HD not formatted all of a sudden

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 07:24 AM

I'm running 3 HDs
40GB WD (internal primary)
160GB WD (internal secondary)
320GB WD (external)

My primary drive has been giving me problems for a couple of months, and I finally heard the dreaded grinding sound about a week ago. So I decided to install the OS onto my 160GB drive. I pulled the 160GB drive out and out and put it in my external case so I could see if I had another computer that I could move the 60GB of data.

I didn't have a place to move the data, so I was going to wait until I bought another drive. In the meantime I did the freezer trick on the 40GB drive and copy all my info off. I figured I might as well put it back in my CPU and that it might give me enough time to move my data from the 160GB drive to the 320GB drive.

It did, but when I installed the 160GB back inside the CPU I was told that the drive was unformatted. I removed it and stuck it back in the external HD case and it is still showing as unformatted.

I found this post
Have you "lost" a hard drive, partition or files in your computer?

I was able to save all the data using Photorec, but I'd really like to salvage the partition if possible.

I tried using TestDisk, but had the same problems that this guy had
[SOLVED] External HD not formatted all of a sudden

I am able to choose Choose Repair FAT, but I receive this error
"Boot sector not valid, can't check FAT"

So I then tried Rebuild BS and received this error
"Can't get cluster size"

Any suggestions? Let me know what system information you need or if you need me to take some screen grabs. Thanks.

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 09:33 AM

btw, the drive in question is currently in an external HD case. Would you recommend installing it inside the CPU?

**Deleted090308** · 08-19-2008, 11:58 AM

Welcome to TSF.

Yes, mount the 160GB inside the PC.
Remove the 40GB if it's still installed.
Is XP installed on the 160GB and is it an IDE drive?

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eneles

Welcome to TSF.

Yes, mount the 160GB inside the PC.
Remove the 40GB if it's still installed.
Is XP installed on the 160GB and is it an IDE drive?

The 40GB is installed, but I have not installed XP on the 160GB. The 160GB is an IDE drive.

Currently I am using the 40GB for the OS, the 320GB to run Testdisk and Photorec.

I tried installing the OS on the 160GB, but it was prompting me to format and create a partition. So, for now, I'll need to keep the 40GB installed because it is running the OS.

Now that I have recovered the data with Photorec, I'll remove that drive and setup the 160GB as the Slave.

**Deleted090308** · 08-19-2008, 12:51 PM

???????
Are you going to install XP on the 160GB now?
If you only have 1 internal drive (after the 40GB has been removed) it should be configured as single (no jumper).

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eneles

???????
Are you going to install XP on the 160GB now?
If you only have 1 internal drive (after the 40GB has been removed) it should be configured as single (no jumper).

Sorry for the confusion. I am planning installing XP on the 160GB. The 40GB is acting like it is going to die, and has been going in and out.

I'm planning on using the 160GB for XP, but I need to move the data off of it first.

In a nutshell, in the process of replacing my 40GB drive that is going bad, the 160GB drive became unformated.

Am I making sense, or am I over complicating things?

**Deleted090308** · 08-19-2008, 01:43 PM

OK.

See if you can mount the 160GB with FindAndMount.

Or - try some data recovery programs:

GetDataBack (not free)
Recuva
Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eneles

OK.

See if you can mount the 160GB with FindAndMount.

Or - try some data recovery programs:

GetDataBack (not free)
Recuva
Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier

Will do. I'll try to get to this tonight. If not, it may not be until next week I can mess with it.

Thanks for your help so far.

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 07:30 PM

Okay, here is what I have done so far.

I moved the 160GB into the CPU as a slave. I plan on hooking it up using the CD IDE cable when I get a chance.

Here are the results from the different programs

FindAndMount
It found "no visable partitions" or "no new partitions"
I tried it on fast and normal

Recuva
The program told me that the "parameter is incorrect"

Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier
When I choose a source and destination and press copy a box comes up the says "Copied Files:0"

Seems that so far the only thing to remotely work has been PhotoRec & TestDisk

I've attached a screen of what it looks like when I go to Advanced->Boot

I've noticed that it says Bad under Boot Sector. What does "Dump" do?

