"The disk is not formatted" - errors and stuff

[ArBiTaL 24]

Recently my computer went down.. it bluescreened when I went to move the mouse (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL). I tried all the usuals, booting to safe mode, using the WinXP reinstall disk for repair, doing a disk scan.

Long story short, I couldn't get my main drive (80GB; I have a main 80GB one with Windows and files that I use a lot, and a 300GB "Backup" drive with all of my programs and whatnot on) to work, so I took it into the computer shop and they basically said it was screwed. When I tried to boot windows it just kept restarting and whenever I tried to access it (windows disk, second HD in another computer, plugging into another computer via USB) it would bluescreen.

I have baiscally resigned myself to a lost main drive (and a LOT of data and stuff that I was working on, and booking and confirmation and order numbers which I'm really ****ed about, but oh well..........). However, that isn't the only problem...

My backup drive (my secondary, the 300GB one) isn't working properly either. It gives the error "The disk in drive F is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?" (See attatched error.jpg file). Obviously, since it contains about 200GBs of my data, the answer to that is a resounding "no".

I have tried to run scandisk on it (it closes the scandisk box but doesn't run the scan), and I have tried repairing using PartitionMagic 8 (it said there were too many errors). I tried to find some software to fix it but all I can come up with is "Hard drive mechanic gold", which is expensive and doesn't have a trial.

Basically, does anyone know what this problem is / might be, and how I can fix it? I assume that, since I can at least see the drive in windows, the data isn't lost and should be recoverable? So I need to know what the problem is, and how I can fix it. If you have any software recommendations for fixing it (preferably free, or with a trial so I can see if they can do anything about it), that's cool too.

Thanks a lot!

Edit:
Added "PM", the PartitionMagic main screen when viewing the drives, and "EIPM", the errors that it gives. If you click "Fix", it just keeps coming up with the same error for ages, and then says there are too many and quits.

[redduc900]

Open a command prompt (Start | Run | Type cmd, and click OK), and type chkdsk F: /r

... the /r switch locates bad sectors and recovers readable information, and is more comprehensive than the /f switch.

[ArBiTaL 24]

Sadly, I already tried that :( It said that the type is RAW and it doesn't support it *does it again and attatches a screenshot*.

The properties on the drive also say that it's RAW but in PartitionMagic it says that it's NTFS >_<

[6ghztofreedom]

Use Windows to format the drive

Right click on My Computer-->Manage-->Disk Manager--> format from here

[ArBiTaL 24]

That's the thing - I don't want to format. I know I can format if I need to - it asks me if I want to format (as stated in my first post). I have like 200GB of data on there and I want to recover it :(

[gt24]

Where are you accessing this drive from again?

Why? Well, let's say you have a drive with NO PROBLEMS (just for the heck of it) and you put in it an external drive enclosure and attach it with USB... oh, the drive enclosure is bad by the way... but not quite failed yet. Windows says it cannot read the drive... it isn't formatted... something is messed up... that is the key, something is messed up, and in this case it was the enclosure!

My point? Put it IN the other computer as a slave to the master (Windows) drive. Then tell me you are having issues. Right now it could be either the enclosure or the drive. It is a remote possibility that your drives have no problems, I know... but isn't it worth a try at least?

[ArBiTaL 24]

The drive is installed into my PC, I only used the enclosure in another PC to test it. It is on my secondary IDE channel with my DVD writer.

Luckily I managed to get Ontrack EasyRecovery, which recovered most of my files (seemingly) without problems, although a load did have read errors. PM now detects the drive as "BAD", and cannot format it, so I am currently trying in Windows (although it lists the drive as only 127GB, when it is 300).

I'll post again when I know what's going on :)

[AmbientFiction]

That sounds almost like problems with southbridges that I have ran into like the Southbridge going band corrupting drive data and over time not being able to get anything at all just stalling at post screen.

I'd keep an eye on it.

[ArBiTaL 24]

Hmm.. I have a new mobo recently, as my other one broke down. Is it likely to have broken down so fast?

