FAT32 HDDrive Hidden

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Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences. I am
running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second drive (I
want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims that XP should work
with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in Explorer.

If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and d:), I
get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The system cannot find
the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed by Disk Management, where
the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32 partition, healthy(active);' however, I
cannot assign a drive letter (that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and shows 1
partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it also indicates
that there is 'No volume associated with this partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management:
'volume list' shows capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view' or
'disk list' shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
 
jdevola said:
Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences.
I am running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second
drive (I want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims
that XP should work with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in
Explorer.
Click to expand...
"Microsoft claims...."??? I'm looking at a FAT32 partition right now!
If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and
d:), I get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The
system cannot find the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed
by Disk Management, where the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32
partition, healthy(active);' however, I cannot assign a drive letter
(that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and
shows 1 partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it
also indicates that there is 'No volume associated with this
partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management: 'volume list' shows
capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view' or 'disk list'
shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Drive you jumper the drive as a slave? Is the first drive jumpered as
"cable select"?

If your system uses "Cable Select" you must have the right cable and the
drives both set to "Cable Select". If your system doesn't use "Cable
Select" the drives must be correctly jumpered as "Master" and "Slave".

You may know this already, though.

Cheers,

Cliff

Cheers,

Cliff
 
Enkidu said:
jdevola said:
Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences.
I am running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second
drive (I want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims
that XP should work with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in
Explorer.
Click to expand...
"Microsoft claims...."??? I'm looking at a FAT32 partition right now!
If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and
d:), I get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The
system cannot find the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed
by Disk Management, where the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32
partition, healthy(active);' however, I cannot assign a drive letter
(that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and
shows 1 partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it
also indicates that there is 'No volume associated with this
partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management: 'volume list' shows
capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view' or 'disk list'
shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Drive you jumper the drive as a slave? Is the first drive jumpered as
"cable select"?
Click to expand...
Duh! "*Did* you jumper the drive...etc
If your system uses "Cable Select" you must have the right cable and the
drives both set to "Cable Select". If your system doesn't use "Cable
Select" the drives must be correctly jumpered as "Master" and "Slave".

You may know this already, though.
Click to expand...
Cheers,

Cliff
 
jdevola said:
Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences. I am
running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second drive (I
want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims that XP should
work
with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in Explorer.

If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and d:),
I
get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The system cannot
find
the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed by Disk Management,
where
the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32 partition, healthy(active);' however, I
cannot assign a drive letter (that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and shows 1
partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it also indicates
that there is 'No volume associated with this partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management:
'volume list' shows capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view' or
'disk list' shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...


jdevola:
1. Disconnect that secondary drive from your machine.
2. Boot just with your C: - D: drive connected.
3. Assuming that boot is a normal one - no problems of any kind, shut down
the machine.
4. Now, carefully look at your secondary drive as you reconnect it.
a. Are you sure you've correctly jumpered it?
b: The IDE cable is securely attached to the drive and to the appropriate
motherboard's IDE connector?
c. No bent or deformed pins on the drive's signal/data connector?
d. If Cable Select configuration, you've made the correct connections?
e. If still no go, can you connect it to another IDE channel?
5. You're reasonably sure the drive is non-defective? Any reason to check it
out with a HD diagnostic utility?
6. You're reasonably sure the data on that drive should be accessible? There
was no problem with that drive when it was installed and working in another
computer - presumably from whence you got it?
Anna
 
hi anna-
thanks. yes, i've got the jumpers right and checked the pins. i've removed
the drive and replaced it, but no change. i even tried tweaking the bios,
but the bios also detects the drive -- it just doesn't appear in windows
explorer.

it has been a while since i used this drive (I am trying to get at some
backup files on that drive). i am thinking that the drive was partitioned
into 2 partitions. if that is the case, then the other partition is not
showing up. your suggestion that the drive may be faulty might be the
answer. the problem is that i can't run any diagnostics on the drive (unless
you have a suggestion) b/c the drive isn't recognized (no drive letter).

i plan to swap out that drive with another drive to see if I have the same
problems with another drive. that should tell me if the drive is faulty or
it's something else.

thanks, i'll get back to you

Anna said:
jdevola said:
Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences. I am
running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second drive (I
want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims that XP should
work
with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in Explorer.

If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and d:),
I
get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The system cannot
find
the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed by Disk Management,
where
the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32 partition, healthy(active);' however, I
cannot assign a drive letter (that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and shows 1
partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it also indicates
that there is 'No volume associated with this partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management:
'volume list' shows capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view' or
'disk list' shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...


jdevola:
1. Disconnect that secondary drive from your machine.
2. Boot just with your C: - D: drive connected.
3. Assuming that boot is a normal one - no problems of any kind, shut down
the machine.
4. Now, carefully look at your secondary drive as you reconnect it.
a. Are you sure you've correctly jumpered it?
b: The IDE cable is securely attached to the drive and to the appropriate
motherboard's IDE connector?
c. No bent or deformed pins on the drive's signal/data connector?
d. If Cable Select configuration, you've made the correct connections?
e. If still no go, can you connect it to another IDE channel?
5. You're reasonably sure the drive is non-defective? Any reason to check it
out with a HD diagnostic utility?
6. You're reasonably sure the data on that drive should be accessible? There
was no problem with that drive when it was installed and working in another
computer - presumably from whence you got it?
Anna
Click to expand...
 