Also, am I waisting my time? I have all the files backed up from 2 months ago, plus all the files recovered with PhotoRec. Should I cut my loses and move on?

the_mayor36 · 08-19-2008, 08:37 PM

did a little more digging tonight. I found this thread
[SOLVED] HD Issues

sounds exactly like my problem, however I cannot understand how the problem was solved.

~~wiseleo~~ · 08-19-2008, 11:07 PM

The problem in that thread was solved by following the steps I reference in my signature.

The user opened the disk image in a data recovery tool and could copy data out of it.

If you have all your data, then you can indeed cut your losses. If you are curious, you can complete my process and see if it works for you. You may have bad sectors right now where you partition table is stored, which is why you may have this situation.

If that's the case, it may be possible to run more advanced tools that let you choose from copies of vital sectors on a disk image to fully recover the file structure. That software is not free, but that's what usually needs to be done.

**Deleted090308** · 08-19-2008, 11:12 PM

I don't think that'll work in this case.
At the screen in post #9 - choose "Rebuild BS" and continue.
When TestDisk is finished - reboot the computer.

the_mayor36 · 08-20-2008, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eneles

I don't think that'll work in this case.
At the screen in post #9 - choose "Rebuild BS" and continue.
When TestDisk is finished - reboot the computer.

When I choose this I get "Can't Get Cluster Size"

If the HD has bad sectors, does that mean that the physical drive inself is damaged?

**Deleted090308** · 08-20-2008, 06:51 AM

If all files are safe on another drive:

Run Western Digital's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic Tools (extended test) on the 160GB to see if it's faulty.
A drive with bad sectors should be replaced - it cannot be repaired.

the_mayor36 · 08-20-2008, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eneles

If all files are safe on another drive:

Run Western Digital's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic Tools (extended test) on the 160GB to see if it's faulty.
A drive with bad sectors should be replaced - it cannot be repaired.

Thanks. I'll test this as soon as I get a chance.

~~wiseleo~~ · 08-20-2008, 01:57 PM

However, in this case the data can probably still be salvaged. The drive is still visible by BIOS and it appears to read from the platters.

Do not run the diagnostic. The drive is obviously dead, so what's the point? You can always run it after we get the data off the drive.

The tools you tried so far are not designed to work with bad sectors. The tool I recommend is designed to work with bad sectors.

the_mayor36 · 08-20-2008, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiseleo

However, in this case the data can probably still be salvaged. The drive is still visible by BIOS and it appears to read from the platters.

Do not run the diagnostic. The drive is obviously dead, so what's the point? You can always run it after we get the data off the drive.

The tools you tried so far are not designed to work with bad sectors. The tool I recommend is designed to work with bad sectors.

coolness. I'll try yours first.

**Deleted090308** · 08-20-2008, 06:13 PM

The files are safe on another drive (unless I've missed something).
And - where are the signs of a dead drive???

the_mayor36 · 08-20-2008, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eneles

The files are safe on another drive (unless I've missed something).
And - where are the signs of a dead drive???

Yep, the files are safe. I have a backup from 2 months ago plus the recovered files from PhotoRec.

I'm really not sure where the heart of the problem is. It is hard to imagine 2 drives going bad at the same time. I thought my 40GB was going bad (startup wasn't detecting any IDE devices). I also heard a grinding sound. I assumed it was the startup drive.

After freezing the 40GB drive, it seems to be working fine. It's been running for a few days straight with no problems.

Could all of these problems be caused by the bad sectors in 160GB drive that I had a Slave? (that is assuming that the 160GB has bad sectors)

btw, what hard drive companies do you guys recommend?

**Deleted090308** · 08-21-2008, 01:14 AM

Run the diagnostic tool from WD. It will tell you if the drive has bad sectors.
If there are no errors, you can just format the drive and keep on using it.

I always buy Seagate HDDs.

