Just reinstalled XP, but now external hard drive not worki..

Bente wrote:
> That doensn't work. I tried it on my laptop, and it asks the same
> thing. "This medium hasn't been formatted. Do you want to format
> now? [Yes] [No].

JS wrote:
> Try another PC and see if you can gain access.

If it is not accessible on multiple PCs - that is a very bad sign.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

I know

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> Bente wrote:
> > That doensn't work. I tried it on my laptop, and it asks the same
> > thing. "This medium hasn't been formatted. Do you want to format
> > now? [Yes] [No].
>
> JS wrote:
> > Try another PC and see if you can gain access.
>
> If it is not accessible on multiple PCs - that is a very bad sign.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
>

Bente wrote:
> Ok that last one didn't seem to work.. But the thing is, I put all of my
> stuff on the drive since i was completely formatting my pc and doing a clean
> xp install. So I really need the stuff that's on there..

If it was my drive, I would probably remove it from the enclosure, and
connect it directly to the computer. One thing that will improve, is the
ability for the raw disk drive manufacturer's test utility, to be able to
test the drive, and display whether it is damaged or not. Each disk
manufacturer (making the part inside the enclosure), has test utilities.
They access things, like the SMART data, as well as trying other tests
on the drive mechanism. SMART is a feature on drives, uses to test and
rate their performance state (good, or about to die).

For a free utility, to look at partition information, you can try Testdisk.
But such a utility cannot do anything, if it cannot see the drive, or access
the drive.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step

In the worst case, you may need data recovery, which could cost
$500 to $1000. And in the interim, be careful not to do anything
to the drive, that will make matters worse.

Since the drive does not show up, when plugged into a second computer,
that increases the odds that the enclosure USB chip or the hard drive
inside the enclosure, or the power supply feeding the external enclosure,
are having problems.

Paul

Well I was able to assign a letter to it. I made it an (I but now i only
have the option to format the drive, which I don't want to. Is it possible
for a company to retract the stuff that's on the drive? That I can get
someone to open the thing up and save what's on it?

"Paul" wrote:

> Bente wrote:
> > Ok that last one didn't seem to work.. But the thing is, I put all of my
> > stuff on the drive since i was completely formatting my pc and doing a clean
> > xp install. So I really need the stuff that's on there..
>
> If it was my drive, I would probably remove it from the enclosure, and
> connect it directly to the computer. One thing that will improve, is the
> ability for the raw disk drive manufacturer's test utility, to be able to
> test the drive, and display whether it is damaged or not. Each disk
> manufacturer (making the part inside the enclosure), has test utilities.
> They access things, like the SMART data, as well as trying other tests
> on the drive mechanism. SMART is a feature on drives, uses to test and
> rate their performance state (good, or about to die).
>
> For a free utility, to look at partition information, you can try Testdisk.
> But such a utility cannot do anything, if it cannot see the drive, or access
> the drive.
>
> http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step
>
> In the worst case, you may need data recovery, which could cost
> $500 to $1000. And in the interim, be careful not to do anything
> to the drive, that will make matters worse.
>
> Since the drive does not show up, when plugged into a second computer,
> that increases the odds that the enclosure USB chip or the hard drive
> inside the enclosure, or the power supply feeding the external enclosure,
> are having problems.
>
> Paul
>

Bente wrote:
> Well I was able to assign a letter to it. I made it an (I but now
> i only have the option to format the drive, which I don't want to.
> Is it possible for a company to retract the stuff that's on the
> drive? That I can get someone to open the thing up and save what's
> on it?

You can do it or you can get someone who knows about computers to take it
out of the case and put it in a computer or connect it to a different
external controller (or both...)

A company that recovers stuff from failed/erased drives might charge you far
more than the data is actually worth. Your best bet is putting the actual
drive in a different enclosure/computer and reading the data natively or
with recovery tools (many of which are free.)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Bente wrote:
> Well I was able to assign a letter to it. I made it an (I but now i only
> have the option to format the drive, which I don't want to. Is it possible
> for a company to retract the stuff that's on the drive? That I can get
> someone to open the thing up and save what's on it?

Yes, there are companies that will perform "Data Recovery". This
can range from making simple repairs to the disk structure (using a
Windows utility), all the way to opening up the interior of the disk
drive, and replacing the head assembly. The procedure becomes more
expensive, if they have to open up the drive in a clean room. There
is no charge generally speaking, if no data is recovered.

http://www.seagateservices.com/data-recovery/index.html

Paul

>
> "Paul" wrote:
>
>> Bente wrote:
>>> Ok that last one didn't seem to work.. But the thing is, I put all of my
>>> stuff on the drive since i was completely formatting my pc and doing a clean
>>> xp install. So I really need the stuff that's on there..
>> If it was my drive, I would probably remove it from the enclosure, and
>> connect it directly to the computer. One thing that will improve, is the
>> ability for the raw disk drive manufacturer's test utility, to be able to
>> test the drive, and display whether it is damaged or not. Each disk
>> manufacturer (making the part inside the enclosure), has test utilities.
>> They access things, like the SMART data, as well as trying other tests
>> on the drive mechanism. SMART is a feature on drives, uses to test and
>> rate their performance state (good, or about to die).
>>
>> For a free utility, to look at partition information, you can try Testdisk.
>> But such a utility cannot do anything, if it cannot see the drive, or access
>> the drive.
>>
>> http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step
>>
>> In the worst case, you may need data recovery, which could cost
>> $500 to $1000. And in the interim, be careful not to do anything
>> to the drive, that will make matters worse.
>>
>> Since the drive does not show up, when plugged into a second computer,
>> that increases the odds that the enclosure USB chip or the hard drive
>> inside the enclosure, or the power supply feeding the external enclosure,
>> are having problems.
>>
>> Paul
>>