My hard drive is confused..please help

[Edward C]

Hello..
I have a 20GB external IBM harddrive (PN 09N4211) which is
connected via USB to my laptop. For some unknown reason,
suddenly all the folders (there is only one partition)
appeared to be empty. So I thought, let's reboot. Once I
rebooted, all the folders disappeared (except a couple
related to the Rapid Restore instructions). When I check
the properties, it says my drive is onlt 2.41GB and only
has 209MB free space. I then went to the computer
management console, where on top again it reads capacity
2.62 and 209MB free. BUT in the panel below it states
Disk 1, Basic, 18.63 GB, Online, FAT32, Healthy (Active).

So in laymans terms, somehow this drive THINKS it's only
2.6MB. I have not changed anything. I have tried using
Easy Recovery (which has been running non-stop for nearly
36 hours and is only 69% complete) and Norton Utilities to
try to recover the data, and getting no where...

I run Anti-Virus, and have a Zone Alarm firewall. I don't
download anything from P2P services.

Any ideas, please (besides "Ed, you're hosed..) ???

Thank you in advance..

Ed

 

[Guest]

You write 'I then went to the computer management console, where on top again
it reads capacity 2.62 and 209MB free. BUT in the panel below it states Disk
1, Basic, 18.63 GB, Online, FAT32, Healthy (Active)'.

There is your answer: the disk management identifies the full extent of the
HDD, however it may not have a drive letter assigned and Windows will not be
able to access the drive.

I say the 'drive' but it would appear that it is partitioned as 211Mb and
18.63Gb. The Rapid Restore must be something you copied over during an early
backup of your hard drive and this may have caused a partitioning of the
drive.