[FionaF]

Hi,

I have a 1 tb Hitachi HDD which was acting up for a while (folders disappearing temporarily). It has 3 partitions. I'm running Windows Vista. It was an external drive, so I removed it from its case, hoping that was the problem, and put it in a SATA HDD dock. I am still having the same problem. I can only see 1 of the 3 partitions. I am trying to copy one folder (994mb) from the drive to my HDD now, and it says 1 hour and 15 minutes left. It is copying, but I really need access to one of the other partitions. It takes quite a while to "look" inside a folder in the working partition. I have backups... old ones from a few months ago. Yes, I know. My first pc was a 286... I *should* know better!

Sometimes I'll switch the drive on in the dock and it will recognize this one partition, other times the light stays red and it doesn't show anything. I hear "grunting" as it accesses data or when it's searching a folder.

Does it make sense that two of the partitions have disappeared? Is there something I could/should try to get this working again? I tried the Hitachi re-align tool, and nothing happened. I tried the software getdataback, and it didn't recognize the partitions either.

Any help, advice, or even a "give up" consensus would be very helpful... though I hate giving up lol

Edit: I forgot to mention that after 15-30 minutes, I will get a Windows notification stating "you need to format the disk in drive M: before you can use it". That's one of the "missing" partitions.


Thanks!
Fiona

Edited by FionaF, 11 November 2012 - 11:42 AM.

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FionaF

First of all I suggest that you try another recovery software to try and secure your data as any further testing may cause the HDD to fail completely http://download.cnet...4-10753287.html

Good luck and post back with an update for us when you can.

[phillpower2]

FionaF

First of all I suggest that you try another recovery software to try and secure your data as any further testing may cause the HDD to fail completely http://download.cnet...4-10753287.html

Good luck and post back with an update for us when you can.

[FionaF]

Thanks Phil! I'll try it now! Fingers crossed X

Fiona

[FionaF]

I've got Recuva installed and am running through the wizard. It has asked me for the file location. I selected "In a specific location" and browsed to select the drive, but that's the first problem. I can only see the same partition as before. (Drive F). The two missing ones (L and M) don't even show up in the list. The drive is grunting as I believe it's trying to display the missing partitions, and Recuva is now "not responding". It will likely stay this way until I get the message about formatting drive M again. At that point, the drive will still not show up in the list as it never shows up when I'm in Explore.

Seems I need a drive/partition finder rather than a file finder?

Fiona

[phillpower2]

Can you do the following for us please;

Go to Start then to Run/Search

Type in compmgmt.msc and click Enter
On left side click on Disk Management
On right side you will see your hard drive.
Now I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply. Do the following to take a screenshot while the above is open and showing on your desktop.

To capture and post a screenshot;

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

You are welcome BTW

[FionaF]

Hi Phill,

I'm not having a lot of luck with Disk Management and this drive. Here's what happens.

I launch Disk Management with the drive on and it never populates, not even with the working internal drives. All I see is "Loading disk configuration information".

When I launched Disk Management the first time with the drive off, and then switched it on once it was populated with the internal drives, I saw the F drive (the partition I've been able to see) and it said it was healthy. I tried to resize the screen for the screenshot, and it froze ("not responding" error). As soon as I switch off the drive, I get the window with "you need to format drive M" and the same for drive K (the two missing partitions), and then Disk Management populates with the internal drives' information.

I tried again to launch DM with the drive off and can't get it to even show drive/partition F now.

I also took a screenshot of Device Manager, which shows two USB Hitachi drives. I'm assuming that since they say USB, this isn't the internal HDD and is probably the one I'm having problems with.

It's as if this drive holds up the computer from doing anything when it's grunting! Windows Explore freezes as well if I try looking at it in there. Even command prompt sat for ages until I gave up.

Just now, I tried to attach the screenshots, which I saved to my Desktop. I could not see any files on my desktop, although I could see them in other folders. I switched off the hitachi drive, got the two "you must format" errors, cancelled them, and THEN my desktop files appeared.

I hope I still have a chance, but it's not looking very good, is it?

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[phillpower2]

Thanks for the screenshots

See if this freeware helps to get you access http://www.partition...t-partition.htm or an alternative http://findandmount.com/

[FionaF]

Thanks very much! I'll try those after dinner (and The Walking Dead lol).

