Second Hard Drive Disappeared

[Ecka77]

I am at a loss to explain how this happened, but here goes.

ON Thursday night I was trying to access my second hard drive, drive F,
which operates secondary to the main drive (drive C). The whole system
locked up and wouldn't respond while trying to open a short cut to this
drive so I turned off the computer at the power. (only option).

I am using windows XP, service pack 2.

When I restarted it took ages and ages, a lot longer than usual. And when I
opened my computer, drive F was not visible. I tried device manager and
every possible system restore and re-boot etc. I simply cannot access this
drive, it is as if the computer has deleted it.

The issue aside, everything else about the computer works fine with
absolutely no issues.

My question is how can I restore access to the F Drive? Is it something I
can fix, or will I have to take it in to a tech person to take the cover
off?

Any help would be great. Thanks

Eric, Nowra, Australia.

 

[databaseben]

your cmos/bios settings also records the drives existence.

open it by pressing and holding either a del key or f1 key as you press the
power on button to your pc.
it will take you to your cmos settings where you can see if the second
drive/slave drive is listed. If not
then add it.

 

[Ecka77]

HI, thanks for that, I am not an expert with IT and hardware, is adding it
something I could accomplish easy enough? Or should a professional handle
that?

 

[Guest]

its simple that anyone can basically do.
almost all cmos chips on motherboards have
automatic settings and a menu to work from.
But you can also bypass the menu to and manually
make adjustments.

Also, the little cmos chip also
depends on that little motherboard battery to keep
the data alive. The data that is holds is strickly
what hardware is on the motherboard, eg CPU,
Ram, Harddrives, Sound etc..... This info is
important for windows. If the battery goes bad or is
pulled out, then the data in the cmos goes blank.
So, it is a little funny that only one setting, eg Second
drive (your F) may have disappeared. But if it has then
this is where you can put the entry back in.

When you get to the cmos menu, you should have the
option to automatically optimize your cmos settings
by pushing maybe a f9 key or something. Further,
there will probably be a sub screen for the disk drives
where you will see the primary hard drive listed and
your secondary drive (your f) and maybe your floppy
too. If the secondary drive is unlisted then this is why
your hard drive disappeared inside of windows. So check
to see if you got another option in that sub menu to automatically
search for harddrives, maybe an f3 key or something. By pressing it
the cmos will search for your harddrives that are working and
list them in the appropriate place.

If it does then your good to go. So save and exit from cmos and reboot to
windows.

If not, then there is a physical impairment with the harddrive mechanism.
It simply could be that the cables connected to that harddrive wiggled loose
or something...

 

[Ecka77]

It appears the drive has uninstalled itself. When I went into bios, I saw
the following:

IDE Drive 0 40016MB
IDE Drive 1 Not installed

Previously this was the location of drive 2. how could it uninstall itself
from a locked screen?

How do I reinstall it? Or should a tech person do this? Will all the data
still be ok?

 

[DatabaseBen]

The harddrive doesn't uninstall itself. Instead it somehow went offline and
no longer
recognized to be physically present by your cmos.

If it were a virus or Trojan, I think
it would have attacked your main harddrive. So this possibility is out.

Did you see if you had an option to use for searching the harddrive
automatically?

If so and it still didn't find it then it is a hardware problem. It could
be a couple
of things, e.g. no power going to the hd so either the power cable wiggled
loose or
the power supply is no longer sending electricity to it. The possibility
does exist
that neither the cable is loose and power is being supplied, but the hd may
have
burned out its little motor that spins the disk.

The other hardware possibility is the flat ribbon cable that connects to
simply wiggled
loose.

Definitely someone needs to go inside the pc and have a look-see. I cannot
advise you
to do this if you are not sure and very unfamiliar with your components.
But if you do, the
it is a matter of unplugging your unit from all the cables, open the side
panel and look for any
loose connections to that harddrive. It would be
helpful to find someone you know and trust and familiar to computers, to go
in
and look around because it could be a simple fix. Otherwise, you may be
only left with the
option to take in for service.

If you take it in, it should not take more than 20 minutes to analyze
the problem and give you a diagnosis. So if you can, don't leave it there
for hours or days and
instead insist for an immediate check of the pc.

Some shops are no different than shady auto mechanics and
will take advantage of you, even if they work for a reputable company. So be
conscientious of
what they will try to sell to you. Remember, that it may be a simple fix,
like reconnecting a loose cable,
but they may charge you a cost that is equal to a brand spanking new
computer that is fully loaded....

As far as the data in your hd goes, it will still be there. And if the
harddrive is found to be absolutely
dis functional, there are services to retrieve that data by operating on the
harddrive, like a doctor.

Again, you should way the value of the data on the f drive against those
that you could incur for the repairs.
Because, a harddrive is relatively cheap these days. Or if it is a defective
powersupply, that is relatively cheap too. Or if its a defective cable that
is cheap too. And I really don't think that all three need to be
replaced....