Anna, you got it spot on. i swapped for another drive, and windows sees that
one ok. So, now... is it possible to save the faulty drive? Any fdisk or
something that will _fix_ a volume/partition?

Well, hopefully I can find the backups I need anyway.
thanks for the help
cheers
-joe


Anna said:
jdevola said:
Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences. I am
running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second drive (I
want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims that XP should
work
with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in Explorer.

If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and d:),
I
get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The system cannot
find
the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed by Disk Management,
where
the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32 partition, healthy(active);' however, I
cannot assign a drive letter (that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and shows 1
partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it also indicates
that there is 'No volume associated with this partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management:
'volume list' shows capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view' or
'disk list' shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...


jdevola:
1. Disconnect that secondary drive from your machine.
2. Boot just with your C: - D: drive connected.
3. Assuming that boot is a normal one - no problems of any kind, shut down
the machine.
4. Now, carefully look at your secondary drive as you reconnect it.
a. Are you sure you've correctly jumpered it?
b: The IDE cable is securely attached to the drive and to the appropriate
motherboard's IDE connector?
c. No bent or deformed pins on the drive's signal/data connector?
d. If Cable Select configuration, you've made the correct connections?
e. If still no go, can you connect it to another IDE channel?
5. You're reasonably sure the drive is non-defective? Any reason to check it
out with a HD diagnostic utility?
6. You're reasonably sure the data on that drive should be accessible? There
was no problem with that drive when it was installed and working in another
computer - presumably from whence you got it?
Anna
Click to expand...
 
jdevola said:
Similar to hogislander's post on 2/8/06, but with some differences. I
am
running XP with NTFS on the master drive. I just added a second drive
(I
want the data from it), which is FAT32. Microsoft claims that XP
should
work
with FAT32, but the drive doesn't show up in Explorer.

If I go to cmd prompt and enter e: (my primary drive takes up c: and
d:),
I
get 'The device is not ready,' [If I enter f:, I get 'The system
cannot
find
the drive specified'] This is basically confirmed by Disk Management,
where
the drive shows up as 'basic FAT32 partition, healthy(active);'
however, I
cannot assign a drive letter (that option is grayed out).

If I go into 'diskpart' the drive shows up as 'Hidden: Yes,' and shows
1
partition which it claims is the entire disk (4GB), but it also
indicates
that there is 'No volume associated with this partition'

One interesting tidbit: In disk management:
'volume list' shows capacity as 955MB, 60MB free; but 'graphical view'
or
'disk list' shows capacity as 4.03GB, 0MB unallocated.

I want the data on the drive, that's it. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Anna said:
jdevola:
1. Disconnect that secondary drive from your machine.
2. Boot just with your C: - D: drive connected.
3. Assuming that boot is a normal one - no problems of any kind, shut
down
the machine.
4. Now, carefully look at your secondary drive as you reconnect it.
a. Are you sure you've correctly jumpered it?
b: The IDE cable is securely attached to the drive and to the
appropriate
motherboard's IDE connector?
c. No bent or deformed pins on the drive's signal/data connector?
d. If Cable Select configuration, you've made the correct connections?
e. If still no go, can you connect it to another IDE channel?
5. You're reasonably sure the drive is non-defective? Any reason to check
it
out with a HD diagnostic utility?
6. You're reasonably sure the data on that drive should be accessible?
There
was no problem with that drive when it was installed and working in
another
computer - presumably from whence you got it?
Anna
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


jdevola said:
Anna, you got it spot on. i swapped for another drive, and windows sees
that
one ok. So, now... is it possible to save the faulty drive? Any fdisk or
something that will _fix_ a volume/partition?

Well, hopefully I can find the backups I need anyway.
thanks for the help
cheers
-joe
Click to expand...


Joe:
If you have a disk imaging program such as Symantec's Norton Ghost or
Acronis True Image, you might want to try cloning the contents of that
problem HD to another HD and hope for the best.

Since I take it the HD is detected in the BIOS, you could use a diagnostic
utility from the manuf. of the HD to test it out. Do so.

As far as so-called data recovery programs that are commercially available
you may want to try one or the other Ontrack products that have a pretty
good track record but their software isn't cheap. See
http://www.ontrack.com/software/. Also, do a Google search for "data
recovery programs".
Anna
 
jdevola said:
Anna, you got it spot on. i swapped for another drive, and windows sees that
one ok. So, now... is it possible to save the faulty drive? Any fdisk or
something that will _fix_ a volume/partition?

Well, hopefully I can find the backups I need anyway.
thanks for the help
cheers
-joe
Click to expand...

if a drive is screwy, fixing it may turn it into a ticking bomb.

to be safe, consider getting the data off and chucking the drive out.


A lot of the undelete programs assume you can access the drive

sometimes a usb-ide adaptor can help, data retreivable.
putting the drive in a sealed thing and putting it in the freezer
buying an identical model (or model with same circuit board) and
changing the hard drive's circuit board (i've never doen it but it
looks straight forward, uscrew, screw. I'm not sure but I think it's
ok, won't hurt the drive, it's not like opening it up where the heads
are i don't think, it'll ruin the drive, but I could be wrong. )

is the drive powering up? i.e. when you plug any of the psu's 4 pin
conenctor in there, does it make a powering up noise(good) or no
noise(bad)? if no noise, then I think the solution to that is usually
keep trying, try the freezer, or bag of ice over it. But proper soution
would be to change the board of the HDD.
 
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