I have one more screenshot, IN CASE IT MAY HELP. I thought I'd open Explore and turn on the drive and leave it a few hours. I still get the "you need to format" errors, but I can see all three partitions in Explore. If I click on K or M, after about 15-30 minutes I get the "you need to format" error again and everything freezes for a while (not responding).

Fingers crossed! X

Fiona

Edited by FionaF, 11 November 2012 - 06:16 PM.

[FionaF]

I tried both of the utilities and neither worked.

The Easeus utility wouldn't show the drive at all and it froze until I switched the drive off (then the usual "you must format" errors came up).

I thought I was going to have a good chance with the Find and Mount utility because it showed the drive right away. I tried all three types of scans, giving each about 30 minutes but all showed 0% scanning for the full 30 minutes. With each scan, when I switched off the drive, I got the same "you must format" message. I did get the autoplay come up each time showing the "F" partition, which I can often (but not always) see and access.

Any other suggestions, or should I ?

Thanks!
Fiona

[FionaF]

Here's something new. I tried a new utility and it shows my k:/ partition INSIDE the f:/ partition, which is strange!

Only one file came up as recoverable. I tried to recover it, but you have to pay for the software to do that. Not worth it for one file!

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[phillpower2]

See if you have better luck with Puppy Linux;

===================
***Required Hardware***
CD Burner (CDRW) Drive,
Blank CD,
Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)
===================

1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:

• Download Latest Puppy Linux ISO (i.e.: lupu-520.iso)
  Download BurnCDCC ISO Burning Software
  
  
• Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer
• Extract All files to a location you can remember
• Double Click BurnCDCC
• Click Browse and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded
• Open/Double Click that file
  IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x
• Click Start
• Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically
• Insert a blank CD and close the tray
• Click OK

Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created
2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second

• Start the computer/press the power button
• Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup"
  (Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen)
• Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to:
  CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd
• Open your ROM drive and insert the disk
• Press F10 to save and exit
• Agree with "Y" to continue
• Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD
  
  

3. Recover Your Data

• Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM). You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer". Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning. Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy. To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once. Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to. This is normal. Ready? Let's get started.
  
  3a. Mount Drives[list]
• Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop.
• A Window will open. By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted. Click on Mount for your hard drive.
• Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount.
• USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
• If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.

3b. Transfer Files.

• At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
• Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1
• Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1
• If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows)
• From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window.

For The Novice: The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each idividual name of each user. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos.

Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.

YOU ARE DONE!!! Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. Congratulations!

Note that there might be some other Puppy distros on the page (such as Slacko Puppy), but you need Lucid Puppy (lupu), the Ubuntu-based one. Always make sure you start downloading a file that starts with "lupu"!

[FionaF]

Thanks Phill! I had to loan my dock to my dad to transfer some files to his new laptop, but will have it back tomorrow and will try it then. I hope this puppy works! lol

[phillpower2]

I hope this puppy works! lol

[FionaF]

Well, you're not going to believe what happened.

I burned Lucid Puppy to a CD, had my drive in the dock sitting on my desk. My Westie, Sophie, was napping under my desk as usual. I booted up to the CD, launched Lucid Puppy... had no idea it "barks" when it starts up... Sophie thinks it's a real dog, tears out of here, tripping on the dock's wires/cords. Dock and drive go flying onto the floor.

I tried starting up the dock with the drive in it, and the drive goes "spin... beep... click" repeatedly, and none of the partitions are recognizable now.

I'm guessing it's time to give up, unless there's a way to cure the spin... beep... click. If so, please let me know!

If this is the end, thanks for your help this far! I guess I'll never know if it would have worked or not, but I do appreciate your time!

Fiona

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[phillpower2]

How unfortunate

Things do not look too good I`m afraid, check out the bad HDD sounds @ http://datacent.com/...rive_sounds.php are any similar to what you are hearing, if it is the enclosure that is beeping do you have a user manual for it which may tell you what the beep means.

This is a last throw of the dice to see if the HDD will even function;

Run the HDDs diagnostics tool;

Make sure you select the tool that is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive http://www.tacktech....ay.cfm?ttid=287
Depending on the program it'll create a bootable floppy or a bootable CD.
If the downloaded file is the .iso type use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn the .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option) and make the CD bootable.