Please tell me the data isn't lost, my whole life is on it.

[Fedele_67]

Hi,

I have 2 HDD: 160GB (IDE) and 500GB (SATA).
IDE was planned as C:, SATA as D: (lots of data on it).

I bought a new motherboard this week, installed it fine, and started installing XP (SP1) because I prefer it.
Then, while starting to install, I recalled the problem with older XP versions and large hard drives, When I got to pick a HDD I saw the amount of space shows was incorrect, I exited the installation immediately.
I plugged the SATA out to avoid any problem, installed XP3, and when it was done, replugged the SATA.

Unfortunately, Windows didn't recognize it well, and didn't show it as a 500 HDD. If i double clicked it, it asked for a format.
Disk Management showed 128GB in one partition and the rest in unallocated.

I didn't take any actions on the SATA beside this XP SP1 thing, no partition, no format, nothing.

1. Is the data I had on it lost just because old XP have problem recognizing large HDD?
2. What should I do to get the data back? Should I make the HDD as a dynamic disc in Disk Management? Should I use a partition program and merge the two partition?

Please tell me the data isn't lost, my whole life is on it.

Thanks

 

[gracefully]

If the SATA drive was the only drive you plugged, and you haven't selected a partition to install to yet (that is, you are still in the blue screen asking where you plan to install XP), then you should be fine. If indeed you have selected a partition already, then the drive has been formatted and prepped for XP installation. In that case, your best bet is to use data recovery software.

 

[sub mesa]

Burn and Boot Ubuntu and see if you can access your data that way (Location->Home and select the " .... GB Filesystem" mountpoints on the left. Then you should see your files.

Also, post SMART information. Have you tried recovery yet?
My advice is not to write to the HDD in any case; you may want to stop using the drive with Windows for the moment (Windows sticks its face in anything it can touch; like a small child).

 

[Paperdoc]

Your problem has nothing to do with drive size. The first windows product able to handle 48-bit LBA (that is, drives over 128 GB) was Service Pack 1 of Win XP, which is what you were using. It should have had NO issue with your large HDD. In fact, your other drive at 160 GB is over the 128 GB size.

If I understand your story you never intended to install anything to the 500 GB unit. I have to assume from your post that you did NOT ever tell it to use the 500 GB unit for anything. And yet in its initial assessment of resources in the machine, the Win XP Install routine told you the wrong size for that drive. To me this says there was a problem with that drive unit before you started the Install, because what you did never even tried to write anything to that drive. Treat this as a drive unit malfunction alone. There appears to be no relationship to the Win XP installation process.