 

[thecreator]

Hi Eric,

Open the Computer. If you don't know how to clear the CMOS with the Jumper, then remove the CMOS Battery for about a minute, then reinstall it. Close the computer and boot up the computer. It should take a little longer as the BIOS reinitializes the computer.

If the 2nd Hard Drive is not found, your 2nd Hard Drive can't be detected, because the Hard Drive crashed, either Physically or Electronically. If it crashed Electronically, then it can be repaired by a Hard Drive Repair shop, like replacing its Controller Board. If it crashed physically, then it is going to cost a lot more, if you need the information on it.

BIOS can't detect it at present, because it is not on.

 

[John R Weiss]

It appears the drive has uninstalled itself. When I went into bios, I saw
the following:

IDE Drive 0 40016MB
IDE Drive 1 Not installed

Previously this was the location of drive 2. how could it uninstall itself
from a locked screen?

How do I reinstall it? Or should a tech person do this? Will all the data
still be ok?

It could be a bad cable or connection. Maybe some dust or heat buildup
created a short, or the power cable failed.

Start by tracing and reseating your IDE cables and drive power cables. Shut
it down, unplug it, and open the case. Clean all the dust from the inside
with a small vacuum cleaner and crevice tool. Keep a hand on a part of the
metal frame at all times so you are grounded to the computer frame.

When it's clean, unplug and reseat each power and data cable from the HDs in
turn. Try booting the computer again, and see if HD1 re-appears. If not,
shut it down, swap the HD data cables and try again. If the other drive
disappears, replace the bad cable. If nothing changes, shut down and swap
power cables to the HDs. If you find a bad power cable, tape the end to
mark it bad, and use another cable (buy a Y connector if you're out of
cables).

If all that fails, the HD itself may have failed. If the drive electronics
or motor failed, data recovery is possible, but usually expensive. A repair
shop can replace the electronics board, but I don't know if a motor
replacement is practical.

 

[Ecka77]

Thanks to everyone who offered help with this issue. I went into the set up
and had a play around but couldn't find anyway to try and locate the hard
drive using the set up menu. When I went into IDE 01 the option to install
was greyed out and I couldn't change it. I am not a computer expert when it
comes to opening the cover so will take it down to get the tech guys at
local shop to look at it. They have fixed it once before very cheap and not
the type to take you for a ride. Thanks again for the assistance to all that
replied.

Regards, Eric, Nowra, Australia.
Hi Eric,

Open the Computer. If you don't know how to clear the CMOS with the
Jumper, then remove the CMOS Battery for about a minute, then reinstall it.
Close the computer and boot up the computer. It should take a little longer
as the BIOS reinitializes the computer.

If the 2nd Hard Drive is not found, your 2nd Hard Drive can't be
detected, because the Hard Drive crashed, either Physically or
Electronically. If it crashed Electronically, then it can be repaired by a
Hard Drive Repair shop, like replacing its Controller Board. If it crashed
physically, then it is going to cost a lot more, if you need the information
on it.

BIOS can't detect it at present, because it is not on.

 

[Ecka77]

Oh my god I am so thankful to you.

I decided to give the cmos battery change a go, and once I identified it I
followed your instructions and the hard drive is back again and fully
functional. Thanks so much for the advice, you no doubt saved me at least
$55 AUD, the cost of a consultation! Thanks again.
Hi Eric,

Open the Computer. If you don't know how to clear the CMOS with the
Jumper, then remove the CMOS Battery for about a minute, then reinstall it.
Close the computer and boot up the computer. It should take a little longer
as the BIOS reinitializes the computer.

If the 2nd Hard Drive is not found, your 2nd Hard Drive can't be
detected, because the Hard Drive crashed, either Physically or
Electronically. If it crashed Electronically, then it can be repaired by a
Hard Drive Repair shop, like replacing its Controller Board. If it crashed
physically, then it is going to cost a lot more, if you need the information
on it.

BIOS can't detect it at present, because it is not on.

 

[Scott]

I am at a loss to explain how this happened, but here goes.

ON Thursday night I was trying to access my second hard drive, drive F,
which operates secondary to the main drive (drive C). The whole system
locked up and wouldn't respond while trying to open a short cut to this
drive so I turned off the computer at the power. (only option).

I am using windows XP, service pack 2.

When I restarted it took ages and ages, a lot longer than usual. And when I
opened my computer, drive F was not visible. I tried device manager and
every possible system restore and re-boot etc. I simply cannot access this
drive, it is as if the computer has deleted it.

The issue aside, everything else about the computer works fine with
absolutely no issues.

My question is how can I restore access to the F Drive? Is it something I
can fix, or will I have to take it in to a tech person to take the cover
off?

Any help would be great. Thanks

Eric, Nowra, Australia.