will boot it and support your choice of HDD connectors

fantastic. lets do that instead of the 10-minute diagnosis/recovery
that's free and unlikely to cause any additional harm.

That last is just plain wrong when you use something like Spinrite.

 

[caterbro]

Wrong, he's commenting on your original that there is no point
in imaging the bad drive and your original is just plain wrong.

try reading it again- i made no such "original"

there is nothing wrong with imaging the drive; there are few simpler,
quicker and cheaper steps to take before that. that's all.

Wrong. And decent imager can image at the sector level.

uh... 132MB limit mean anything to you? or "dynamic disk"? there's a
few things that can and do prevent imaging a drive- it's not cut and
dried. it's a complex process with a lot of variables, and suggesting
it to someone on USENET with limited amounts of verifiable information
is not terribly responsible.

it's like telling someone with one squeaky brake that they need to
replace all their rotors and pads and change out the brake fluid out
"to be on the safe side"

neither you, nor me, nor "john doe" knows anything more about this
person's problems than what's been posted here- that's why i'm
suggesting the quickest, safest, and easiest way out.

and lo! it worked- everything is fine now, no need to spend the better
part of day yanking PCs apart and fiddling with live CDs, spare hard
drives, and gobs of time.

Which can screw the drive data structures even worse than they
are already. If you have an image, you can try various fixes.

that's a load of mule muffins. partition information recovery is
harmless to your drive. TestDisk, which i recomended, and may i remind
you, *solved the problem*, is pathetically easy to use and very
reliable.

now, if someone had suggested fdisk, or chkdsk /r, that would be wrong.
restoring an MBR is safe as houses.

ALL it needs is another drive.

OK- assume it's an 80GB consumer drive- she needs another of the same
maker or a bigger drive- that's $85.

add in True Image, which is an excellent product, and that's $30- now
she's $115 in the hole and needs a PC that can handle all the drives
and do 2 - 6 hours worth of crunch time, AND there's about a 1:4 chance
of getting a corrupt image AND doing sector by sector imaging on
anything above the 132GB limit is guaranteed to have a higher fail rate
AND might screw up a giant drive permanently.

so.... the quick, free, and safe option still seems like the right one
to me. go figure.

More fool you.

it's working out so far- i'll chalk this up in my "Win" column, and you
and John Doe can chalk it up in your "Sour Grapes" column.

Stupid assumption. Makes more sense to do it the safe way instead.

MY way was the safe way. YOUR way was the long, expensive, complicated
way.

That last is just plain wrong when you use something like Spinrite.

Spinrite is *not* the "10-minute diagnosis/recovery". duh.

carl