Partition Table Trouble

jm4games · 03-14-2008, 03:18 PM

Hey guys i hope you can help me out with this.
I have a MyBook that recently went corrupt and it looks like the partition table might be bad.
The computer finds the actual usb device and knows that its a storage device. But Windows XP doesn't mount the drive nor does disk management pick it up.
I tried to pick it up in partition magic but it says the partition table is bad. When i tried to recover it using testdisk it finds the drive but it has the wrong information about it.
It says the drive size is 2199 GB when the drive is actually 500 GB. It says to check the HD jumper settings if the size is wrong but I am not exactly sure how to do that with a MyBook.
The original partition was NTFS and thats it. If someone could help me get the drive readable again so i can get my data off of it that be great.

**eneles** · 03-14-2008, 04:35 PM

Hi, welcome to TSF.

What happened when the drive went bad? Power failure? Anything else?

Run TestDisk again, but follow these steps:

A. At the first window, select “No Log” and press the <Enter> key.
B. Select which drive to analyse, choose “Proceed” and <Enter>.
C. Select partition type – Intel if it’s a PC then <Enter>.
D. Choose Advanced > press <Enter>.
E. Choose Boot > press <Enter>.
New screen - please post back with a screenshot (then close TestDisk).

Also - please post a screenshot of Disk Management.

How to post a screenshot.

jm4games · 03-14-2008, 05:08 PM

Hey I tried following your instructions where i go to advanced then boot. It said it couldn't find a partition on the drive. So right now i have it analyzing the drive to find a partition. I have included a screen shot of the disk management, but i don't think it will be any help since that drive doesn't show up. Also i knew the drive went corrupt when i started having trouble reading the folders on the drive. When the drive actually mounted i ran dskchk a couple of times trying to get it stable. I eventually thought i had it stable enough to just read from and shut it down till i had a replacement drive for the data. When i went to boot it back up it wouldn't read the data

.

jm4games · 03-14-2008, 05:11 PM

If you think i should stop the partition analysis please let me know because it looks like its going to take a while.

**eneles** · 03-14-2008, 05:23 PM

If the drive doesn't show up in Disk Management there's no point in searching the drive.

What are all the other drives? If they are external - disconnect them.

Then shut the computer down.
Disconnect the "bad" drive and restart the computer.
Connect the "bad" drive directly to the computer - not via a hub.

jm4games · 03-14-2008, 06:18 PM

I can't connect the drive directly to the computer since its a MyBook unless i take it apart which is pretty difficult and will void my warranty on it more then likely. Is there something else i can do? Only 2 of those drives in the disk management are external and i have alrdy tried shutting them down.

**eneles** · 03-15-2008, 01:50 AM

"Directly" = 1 USB cable, no hub. You don't have to mount the drive inside the computer.

Try another USB cable and different USB ports on the computer.

See if the drive works with another computer.

moomilkgal · 05-15-2008, 09:46 AM

Hi! I am not sure if this is the right place for a question or if I should start a new thread.... but I am having the same problem (down to the disk size showing that it is 2199)

I have most of my info backed up except for a month worth of pics (which I really want to get back)

What happened in my case was that the computer froze and I was forced to power down manually... when I started the computer up again the EHD didn't show up in My Computer...

The weird thing though is that at 3 times I reconnected it and it was able to boot and I was able to see the data... then it froze again and my problem came back...

Any ideas?

03-14-2008, 03:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
jm4games Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: xp sp2	Partition Table Trouble Hey guys i hope you can help me out with this. I have a MyBook that recently went corrupt and it looks like the partition table might be bad. The computer finds the actual usb device and knows that its a storage device. But Windows XP doesn't mount the drive nor does disk management pick it up. I tried to pick it up in partition magic but it says the partition table is bad. When i tried to recover it using testdisk it finds the drive but it has the wrong information about it. It says the drive size is 2199 GB when the drive is actually 500 GB. It says to check the HD jumper settings if the size is wrong but I am not exactly sure how to do that with a MyBook. The original partition was NTFS and thats it. If someone could help me get the drive readable again so i can get my data off of it that be great. Last edited by eneles : 03-14-2008 at 04:31 PM.

03-14-2008, 04:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
eneles Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sweden/Denmark Posts: 20,557 OS: 98SE/XP SP3/Vista SP1/Ubuntu 8.04 My System	Re: Partition Table Trouble Hi, welcome to TSF. What happened when the drive went bad? Power failure? Anything else? Run TestDisk again, but follow these steps: A. At the first window, select “No Log” and press the <Enter> key. B. Select which drive to analyse, choose “Proceed” and <Enter>. C. Select partition type – Intel if it’s a PC then <Enter>. D. Choose Advanced > press <Enter>. E. Choose Boot > press <Enter>. New screen - please post back with a screenshot (then close TestDisk). Also - please post a screenshot of Disk Management. How to post a screenshot. __________________ Last edited by eneles : 03-14-2008 at 04:40 PM.

03-14-2008, 05:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
jm4games Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: xp sp2	Re: Partition Table Trouble If you think i should stop the partition analysis please let me know because it looks like its going to take a while.

03-14-2008, 05:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
eneles Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sweden/Denmark Posts: 20,557 OS: 98SE/XP SP3/Vista SP1/Ubuntu 8.04 My System	Re: Partition Table Trouble If the drive doesn't show up in Disk Management there's no point in searching the drive. What are all the other drives? If they are external - disconnect them. Then shut the computer down. Disconnect the "bad" drive and restart the computer. Connect the "bad" drive directly to the computer - not via a hub. __________________

03-14-2008, 06:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
jm4games Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: xp sp2	Re: Partition Table Trouble I can't connect the drive directly to the computer since its a MyBook unless i take it apart which is pretty difficult and will void my warranty on it more then likely. Is there something else i can do? Only 2 of those drives in the disk management are external and i have alrdy tried shutting them down. Last edited by jm4games : 03-14-2008 at 06:19 PM.

03-15-2008, 01:50 AM	#7 (permalink)
eneles Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sweden/Denmark Posts: 20,557 OS: 98SE/XP SP3/Vista SP1/Ubuntu 8.04 My System	Re: Partition Table Trouble "Directly" = 1 USB cable, no hub. You don't have to mount the drive inside the computer. Try another USB cable and different USB ports on the computer. See if the drive works with another computer. __________________

05-15-2008, 09:46 AM	#8 (permalink)
moomilkgal Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1 OS: xp sp2	Re: Partition Table Trouble Hi! I am not sure if this is the right place for a question or if I should start a new thread.... but I am having the same problem (down to the disk size showing that it is 2199) I have most of my info backed up except for a month worth of pics (which I really want to get back) What happened in my case was that the computer froze and I was forced to power down manually... when I started the computer up again the EHD didn't show up in My Computer... The weird thing though is that at 3 times I reconnected it and it was able to boot and I was able to see the data... then it froze again and my problem came back... Any ideas?