Hard drive worked...now "is not accessible"

[Kalla]

Hello and help needed.... :-?

PC was not purchased whole, bought in parts and built. Works excellent.
HDs are all Maxtor.  
Maxtor HD with problem is 6Y120L0131001  LBA: 240121728  SN: Y3JZARPE Capacity: 120G

F drive: OS win xp sp2 (dont ask it was set up that way)
C drive with problem: was old OS (win xp sp2) and files, now just using to move files to keep then wipe out. (OS stopped working and did not have OS CD to fix system errors, so got new HD, new OS and now just moving files)

it has been working and accessible for over a month, but i have been selecting and moving files as needed. (had no idea this would happen) then today I was moving files from C to F and the PC locked up and i had to hard boot. (Ctrl Alt Delete did not work)
when back up the C drive is present, shows type as local disk like the F drive, but no size, free space, etc (F drive does show this info)

when i click on the C drive icon to open (also tried right click to open and explore), i get an error saying;

C:\ is not accessible
Incorrect function

Over the past 10 hours I have rebooted, restarted, complete shut down, let it cool down and turned back on, disconnected the drive and reconnected, the HD shows in the checking IDE drives, or whatever it says on start up, primary and slave drives both show, so it is recognized but not accessible)
I know there is 120G capacity and about 100G of data on it, most of which i need to save on my F drive.

but in the C drive properties it shows no capacity, free space, etc. (file system shows RAW) (F shows NTFS)

I did not delete anything on C, i was moving files. I know the data should still be there, just now invisible. I do not think a hard boot would delete the entire 100G's of data.

I need help in finding out how to go into the C drive and just getting the data off and onto F, i can sort out what i need to save later.

I cant perform a HD check like Powercheck cause it will delete the data.

If anyone knows what i can do or knows anyway to help or offer advise, please respond to this post or send me a PM.

if more info is needed please let me know.

Thanks so much!
Kalla

[GX1_Man]

RAW is a very ominous sign. Were these drives formatted NTFS? I'll bet they were.

This whole installation is obviously FUBAR'ed, and Windows should be on the C drive. I'll bet you have learned the importance of backing up.

Have a read here:

http://www.computerhope.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1152393515

[Kalla]

yes, both were NTSF.
all was working fine up til today, the installation was fine and working great I was moving files all month, and only up until today does this happen.
the different drive letters does not bother me.
everything defaults to the F drive as C was just holding files.
And i have never read any rule saying that the C drive is the only drive that should have the OS on it.
I do not think the installation was done incorreclty, it is just the position of the drives. For years i had an OS on D drive and the 2nd partition on C as back up. Nothing ever went wrong. That is not a problem...an inaccessible drive is.
Do i have to reinstall windows to recognize the drive? if so, is it a full install, so all info has to be saved and backed up? if not then how do i do it?
I am afraid your comments made it seem like there is no hope at all or no solution and i have lost the drive. I cant believe that only because the problem occurred during a routine action that everyone does, and how can a drive change to NTSF to RAW without notice, or an error message, or any warning. I would consider that kind of result to be pathetic with the sofistication of computers, that something drastic can happen so easily without direct actions.

the problem must of occured when i was moving files, not due to what letter the drives are asigned.
I went through getting a new hardrive to back up the files, and was continuing to do so today.
remember i said i had about 100G's of data to move, i would have moved it all on day one if i had known that this problem would happen. I thought as a regular, non OS drive, i would have time to move files and organize over time.

so how can a lesson be learned when i was already in the process of moving the files to the new drive.
Why back up a drive i plan to move all the files off of and then not use the drive? And why tell me now in a link how to back up an inaccessible drive that i was already moving files from, as this was my way of backing up the files to a new drive. I need help...not a lesson to learn backing up drives.....as this was what i was already doing. Too little too late with that info, Thanks anyways.

I did not expect this to happen and i have no idea why it did and i need help from those who may know.

there was and still is no Windows error as i was not doing anything but moving files from one drive to another.
then it locks up, i reboot and now the drive is unuasable.
i only need the files, not the drive, i did not even plan on using it after all files were transfered.

what does RAW mean, and if the OS sees the drive but not allowing access, how can this be corrected. in DOS mode? in set up? if so, can someone coach me through it? I just need to be told what to do and i will do it.
I just do not understand how moving files can lock up a system, change a drive to RAW and make it inacessible. No windows prompt came up at anytime, nor any error or problem was even shown (no blue screen or anything)

Please can someone let me know what i can do to resolve this.

thanks
Kalla

[GX1_Man]

yes, both were NTSF.
all was working fine up til today, the installation was fine and working great I was moving files all month, and only up until today does this happen.
the different drive letters does not bother me.
everything defaults to the F drive as C was just holding files.
And i have never read any rule saying that the C drive is the only drive that should have the OS on it.
I do not think the installation was done incorreclty, it is just the position of the drives. For years i had an OS on D drive and the 2nd partition on C as back up. Nothing ever went wrong. That is not a problem...an inaccessible drive is.
Do i have to reinstall windows to recognize the drive? if so, is it a full install, so all info has to be saved and backed up? if not then how do i do it?
I am afraid your comments made it seem like there is no hope at all or no solution and i have lost the drive. I cant believe that only because the problem occurred during a routine action that everyone does, and how can a drive change to NTSF to RAW without notice, or an error message, or any warning. [highlight]I would consider that kind of result to be pathetic with the sofistication of computers, that something drastic can happen so easily without direct actions.[/highlight]
the problem must of occured when i was moving files, not due to what letter the drives are asigned.

I gave you a link to save your files with a bootable Linux CD and copy them to a workable drive. After that you can format the drive and use it again. I have seen this too often for my liking with NTFS drives, and sorry, I do not know the reason.There are always differences between the systems these things happen on, but they are ALL involving NTFS drives.

You might try to access some info on the Microsoft site.

I didn't say the backward way of having your drives caused it. It is just VERY unusual. I can't think of a single person who ever did that on purpose. Not one.

[Kalla]

Thanks GX1 Man.
I will try that.
I read your post like a "tisk tisk, you should of..." with the "learned your lesson" comment.
I was hoping for help and did not read the link before i posted.
sorry, but when the computer nerves are shot...ya know please remember i have been fighting this battle since 8am this morning.....argh

many thanks, I will let you know what happens.

Kalla

[patio]

When your back is against the wall and frustration has set in it is easy to take things the wrong way...No harm   No foul.