[AmbientFiction]

Depends but if you get it fixed and keep having the problem then it could be the MOBO hell you could have had a larger peice of dust than normal carying a charge hit your board after being pulled through the fan ESD is a funny thing its like lightening but on a small scale and can be rather random.

[MadMan007]

What kind of drives and mobo do you have?

[ArBiTaL 24]

Right, here we go:

I formatted my 300GB drive, but Windows will only pick it up as a 127GB drive:
(TooSmall.JPG)
PartitonMagic says that it's bad:
(PMBad.JPG)
And gives an error when I try to format it. I can format in Windows, but as I said, the drive is too small. Is it broken?

[KillrBuckeye]

Right, here we go:

I formatted my 300GB drive, but Windows will only pick it up as a 127GB drive:
(TooSmall.JPG)
PartitonMagic says that it's bad:
(PMBad.JPG)
And gives an error when I try to format it. I can format in Windows, but as I said, the drive is too small. Is it broken?Do you have SP2? Windows pre-SP1 has a partition size limitation of ~127 GB.

[ArBiTaL 24]

Good point, I don't have SP1 or 2 installed yet. But still, partitionmagic says that the volume is "bad", which is didn't use to do. I don't want to put my recovered data back on there if it doesn't work :(

I just tried rebooting to format it, it said there was an invalid argument or parameter (Error 4).

The error it gives when I try to do it in windows it the same...

EDIT: I juust noticed, in that window it says "BADMBR". I couldn't access it from the windows disk to do do a repair thingy before, so how could I maybe fix the MBR now?

[KillrBuckeye]

What is the SMART status of this drive? You can download a utility from the manufacturer that should give you a report, or you can install Speedfan which should give you this information.

[MadMan007]

Have you tried the usual:

Swapping the drive cable
Using different configurations for master/slave/cable select (many WD drives that are alone on an IDE channel are supposed to be cable select - check the pdf manual)
Using a different channel

[ArBiTaL 24]

Right, I just installed SP1.
Windows can now see the drive as it's full size, but PM still says that it's correpted, and still cannot format it in PM (Although I can format it in Windows, which I'm doing now).

EasyRecovery had a SMART scanner, which didn't come back with any problems.

MadMan007 - Yes, yes, and yes. Setting it up in any other jumper configuration other than what it is currently (including setting master and slave manually) causes the BIOS to not recognise it O_o;

[jajmon]

> Blow the partition away via windows
> create the PM boot disk set
> boot the PC with the PM boot disks
> create your partition and format

I 'never' use PM thru windows - always the boot disks

[ArBiTaL 24]

1. What do you mean by "blow it away" - delete it in PM? FDISK? Something else?

2. I don't have a working floppy drive or diskettes :( I could go and get some, but.. is it guarenteed to work? I have tried formatting during bootup (it had to restart to format anyway, and tried to do it from DOS or whatever thing it boots to) and it gave an error, same as it did from within Windows.

[Lotec25]

the drive is more then likley just messed up. How long have you had it? Contact the Manufacturer and let them know what it is doing. Could be a problem they had with that HD. I have seen a few errors like this on Computers at work and we just end up sending them back. I dont know if i would even trust that disk if you do get it formated and working.

[Captain Newbie]

Your partition table is hosed. This should be regarded as a Really Bad Thing and short of sending it off to DriveSavers your only recourse is to format the thing (low level) and start from scratch.

Happy birthday. :(

Rationale: If your partition table, or other low-level disk structure is bad, you're not gonna get anything out of it short of DriveSavers or forensic analysis tools.

