mathrisk

Hi TSF,
Once i posted problem regarding SATA hdd.
here it is
But I cudn't made that working that time and I was happy computing with another 320GB Seagate(which is new).

But, two days back I wanted to get back my 200GB, and so I did as follows.....
1. Disconnected my working 320GB hdd and connected the other 200GB thing.
2. Since Vista setup was showing 20GB dynamic partition, so I deleted that dynamic partition from command prompt. Then installed WinXP after deleting all the partitions.(all rest got unallocated space then)
3. Again from Vista setup I deleted the installed XP. All 200GB was now unallocated.(I lost hell lots of data in these).
(i dunno why I did so, but I did)

The problem comes now.
1. If I simply connect the working 320GB hdd, my PC does not boot up. After the Mobo screen it shows some command prompt like thing, then it halts(from where the vista booting screen used to appear before.) I tried using Vista as well as XP setup disk, but none detects the hdd though it shows in the bios.
2. If i connect both the hdd, it halts in the mobo screen.
3. If i connect the 200GB, it works fine and I am working using that only now.(with my 320GB lying aside )

Please note....
1. I tried with SeaTool long test, which said no errors in my hdd.
2. Whatever I did to my 200GB thing, I had completely disconnected the 320GB ALL THE TIME.
3. I got Abit IP35E mobo, E8200 and both the hdd are seagate.

can someone please help me out to get my hdd/data back?

I got some option to delete existing OS using SeaTools. Will that wipe out my whole hdd or just the WinVista thing?

TIA.

wiseleo

...then installed XP.

And you still want your data back? After you wiped NTFS and rewrote a different version of NTFS?

I can only wish you luck! In fact, I'd be very curious to see what you can recover.

Photo_rec would be one option, since it ignores file system.

You'd need to image that 200GB drive entirely because it is likely this process would take several approaches. I expect only marginal results.

...

OK, so it seems you want the data from your 320GB. Stop doing anything that has to do with "delete". That will only make things worse.

Boot from my CD and tell me if testdisk detects the drive. Before making changes, make a sector-level backup of the drive. My post tells you how.

If your risk tolerance is high, you may want to follow the sticky post about testdisk in this forum. As testdisk does write to the drive irreversibly, it would be prudent to have a sector level backup in the event anything goes wrong.

Vista DVD should detect the drive on most common SATA controllers. The fact that it does not is what makes me very concerned.

Do not mix Vista and XP. They use different versions of NTFS.

This sounds like a logical error that testdisk should be able to fix. Make a backup because it can be something else.

Deleted090308

What are the system specifications? Don't forget the power supply.

mathrisk

I don't want to recover any data from the 200Gb hdd...i know that I lost those.....
All i want to make the newer 320GB work !!!!

My System:
E8200
Abit IP35E
Patriot 2GB RAM
XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog
Cooler Master 600W PSU
HDD....you know :P

Deleted090308

Start the computer with the 320GB HDD connected (200GB disconnected).
What happens? If there's an error message on screen - write it down and post back.

mathrisk

If I simply connect the working 320GB hdd, my PC does not boot up. After the Mobo screen it shows some command prompt like thing(something appears before Vista boot up), then it halts on a black screen(from where the vista booting screen used to appear before.) No error message. I can restart the system from there with Alt+Ctrl+Del.

Deleted090308

Press F8 when the computer is starting.
The Advanced Boot Options screen will appear. Choose "Last Known Good Configuration", and then press ENTER.

mathrisk

On pressing F8 I got something like

Booting 'Vista Loader'
map --mem (hd0,0)/vstaldr.img(fd0)
FAT12 BPB found with 0xEB(jmp) leading to boot sector
probed C/H/S = 80/2/18, probed total sectors = 2880
floppies_only=1, harddrives_orig=1,floppies_curr=1, harddrive_curr=1
map --hook
chainloader(fd0)+1
root noverify(fd0)

starting MS-DOS

MSDOS will prompt yout o confirm each config.sys command
process AUTOEXEC.BAT?[Y/N]
echo off?[Y/N]
softmod?[Y/N]
grub?[Y/N]



Now, if I press YES for all, I get the same problem. A black screen appears. Nothing happens after that.

and, if I press NO for "process AUTOEXEC.BAT" i get command prompt with A:/

Any advice from here ??

TIA

Deleted090308

You have to repair the Vista installation.

How to: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tuto...torial148.html

mathrisk

I tried doing that.
But problem is, my Vista Setup does not detect my HDD.



In this window, I cudn't see any partition.
Is it any problem with my vista dvd?
I even tried with XP setup......that also didn't detect my hdd.
I had a FREE partition of 20GB there.

Can SeaTool be use to Delete the installed Vista?

Deleted090308

Please explain what you have done.
Have you been "playing" with Linux?

Boot the computer with a Parted Magic CD.
Can you see the partitions in the partition manager (Gparted)?

mathrisk

No man !!
I haven't played with LINUX yet.
All I had done some crazy things with my other HDD only. And ALL THE TIME I had kept this hdd disconnected from the mobo.

what I had done with other hdd...
1. deleted Dynamic partitons using command prompt from Vista setup.
2. installed XP.
3. formated whole disk.
4. deleted all the partitons(including XP) using Vista Setup.


Now, let me try this Parted Magic thing.

Deleted090308

Look at post #8. It says "Grub". That's a Linux thing.

mathrisk

a long before while it was working, once I tried LIVE version of Ubuntu. But since by Gfx card doesn't supported, so I didn't proceed to installation.
I think LIVE versions are safe to try.
Also, after that my pc with that hdd was working fine !! :)

kazd362

hi im hvin the same prob xcept i hv widows xp

kazd362

windows soz

mathrisk

I tried with some different disk of WinXP.
It showed my hdd partitions like
Partition 1 - 100GB - 0MB free
Partition 2 - 50GB - 0MB free
etc......
But I had some 20GB free space, which the setup didn't shew.
(Total Size was showing something around 305,000MB)
I did nothing with the setup(I am still in hope of recovering my data ). Exited !!!!

Next I tried connecting both hdd and booted the pc from the working hdd(that 200gb thing)....XP didn't even boot up.
But Vista started up......
It showed the 320GB hdd as follows.



Can anything be done from here ?

PS: sorry for my late reply. I was outta town