[Elliot]

Hello, hello!

My parents had a power outage the other day while the computer was on, and they say the computer flickered a couple of times then shut off. Since then, every time they try to boot it just continually restarts before getting to the desktop. It does the same thing when trying to boot in safe mode or last known configuration. I pulled the HD and put it in an enclosure to run a diagnostic on it and find the drive is not accessible. I can get the HP Recovery drive, but not the main drive. The properties of the main drive say 0 bytes capacity, 0 bytes used. It says file system is RAW.

Is there a way for me to repair this without a reformat/reinstall? If it comes to that, of course we will, but they don't have any of their data backed up (parents! Will they ever learn?), so I'm trying alternative routes.

Thanks!!

El

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"The properties of the main drive say 0 bytes capacity, 0 bytes used. It says file system is RAW. "

I don't think you have to worry about formatting it. The power outage seems to have done that for you. In fact it looks like it took out the partition completely. If you can get to the recovery I would suggest trying to do a fresh install. I hate to be the one to tell you but it looks like all has been erased. You may be having more serious issues since it's not even showing a empty capacity.
Let me know what happens.
How old is the system?

[rshaffer61]

"The properties of the main drive say 0 bytes capacity, 0 bytes used. It says file system is RAW. "

I don't think you have to worry about formatting it. The power outage seems to have done that for you. In fact it looks like it took out the partition completely. If you can get to the recovery I would suggest trying to do a fresh install. I hate to be the one to tell you but it looks like all has been erased. You may be having more serious issues since it's not even showing a empty capacity.
Let me know what happens.
How old is the system?

[Elliot]

That's not the news I was hoping for, but was somewhat expecting it. Yeah, it also failed the surface scan diag, so it's not looking very bueno. I think they're looking at a new drive now. Computer is about 4-5 years old, so it's served them well.

I've seen some programs out there that say they reset the partition and recover the RAW files to FAT or something else. Do you know about any of these things? Worth the time, feasible, etc?

Thanks!!

El

[rshaffer61]

Click HD diagnostic in my signature below. Choose the manufacturer of your hd. Download the tool. Running this will tell us if there is a problem with HD itself. If not then we will pursue other hardware or software possibilities

You can go Here for PC Inspector and Recovery
It should be able to get the files if the drive is still working. Make sure you read the Info page on what it can and cannot do before using it.
I hope this works and please let me know if I can assist you further

Edited by rshaffer61, 09 May 2009 - 08:55 PM.

[Elliot]

Nah, it's toast. They've decided to just scrap the PC and get a new one. They figure they got their money worth out of it.

Thanks so much for the assistance!!

El

[rshaffer61]

You are very welcome. I'm sorry the outcome couldn't have been better for you.
This issue now appears to be resolved.


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