[ArBiTaL 24]

Ahh damn.. Well I recovered the data with the Ontrack thingy, I'm just trying to get it working again. Thanks for the advice, I will reboot and see if I can low-level format using by boot anything disk. But OTOH, maybe it's just a fried HD.. That's a real pain, because (A) I wouldn't imagine it's still in warentee (I got it from www.overclockers.co.uk), and (B) It's a 300GB drive, which are expensive :(

[baltoos]

Hey Stranger!
How have you been?
One of the very best tools I've found for troubleshooting is the Ultimate Boot CD (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html).
Download the .iso file & burn it to a CD. It has Diagnostics for all the major Hard Drive manufactureres. you can use it to find out if the dirve is borked, & then use to low level format or write all zeros to the drive. There's a good chance that if the HDD is less than 3yr. old, it's still under warranty.
My WD raptor 74GB messed up big time a few months ago.
I tried running the WD diagnostic & it wouldn't even start. I tried another diagnostic. It showed probs w/ the HDD. I was able to slave it in another rig recover what I needed. In preparation for returning it, I ran the WD diagnostic to zero the HDD & tested it just once more to make sure it was bad.
This time the WD diagnostic ran fine & found NO Errors!
Talking to a WD rep, he said that sometimes zeroing the drive & running the diagnostic will fix probs on the drive. It's been running fine since!
-Dave

[Trypt]

Don't panic. Since BIOS (and Windows, which is even better) recognizes the drive, it is very easy to recover all of your data, except that data which was actually corrupted (physically) due to bad sectors. Any data that is lost due to corrupt file allocation table is recoverable no problem. Get a program called "GetDataBack" for FAT32 or NTSC (most likely NTSC for you), and it will easily recover everything you need. Do it quickly before the drive is so bad that it doesn't even show up.

PM me if you have trouble obtaining the proggy.

[ArBiTaL 24]

Baltoos - Ahh, thanks :) I have that CD and tested it before, but it didn't find any problems.. PM says otherwise. I'll do a low-level format with it, though.

Trypt - Ahh, well I got the data off, except some corrupt stuff. I used Ontrack's Easyrecovery, but thank you anyway!

The problem at the moment is that sometimes this computer hangs for ages on startup, but maybe that will be fixed when I run a ghost image.. Either way, I'll keep working on it and keep this thread informed if I have any more problems! Thanks again :)

[maelstromracing]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. What overclock are ya running. It could be your overclock corrupting your drives....

[gt24]

I guess I will be the first to mention it. What overclock are ya running. It could be your overclock corrupting your drives....

I'll expand on this and sorta come back to something I said earlier.

When a drive fails you have to consider what part it plays. It can die... ok. It talks to your computer via a ribbon cable or in external situations other types of cables. Those can be bad although this is unlikely... easy fix so keep a few extra cables around just in case. :)

Next you have to hit the controller for your hard drives. That could be bad or malfunctioning for external devices or you can add acting unusually for your motherboard's solution. Let's talk motherboard... in an overclock you can speed up the front side bus to make a difference. Depending on bus configuration (here I am fuzzy... eep!) this might mean that you are speeding up the bus that your drive controller is on. This can happen easier with a addon card driving your drives. You are telling that bus and everything on it to go faster (unless you have PCI Lock, if you have that you can avoid this problem). Anything on that route can fail on an initial overclock... or over time. I will define fail later.

For external devices, you have to go through something to get to the motherboard, that is your on motherboard connection and this connection could be wonky.

Failure is defined two ways... first off is clearly bad. These devices are blown or otherwise won't work each and every time you test them. Second is intermittent. In this second case sometimes the device doesn't work as intended causing all sorts of havoc. When you troubleshoot it acts fine... Makes life interesting to say the least.

Don't forget that an overclocked system might make Windows mess up (due to memory not being able to keep up or failing, other issues too) and in that case Windows can do anything such as destroy data on your drive. Thankfully this is really rare because any memory issues (such as crashing on another process's data, corruption, alike) is resolved either by the application crashing or Windows BSODing. That BSOD isn't there for kicks... it is there to shut down EVERYTHING if Windows isn't certain if it is sane anymore.

So, if you have a drive foobar... it could be drive... but it reality it could be many other things too. Thus, change what you can change easily and cheaply and check what you can easily and cheaply while leaving the worst case scenarios such as drive replacement as a final option. Of course, save the almighty data everybody knows and is assumed. :)

I'm sure you know most of this but I thought to babble on in case it helps some future reader.