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Comment:
Hey all,
I really need some help on this one.
Ok, it's a long story. I have 2 hard drives on my com. Both old, a IBM DTLA-305020 [20gb](sux) and a Quantum Fireball EL6.4A [6gb].
Now, the IBM has had a history of giving bad sectors, so usually I would run chkdsk to fix thr problem and it does. (don't hear a weird hard disk 'whirring' sound when it hits a bad sector)
So one day this happens again and I couldn't get past the XP loading screen.
So i formatted it and reinstalled the OS. I did not want to touch the Fireball 'cos I have ALOT of personal stuff inside, pictures etc.
So I install XP home, everything's fine except that I can't access my Fireball hard disk. In 'my computer', it shows the hard disk but doesn't show any info on it's drive space etc. Disk manager it shows it as empty when it contains alot of my stuff.
When i try and open the hard drive, it says it is not formatted and must be formatted. I do not want to erase everything so i click no. From command prompt I try to access the hard disk but it says it can't 'cos it is "RAW".Need help on this PLEASe. Thanks.
AMD Athlon XP2600+
ASUS A7V8X-X MB
256 mb DDR*I believe they are connected through IDE connectors and not RAID or SSCI or whatever, i have no idea what those are.
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bootup with a bootdisk to see if your files are still there.
if not try a hd recovery program.
computing.net advertises http://www.runtime.org/
a search on google will turn up quite a few.
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I had the same situation arise when I moved my second hard drive to another computer. I had to use a data recovery program to restore the partitions and data on the drive. I was successful in recovering 100% of the data. You'll probably have to go the same route.
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Also consider.
Was the main OS drive (the one that was reformatted) originally NTFS??
If so....and the fireball is NTFS also....AND when you reformatted the IBM drive, you formatted it as FAT32 (rather than NTFS) or similar....then you would not be able to read the Fireball (although the data would still be there and okay.
ALSO...if the above IS the case....and you create a boot disk from that FAT32 drive now....and then boot from it....I still don't think that you would be able to view the data on the Fireball (b/c the boot disk would be fat32).
Hopefully this is what happend...it sounds kinda like it.
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kev100, i see where you're going and i think you got it.
Just remembered that initially both drives were NTFS. But ths OS drive was reformatted to FAT32, because it seemed to continue to read some sort of bad sectors while formatting to NTFS.
So now my question is, because the OS drive is on FAT32, i can't read the NTFS drive?
BTW www, I ran chkdsk from command prompt and found this:
492884 KB Total Disk Space
0 KB AvailableI guess that means there's something inside?
i really have no clue whats going on... not really the computer type, only know the basics.
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Well, the way the FAT-type / read goes is that a FAT32 drive cannot read NTFS disks, but an NTFS can read a FAT32.
So, this may very well be you case...it probably is. However, I do not know if running the chkdsk on a NTFS from a FAT32 will alter/damage that data in any way.
What to do next?
Two suggestioned possibilities:
1. Simply reformat the main IBM drive as NTFS , re-install XP, and things may be just fine.
-or-
2. Move that Fireball to another PC with a NTFS main drive, and see if it can be read okay.
I would tend to just do #1, but since (I'm assuming) the data on the Fireball is EXTREMELY important, you'll want to wait for some other more knowledgeable folks to post their thoughts.
AT ANY RATE. I would suggest to turn your computer OFF, unplug the power cord, open up the case and disconnect the power cable from the Fireball. This will keep what is on it completely safe from any other influence while you reformat the IBM drive (if that's what you decide) or any other activity.
Leave the drive in the computer....just disconnect the power cable (since most drive damage is the result of actual handling).
But, again, wait for a few more advice-posts here from others. There are some really knowledgeable folks on this board.
Take Care
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KEV 100 is right but you don`t need to go thru the re-formatting again of your main hdd, you can convert your fat32 drive to ntfs thru the dos emulator (c prompt) C:\>_convert_C:_/fs:ntfs (after convert_ type in the drive letter you need to convert). hth
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I wouldn't bother to convert...you have probs with that drive that need to be addressed 1st or you're just gonna have more probs in the future.
Remove the Quantum HDD from your system...that way you won't risk losing your data. Go to the IBM website, download the diagnostics software & check your drive for errors. Sometimes writing zeros to the drive will clear things up. If everything checks out, install XP using NTFS
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"a FAT32 drive cannot read NTFS disks, but an NTFS can read a FAT32." is not factual.
The OS determines what file system it can read. For example W2K can read fat32 and ntfs drives but 98 can only read fat32. File systems don't read file systems and across the network the remote file system type does not matter to any OS.
The issue you are experiencing with the drive is usually related to the fact that when you reinstalled you have a new SID. What file system you installed to has no effect on the file system of the other drive.
But since the other drive says only the old sid can access it and any others are denied.. you can't access the drive.You have a couple of options:
If you go into Disk Manager it should ask you to write a signature to the drive. Do so. It should also have a drive letter assignment. Next step is to go into explorer and go to that drive letter. Go to properties and the security tab. Selete take ownership and check the box for rights inheritance. Say OK. You should do this logged in as administrator. This should gain you access to all your files.
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Hmmmm...really?
Now these drives are in the same box...they are not networked (at least not in relation to one another). I was aware that FAT32 and/or Win98 systems can read NTFS / XP drives over a network. But a FAT32 reading NTFS in the same box .... so that is an issue of OS....not file system type ?
In other words...if he had formatted the main IBM drive with NTFS to begin with, would the procedure you described still be necesary to access the files on the secondary Fireball drive?
And conversely....a primary drive formatted with FAT32 CAN read NTFS drive in the SAME box (as the secondary/slave drive) as long as the primary is running XP or W2K?
(I hope this isn't too redundant. I just wanting to make sure I understand this issue correctly...it may really come in handy later.)
THANKS
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This utility allows you to see and copy files from your NTFS partition to non-ntfs drives after booting from a dos bootdisk.
http://www.bootdisk.com/txtfiles/readntfs.htm
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well, I haven't tried converting my OS hard disk to NTFS, don't intend to until a few days time when i get a new hard disk.
Anyways, waderer, i tried going into disk manager and nothing asked me to write a signature to the drive. I see it in a list, showing :
Volume: (E:)
Layout: Partition
Type: Basic
File system: *blank*
Status: Healthy (Active)
Capacity: 6.00GB
Free Space:6.00GB ??
%Free: 100%
Fault Tolerance: No
Overhead: 0%And when i go to the hard disk properties, there are only 3 tabs. General, Tools and Hardware. Don't see anything about security.
ReGardz
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Don't see anything about security.
I believe its not available in XP Home Edition, only XP Pro.
i_XpUser
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The reason you don't see a security tab, is because you are using Fat32, not NTFS as your file system. The security tab has to do with NTFS permissions. I would try to convert the partition to NTFS, and by default the root of C: is set to full control--Everyone, so you will only have to take ownership of your personal files--after you convert to NTFS.
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 Irq (wtf)
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Windows XP SP2 and Intern...
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