hdd invalid?, cant partition
Last response: in Storage
been a while since i posted here. here's my problem.
i had upgraded to xp from me, but wanted to do a clean install of xp (eg.format drive, install). so i backed my files up to my friends comp, and then plugged my hdd back into my comp. i booted from the winxp disc, and was going to let it do the formatting for ntfs.... at some point it showed me the available partitions, with del and create options. so i figured might as well repartition it. i selected to delete the only partition, and at the prompt i changed my mind, remembering i needed to get one more file off it... so i said 'no' and hit f3 to exit and restart.... well it hung at the exiting screen so long i decided to just pwr it off and reboot...when i did so, it tried loading windows, said there was a problem, and hit any key to continue or something...so i did and then i got an error msg/blue screen... so wtf? i restart again and all of a sudden bios doesnt see my hdd, then of coure the associated err msg when booting. i turn it off... turn it on, and bios sees it now, try to let it boot, and the comp/os (whats left of it) cant find the c:\ drive. i reboot w/a floppy, same thing. it cant see the drive. so i figure, maybe somethings up with the partition....i use fdisk, and after the prompt about enabling large disk support, it exits out and says it cant access the disk. wtf? i tried the winxp boot cd recovery tools. it sees the hardware everytime, but chkdsk,diskpart,etc. all say it cant access it, sometimes bluescreening....
can anyone help!? is the mbr screwed, or what? the drive is only a year old, i was very careful of bumps and antistatic stuff. i cant afford a new drive! i tried it in my friends comp and his comp cant see it either... doesnt show up in 'my computer' but the device manager lists it and shows it as working. this happened about 3am my time, and it sucks. a simple procedure...nothings as simple as it always seems :-( if anyone can help, please!
HDD info:
Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9
80GB ATA/133 7200rpm
(actually the mfg. date says nov 2002)
note* i ensured when testing the hdd that the jumpers were in their correct corresponding locations.
i had upgraded to xp from me, but wanted to do a clean install of xp (eg.format drive, install). so i backed my files up to my friends comp, and then plugged my hdd back into my comp. i booted from the winxp disc, and was going to let it do the formatting for ntfs.... at some point it showed me the available partitions, with del and create options. so i figured might as well repartition it. i selected to delete the only partition, and at the prompt i changed my mind, remembering i needed to get one more file off it... so i said 'no' and hit f3 to exit and restart.... well it hung at the exiting screen so long i decided to just pwr it off and reboot...when i did so, it tried loading windows, said there was a problem, and hit any key to continue or something...so i did and then i got an error msg/blue screen... so wtf? i restart again and all of a sudden bios doesnt see my hdd, then of coure the associated err msg when booting. i turn it off... turn it on, and bios sees it now, try to let it boot, and the comp/os (whats left of it) cant find the c:\ drive. i reboot w/a floppy, same thing. it cant see the drive. so i figure, maybe somethings up with the partition....i use fdisk, and after the prompt about enabling large disk support, it exits out and says it cant access the disk. wtf? i tried the winxp boot cd recovery tools. it sees the hardware everytime, but chkdsk,diskpart,etc. all say it cant access it, sometimes bluescreening....
can anyone help!? is the mbr screwed, or what? the drive is only a year old, i was very careful of bumps and antistatic stuff. i cant afford a new drive! i tried it in my friends comp and his comp cant see it either... doesnt show up in 'my computer' but the device manager lists it and shows it as working. this happened about 3am my time, and it sucks. a simple procedure...nothings as simple as it always seems :-( if anyone can help, please!
HDD info:
Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9
80GB ATA/133 7200rpm
(actually the mfg. date says nov 2002)
note* i ensured when testing the hdd that the jumpers were in their correct corresponding locations.
More about : hdd invalid partition
I'd say your partition table is corrupt. Dos/Windows ME/XP don't recognize the partition as a DOS/Windows partition. Or DOS/Windows don't understand at all whats on the drive..
I have found out that (some?) Windows versions don't let you manage foreign (unrecognized) partitions; eg. if you have a disk with a NTFS partition Win98 won't let you delete it.
Your options:
- Try fdisk /mbr from the winxp recovery console
- Try repairing the partition table with some partitioning tool (disk doctor, Partition Magic) (good chances your data is recoverable)
- Try repairing the partition table with a disk editor
- Try low-level formatting the drive (all your data will be lost), then fdisk/format/etc. A low-level formatting programs is available at the maxtor web site.
I have found out that (some?) Windows versions don't let you manage foreign (unrecognized) partitions; eg. if you have a disk with a NTFS partition Win98 won't let you delete it.
Your options:
- Try fdisk /mbr from the winxp recovery console
- Try repairing the partition table with some partitioning tool (disk doctor, Partition Magic) (good chances your data is recoverable)
- Try repairing the partition table with a disk editor
- Try low-level formatting the drive (all your data will be lost), then fdisk/format/etc. A low-level formatting programs is available at the maxtor web site.
Considering the kind of problems you have observed, this is very likely. Especially if you haven't noticed this sound before. However, if really wish to get som files of that drive, I suggest you put it as slave in another PC. Boot that PC normally, and prey that your drive behaves while you copy off those files.
<i><b>Engineering is the fine art of making what you want from things you can get</b></i>
<i><b>Engineering is the fine art of making what you want from things you can get</b></i>
>_< no explanation for this! no bumps, anti-static... all i can blame it on is m$... *sigh*... looks like im outa a comp for a while.
well, since i'll be getting a new hdd, any suggestions on brandname and cache size?
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Solidox2k on 02/17/04 03:37 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
well, since i'll be getting a new hdd, any suggestions on brandname and cache size?
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Solidox2k on 02/17/04 03:37 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
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