[phoam]

Thanks for continuing to help.

Each of the four possibilities were checked and were ok. In the bios, both drives were/are set to AUTO and both drives were correctly set to their respective master/slave setting.

Upon booting the PC, the slave (corrupt) drive runs a CHKDSK, but will seemingly do it to no end. I have let it run for a couple of hours, but have needed cancel in order to use the PC.

Does any of this help indicate where I am in retrieving my files from the XP-corrupt drive? (btw, the F: drive now appears under My Computer but when clicked is "Not accessible")

Edited by phoam, 16 August 2005 - 03:10 PM.

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If the Bios is properly set then you see in the bios both Hard drives, unless there is a mechanical/electrical problem. One (the good one) should be primary master, the other primary slave.

I understand that you installed the corupt HD as slave. The fact that the computer approach it for chkdsk indicates that this is not the case because chkdsk is made only on the master, bootable disk (the good one in your case) which contains window. I suggest that you recheck.

[The Skeptic]

If the Bios is properly set then you see in the bios both Hard drives, unless there is a mechanical/electrical problem. One (the good one) should be primary master, the other primary slave.

I understand that you installed the corupt HD as slave. The fact that the computer approach it for chkdsk indicates that this is not the case because chkdsk is made only on the master, bootable disk (the good one in your case) which contains window. I suggest that you recheck.

[phoam]

I rechecked everything.

The corrupt drive (F:) is identified in the bios as the Primary IDE Slave and its jumper settings are to "Slave". The good drive (C:) is identified in the bios as the Primary IDE Master and I have tried its jumper settings on both "Master w/Slave Present" & "Single or Master".

When XP goes into the CHKDSK screen is states that it is performing the task for "Drive F:".

As stated before, I originally could get no sign of the corrupt/slave/F: drive when operating from the the good/master/C: drive (with the new/temp installation of XP). Now it appears in the Device Mgr & under My Computer, but it just won't let me access it.

How amazing it would be to click on it and it show me all of my programs and files I need!

[The Skeptic]

I understand that now you can boot the computer from HD C but you can not approach HD F. What message do you get when trying to get to F? are you still having this chkdisk business with F?

Y.A

[phoam]

When I click the F: Drive I get the error message, "F:\ is not accessible".

And I do still get the chkdsk screen for F: when I boot up.

Is there anything I can do to get around this and simply access files located on the F: drive?

Edited by phoam, 17 August 2005 - 11:26 AM.

[The Skeptic]

I think that either the master-boot-record is corrupted or NTFS table or both. If this is the case then the best way is to try a repair installation of windows on the bad HD as described in a pinned thread at the top page of this forum. In your first letter you mentioned that you tried repairing windows. Would you like to try it again? Put C back as a master and try a repair according to the instructions.

If this dosn't help then let me know. At the moment I am out of fresh ideas and I get to the point where I feel that a trained technician should put his hands on this computer. Meanwhile I'll do some research.

[phoam]

Thanks for trying to stick with me on this. The problem with repairing WinXP has been that I'm never prompted for a password while entering the recovery console, but when I begin to enter commands (from the link from post #2), I receiver "Access is denied".

If I could figure out why I'm prevented access (and overcome the access denial), I may be able to accomplish something. Any ideas why I'm encountering this despite no request for a password?

[The Skeptic]

You don't have to repair windows through Recovery Console. Follow the instructions as listed on the thread I suggested. The repair process looks very much like a new installation but it doesn't format the disk and you don't loose your data. If this doesn't help and your data is important to you, I suggest that you let a good technician handle this problem. Many times it is just impossible to solve a problem without seeing it first hand.

Best of luck

[phoam]

To see if we're on the same page, here's what I encounter through the process:

I reverted the original/corrupt drive to its mater drive setting.

With XP CD started - WinXP Setup Screen > Press Enter > Examining Disk... > Examining Startup Environment... > License Agreement Screen > Press F8 (Agree) > Screen with the following...

Following list shows existing partitions & unpartitioned space
-To setup Win XP on selected item press enter
-To create partion...
-To delete partion...

C: Drive listed as only partition

I haven't pressed enter out of the uncertaintity of how it could affect the data on the drive. Is there reason for concern?

[The Skeptic]

You are doing it right. Keep following the very clear instructions that you see on the pinned thread that you see as you enter this forum.

[phoam]

I never did find a solution. Sometimes the corrupt drive appears as a partion and sometimes it does not.

Generally speaking, what should I expect to pay to simply have the data retrieved from this drive (120gb that's nearly full)?

[The Skeptic]

I don't know what it cost to retrieve the data but it can reach thousands of dollars, depending on the problem and the size of the disk. It is a specialist job and you have to call one of these shops for quotation.

Whatever you decide, don't do anything before consulting a decent technician. Many times it is impossible to solve a problem by correspondence. You have to see the computer and examine it thoroughly. It is very possible that a good thechnician will solve the problem at a fraction of the price.

Good Luck

[phoam]

I'm still under the impression that this is a basic problem.

After passing the license agreement page in Windows Setup and pressing enter to continue with the C: drive, I come to this page:

"The partition is either too full, damaged, not formatted, or formatted with an incompatible file system. To continue installing Windows, Setup must format this partition.

C: ...

Caution: Formatting will delete any files on the partition.

(Selectable options)

Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)
Format the partition using the NTFS file system"

Edited by phoam, 25 August 2005 - 01:56 PM.

[gerryf]

If you are trying to recover data, stop....this is telling you your partition table is corrupted (most likely)--proceeding will rewrite a new partition table and format, wiping out the data

Seeing what you did earlier in the thread, I think you would likely have more success, if possible, reinstalling the old drive as a slave to a different drive with XP, and then running a recovery program that can attempt to repair partition table.


There is a program called the Ultimate Boot Disk--on it, a utility called testdisk that I have had some success with

http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/

It also has Partition Saving and Active Partition Recovery utilities on it.

[phoam]

There is a program called the Ultimate Boot Disk--on it, a utility called testdisk that I have had some success with

http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/

Thanks. I'll give this a try. As you might have noticed, when I have the corrupted drive as the slave drive, it shows up under My Computer (& the Device Mgr) but gives me a "can not access" error. Anyway, we'll see how this goes...