help me with my drive please

[JakeMcM]

It all started when I tried to install win xp pro on to a 120gb maxtor drive. It already had some stuff on it which probably is a problem. Well I didnt get very far it said that my disc may be damaged or hooked up incorrectly. I couldn't get it to work so I put my old hard drive in my comp that has xp home. This works fine. I had the Maxtor as the slave drive and I tried to open up the maxtor and my drive was completely empty but it said that the total capacity was 10.1 mb. I don't know if its a damaged disc or improper connections or what. Actually I'm 99% sure its hooked up properly.

Is there any chance of recovering the data I had on my HD? Does this sound like a connection related issue, or something else? Please help.

[iNeb]

Sounds like it was a bad format, Your data is probably gone, maybe you can use some software to search for it, do a search here for "data recovery software"

[JakeMcM]

I downloaded something called Get Data Back or something. It listed all my drives and everything. It showed the 10.1 mb as a partition. Then as a seperate drive it listed one as 120gb which would be my Maxtor. How can I access this part of the drive, and not just the 10.1 mb partition that mysteriously is there.

[nodnerb2]

Hi,

Your access problem may be as simple as the fact that you are looking at an NTFS Partition with an OS on a FAT 32 partition.

NTFS can see FAT 32 but not the other way around.

Cheers

Nodnerb2

[JakeMcM]

I don't think thats it. My OS is on NTFS, and the drive according to the software is also an NTFS.

I ran the scan using GET DATA BACK for NTFS. All my files were there and everything. the program even allowed me to open them. However it was a trial version so it wouldn't allow me to copy them to a different drive. So I know all my stuff is there, but is there any other way to get it off. The software is like $70.

The wierd thing is that when I open up the drive that is the Maxtor it goes to this 10.1 mb fat32 partition, and nothing else. How can I get to the NTFS partition that the software accesed that has all my stuff? Can I get rid of this 10.1 mb partition without losing everything? There were no other drive letters displayed or anything under my computer. Just my old drive and the maxtor but that 10.1mb is the only one that is visible. Thanks for the help though guys. Any ideas?

[daveleau]

It sounds like your master boot record is damaged. You can repair it with " FDISK /MBR " in DOS and then using the repair function of your Win XP setup.

You could go straight to the 'Recovery Console' by booting w/ the XP CD and use "FIXMBR"

FIXBOOT
fixboot drive name:

Use this command to write the new Windows boot sector code on the system partition. In the command syntax, drive name is the drive letter where the boot sector will be written. This command fixes damage in the Windows boot sector. This command overrides the default of writing to the system boot partition. FIXBOOT is supported only on x86-based computers.


FIXMBR
fixmbr device name

Use this command to repair the master boot record (MBR) of the boot partition. In the command syntax, device name is an optional device name that specifies the device that needs a new MBR. Use this command if a virus has damaged the MBR and Windows cannot start.

WARNING: This command can damage your partition tables if a virus is present or a hardware problem exists. Using this command can result in inaccessible partitions. Microsoft recommends that you run antivirus software before you use this command.

You can obtain the device name from the output of the map command. If you do not specify a device name, the MBR of the boot device is repaired, for example:
fixmbr \device\harddisk2

If FIXMBR detects an invalid or non-standard partition table signature, FIXMBR prompts you for permission before rewriting the MBR. FIXMBR is supported only on x86-based computers.

[Xaotic]

Try this one:

http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm

It's freeware and works very well. You just need a folder on the other drive to save data to.

[JakeMcM]

how do I run a virus scan on a drive I can't access?

Those dos commands are kind of scary.

[JakeMcM]

how do I know EXACTlY what to type in the commands, like fixmbr/device/harddisk2...is that what I put in or is it different for mine.