Tom's Hardware > Forum > Storage > Hard Disks > The disk in drive d cannot be formatted
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Kay Kay   06-07-2009 at 09:43:40 AM

recently i installed windows xp....i hav 4 drives..C,D,E,F.I installed the XP in the C drive.I had some files in the D drive and i moved them to F. After moving when i tried to open my D drive....it says that

"the disk in drive d is not formatted.
Do you want to format it now?"
an when i click "yes" option...it says
"the disk in drive D cannot be formatted"

the properties of D drive are as follows
Type: Local disk
File system: RAW
Used space: 0 bytes
Free space: 0 bytes
Capacity: 0 bytes

my harddisk---Seagate model ST3250310AS of size 250 GB


what could be the reason for this..??? Plz any 1 help...

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MrLinux   06-07-2009 at 12:00:35 PM
- 0 +

Down-load and run Seatools from Seagate's web site.

Reply to MrLinux
Kay Kay   06-07-2009 at 02:13:27 PM
- 0 +

i did as u said but the following error came....


Object reference not set to an instance of an object.System.String GetBootDrivePhysicalName()

Reply to Kay Kay
jrst   06-08-2009 at 01:30:09 AM
- 0 +

Do you have 1 physical 250GB drive divided into 4 partitions (C,D,E,F)? If yes, how were the partitions created?

Or do you have 4 physical 250GB drives, each with 1 partition (C,D,E,F)?

Edit: Do the following:
1. Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information
In the left pane, click on:
2. System Summary
- Cut and paste the information from the right pane and post it here.
3. Components -> Storage -> Drives
- Cut and paste the information from the right pane and post it here.
4. Components -> Storage -> Disks
- Cut and paste the information from the right pane and post it here.

NOTE: you might want to remove personal identifying or pontentially sensitive information from the above before posting here (e.g., username, locale, time-zone, etc. from (2)).


Message edited by jrst on 06-08-2009 at 01:47:31 AM
Reply to jrst
Kay Kay   06-10-2009 at 04:57:48 PM
- 0 +

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model 945GCM-S2L
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 13 GenuineIntel ~2000 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 13 GenuineIntel ~2000 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. F5, 12/27/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer----Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name
Time Zone India Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.21 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 3.84 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys






Drive A:
Description Removable Disk

Drive C:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 38.08 GB (40,887,832,576 bytes)
Free Space 13.52 GB (14,517,907,456 bytes)
Volume Name
Volume Serial Number 0CFDBE22

Drive D:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed Not Available
File System Not Available
Size Not Available
Free Space Not Available
Volume Name Not Available
Volume Serial Number Not Available

Drive E:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 64.93 GB (69,717,438,464 bytes)
Free Space 14.88 GB (15,976,751,104 bytes)
Volume Name
Volume Serial Number B07F9908

Drive F:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 64.94 GB (69,725,663,232 bytes)
Free Space 19.93 GB (21,402,042,368 bytes)
Volume Name
Volume Serial Number C8B4D5E6

Drive G:
Description CD-ROM Disc

Drive K:
Description CD-ROM Disc

HERE I HAVE PROBLEM WITH "D" DRIVE















Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model ST3250310AS
Bytes/Sector 512
Media Loaded Yes
Media Type Fixed hard disk media
Partitions 4
SCSI Bus 0
SCSI Logical Unit 0
SCSI Port 1
SCSI Target ID---0
Sectors/Track 63
Size 232.88 GB (250,056,737,280 bytes)
Total Cylinders 30,401
Total Sectors 488,392,065
Total Tracks 7,752,255
Tracks/Cylinder 255





Reply to Kay Kay
jrst   06-11-2009 at 12:28:51 AM
- 0 +

1. First I'd suggest updating to SP3. Also, before trying the following, ensure you have a backup of your data.

2. Try deleting the partition and recreating it...
a) Start the computer management console:
Start -> Programs -> Administrative tools -> Computer Management
b) In the left pane:
Storage -> Disk Management
c) In the right pane:
Right click on "D" (either in the upper or lower pane) -> Delete Partition
d) In the bottom pane as the space formerly used by D should then show as "unallocated".
Right click on the unallocated space -> Create Partition

If that doesn't work (e.g., disk manager refuses to touch the partition)...

3. Use the recovery console and try "fixmbr", restart, then try formatting it
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

Reply to jrst
Kay Kay   06-12-2009 at 02:40:54 PM
- 0 +

i CANNOT see any information about harddisk drives...in disk management...instead i could see only info about my removable disks(CD-ROM)...

Reply to Kay Kay
jrst   06-13-2009 at 01:57:01 AM
- 0 +

I'm very surprised the partitions don't show in disk manager. In any case, it looks like a partition table / MBR a problem (at least the partition table entry for the second partition "D" ).

I suggest trying testdisk (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk) to "recover" the D partition (repair its entry in the partition table). After that you should be able to use normal management tools to format it (or whatever).

Reply to jrst
Sehwag   09-22-2009 at 05:32:43 AM
- 0 +

It is the exact sam eproblem I have, please help me.
I have tried all test disk , recovery tools, seatools, etc.

Reply to Sehwag
Anonymous   10-23-2009 at 03:17:10 PM
- 0 +

i want install windows xp Recently but d: is not open the error message is : do you want to format it. & there is unknown partition. recently error is comming regular . how to solved this problem any data damage.
[b][/b]

Reply to Anonymous
vieri   11-26-2009 at 05:23:36 AM
- 0 +

Use ERD commander or any boot CD to back all the documents first before formatting.

Reply to vieri
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