08-19-2008, 07:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
the_mayor36 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Windows XP SP2	HD not formatted all of a sudden I'm running 3 HDs 40GB WD (internal primary) 160GB WD (internal secondary) 320GB WD (external) My primary drive has been giving me problems for a couple of months, and I finally heard the dreaded grinding sound about a week ago. So I decided to install the OS onto my 160GB drive. I pulled the 160GB drive out and out and put it in my external case so I could see if I had another computer that I could move the 60GB of data. I didn't have a place to move the data, so I was going to wait until I bought another drive. In the meantime I did the freezer trick on the 40GB drive and copy all my info off. I figured I might as well put it back in my CPU and that it might give me enough time to move my data from the 160GB drive to the 320GB drive. It did, but when I installed the 160GB back inside the CPU I was told that the drive was unformatted. I removed it and stuck it back in the external HD case and it is still showing as unformatted. I found this post Have you "lost" a hard drive, partition or files in your computer? I was able to save all the data using Photorec, but I'd really like to salvage the partition if possible. I tried using TestDisk, but had the same problems that this guy had [SOLVED] External HD not formatted all of a sudden I am able to choose Choose Repair FAT, but I receive this error "Boot sector not valid, can't check FAT" So I then tried Rebuild BS and received this error "Can't get cluster size" Any suggestions? Let me know what system information you need or if you need me to take some screen grabs. Thanks.

08-19-2008, 09:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
the_mayor36 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden btw, the drive in question is currently in an external HD case. Would you recommend installing it inside the CPU?

08-19-2008, 11:58 AM	#3 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden Welcome to TSF. Yes, mount the 160GB inside the PC. Remove the 40GB if it's still installed. Is XP installed on the 160GB and is it an IDE drive?

08-19-2008, 12:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden ??????? Are you going to install XP on the 160GB now? If you only have 1 internal drive (after the 40GB has been removed) it should be configured as single (no jumper).

08-19-2008, 01:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden OK. See if you can mount the 160GB with FindAndMount. Or - try some data recovery programs: GetDataBack (not free) Recuva Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier

08-19-2008, 08:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
the_mayor36 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 20 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden did a little more digging tonight. I found this thread [SOLVED] HD Issues sounds exactly like my problem, however I cannot understand how the problem was solved.

08-19-2008, 11:07 PM	#11 (permalink)
~~wiseleo~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 461 OS: Win 2003 SP2 My System	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden The problem in that thread was solved by following the steps I reference in my signature. The user opened the disk image in a data recovery tool and could copy data out of it. If you have all your data, then you can indeed cut your losses. If you are curious, you can complete my process and see if it works for you. You may have bad sectors right now where you partition table is stored, which is why you may have this situation. If that's the case, it may be possible to run more advanced tools that let you choose from copies of vital sectors on a disk image to fully recover the file structure. That software is not free, but that's what usually needs to be done.

08-19-2008, 11:12 PM	#12 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden I don't think that'll work in this case. At the screen in post #9 - choose "Rebuild BS" and continue. When TestDisk is finished - reboot the computer.

08-20-2008, 06:51 AM	#14 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden If all files are safe on another drive: Run Western Digital's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic Tools (extended test) on the 160GB to see if it's faulty. A drive with bad sectors should be replaced - it cannot be repaired.

08-20-2008, 01:57 PM	#16 (permalink)
~~wiseleo~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 461 OS: Win 2003 SP2 My System	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden However, in this case the data can probably still be salvaged. The drive is still visible by BIOS and it appears to read from the platters. Do not run the diagnostic. The drive is obviously dead, so what's the point? You can always run it after we get the data off the drive. The tools you tried so far are not designed to work with bad sectors. The tool I recommend is designed to work with bad sectors.

08-20-2008, 06:13 PM	#18 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden The files are safe on another drive (unless I've missed something). And - where are the signs of a dead drive???

08-21-2008, 01:14 AM	#20 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HD not formatted all of a sudden Run the diagnostic tool from WD. It will tell you if the drive has bad sectors. If there are no errors, you can just format the drive and keep on using it. I always buy Seagate HDDs.