Computer Hope
Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: ras58396 on January 04, 2009, 07:23:21 PM
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I have a Dell Dimension 8100 running WXP with SP3. It has two HDDs. I just did a successful clean install of the OS. The computer OS runs fine on the c: drive, but the F: HDD indicates that it is a removeable disk and, when I am in Windows Explorer, it wants a media inserted. How do I get it to look like the HDD that it is? I have all my backup data from prior to the clean install on it.
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Right click My Computer and select Manage...then Disk Management...
Find the F: drive right click it and select Properties...
Report back with your findings.
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It says that it is an EPSON Stylus Storage USB Device. It is in location 0. It is removable and has no media. Sure doesn't look like my Maxtor ST380013A!
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That is either your printer or a card reader...
How are your drives being seen in Device Manager...
BTW are these hard drives both internal ? ? both SATA or IDE or a combination of the 2 ? ?
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I don't have a card reader, but I do have an Epson printer. Before the OS install the printer never showed up as a drive.
Device manager sees the Epson, my ZIP drive, and two HDs: a Seagate ST3120026A (location 0) and the Maxtor ST380013A (location 1).
Both are IDE.
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But the Maxtor is not listed in Disk Management ? ?
You may want to unplug/unhook the printer and re-boot and double-check everything...
It may just be a drive letter hiccup...was Maxtor always F: ?
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Yes, it was listed.
I will try the unplug approach.
Maxtor was always F:, but oddly enough the Seagate was E: before the clean install that changed it to C:
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A clean Windows install will always choose C: if it can...
BTW are these hard drives both internal ? ? both SATA or IDE or a combination of the 2 ? ?
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Ok, I unplugged the Epson and it does not show up in the Device Manager and the Maxtor does.
In disk management the Maxtor does not show up at all.
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Ouch.
Re-boot a few more times and try again...
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Does the drive show up in BIOS?
These are PATA drives right?
Have you checked your jumpers?
Does the E drive show up in disk management?
Is it possible that when you installed windows you may have deleted the partition(s) on the E drive?
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I very well may have deleted the partitions on the Maxtor, which was the F: drive before the new OS install.
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The Maxtor does show up in bios. It shows both HDDs.
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The Maxtor does show up in bios. It shows both HDDs.
This is getting confusing because you don't answer everything when asked...
I have a Dell Dimension 8100 running WXP with SP3. It has two HDDs.
You say it shows in the BIOS but it doesn't...
BTW are these hard drives both internal ? ? both SATA or IDE or a combination of the 2 ? ?
This has been asked 3 times now...
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You have got me confused. Here it is:
Both HDD show up in bios.
Both drives show up in WXP Device manger.
The Maxtor does not show up in Drive Management
Both drives are IDE
The jumpers are correct since they have not changed and it ran correctly for several years.
Sorry, I have tried to be consistant and complete. I went through the whole thread and see no inconsistency. What do you think that I missed?
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Maybe a fresh approach will help here. I wonder if I disconnect the printer (F:) and disconnect (uncable) the non-recognized Maxtor internal HDD, and then redo the WXP install. When that is complete, reconnect the Maxtor and go from there. Maybe it will recognize the Maxtor drive.
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I very well may have deleted the partitions on the Maxtor, which was the F: drive before the new OS install.
Well, stick your XP CD back in and get to the partition screen and see if the E drive has an active partition.
If the drive space shows up as raw, then you deleted that partition.
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JJ 3000, I tried it...bad JuJu! The drive is there but it is unpartitioned. Since I am the problem, I will ask for advice before acting.
The HDD had data that I did not want to lose...so sad. Can I repartition it with the XP install CD or ??? other method, then use PhotoRec or some other utility to recover the data?
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If you highlight the raw space and press C to create a new partition, you may be able to access your data when you boot back into XP.
If that doesn't work, then http://www.recuva.com/ should help you get your data back. It's a free program :)
Good Luck.
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RAW space is an unpartitioned drive.
you create partitions in unallocated space.
unallocated space <> RAW .
deleting a partition deletes it from the Partition Table. Even if one was to recreate a partition of the same size, whatever program is used to create that partition will overwrite the Volume Boot record.
but a recovery tool should be able to get some important stuff back.
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Good JuJu, JJ and BC!!!! I repartitioned the "F:" drive and it now is visible to WXP. I will attempt the reccommended the recovery tool(s) tomorrow. Thanks to both of you!
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just JJ. I didn't really do anything.
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:) Okay JJ gave me the key earlier, but you did add to the confidence factor. Neither of you, or Patio, are short of experience. I appreciate your efforts.
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Tried to run http://www.recuva.com/ on the G: drive, but it came back saying "Unable to read boot sector".
When I go through the XP install procedure it sees this drive as D:. It is partitioned but not formatted.
Windows Explorer sees it as not formatted. Should I format it then try to recover?
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NO!!
do not format!
format=erase
try this
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
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So this drive had XP installed on it as well ? ?
You dould try booting to the XP CD and press R to enter the Recovery Console...
At the prompt type fixboot and hit Enter...
Remove the XP CD and re-boot.
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Patio,
XP not on this drive. I am going to try cgsecurity.
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Well this is for closure! After all the recommended options failed, I took the HDD into the mass storage lab at work. The engineers there were able to use some of their proprietary software to recover all my files. Thanks for all your help, I appreciate the effort.
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Wish i had a lab like that...
Good ending to an ordeal though.
Stop by Anytime !