XP Scandisk error-now need to format drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter ATL
  • Start date Start date
A

ATL

I ran Scandisk on a slave drive with options to fix errors and scan
for bad sectors checked. XP said it could not finish the job. When I
started the computer the next day I noticed the CPU was constantly
working on something. When I attempted to open the slave drive with
Windows Explorer I received a notice that the drive was not formatted
and of course asked if I wanted to format it now. Checking the
properties under My Computer the drive appears empty now.

Am I going to be forced to reformat the drive and lose everything on
it? Is there a way to fix this without reformatting? Is there a way
to recover some of the folders/files?

Apparently because it is a slave drive System Restore does not track
it like it does the main drive, so I was unable to attempt a restore
on the slave drive.

I find it hard to believe that Scandisk has managed to erase a drive.


Thanks,
ATL
 
Hello,

The problem should be fixable. Open up the run command, then type chkdsk /f
then hit y and restart your computer, it should then reboot and fix your
problems
 
Thanks for the input Michael, but it was to no avail. Assuming you
were using "f" for the slave drive I changed it to "E," which is the
actual drive letter for my slave drive. F is the CD-ROM letter. When
I hit "OK" after typing in chkdsk /E in the Run command, I saw a very
brief window open; lasted less than 1 second. It appeared to be a DOS
window. So I was not able to hit Y.

Here's what I have done/attempted since then. I decided to let WinXP
format the slave drive since there is nothing of major importance on
the drive only very irritating to have to re-download some larger
driver installation programs. When I checked "Quick Format" after a
minute or so XP said it could not complete the format. I unchecked
"Quick Format" and let it attempt to format the drive again. After
several minutes, probably 10-15 minutes, the progress bar was still
empty and the computer was "scratching" around on the slave drive as
if in a rhythm, scratch...stop...scratch...stop...stratch...stop...and
so on. I stopped that format attempt because I simply could not take
the constant scratching noise (it is a loud drive compared to my main
drive). I might let it try again while I am out of the house and
don't have to listen to it.

Thanks,
ATL
 
Thanks for the input Michael, but it was to no avail. Assuming you
were using "f" for the slave drive I changed it to "E," which is the
actual drive letter for my slave drive. F is the CD-ROM letter. When
I hit "OK" after typing in chkdsk /E in the Run command, I saw a very
brief window open; lasted less than 1 second. It appeared to be a DOS
window. So I was not able to hit Y.
Click to expand...

Whoops.

The command you should have used is:

CHKDSK E: /R

(the E: tells it that you want to work on drive E:. The /R is for the
Repair option, which is more comprehensive and also includes the /F
(Fix) option.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
Update:
Running chkdsk E:/R pops open a very quick DOS window which stays open
less than one second. I can now run format for the drive and it does
in within an hour, but it reaches the end then says it cannot complete
the format. At that time I lose the drive under My Computer and have
to restart to get it back. When I click on the icon for the E drive
after the restart it again tells me the drive needs to be formatted.
So it is a never ending cycle of format-cannot complete format-needs
to be formatted. I have ran fdisk to erase the drive and startover,
but it made no difference in the format-cannot complete format
problem.
 
Update:
Running chkdsk E:/R pops open a very quick DOS window which stays open
less than one second. I can now run format for the drive and it does
in within an hour, but it reaches the end then says it cannot complete
the format. At that time I lose the drive under My Computer and have
to restart to get it back. When I click on the icon for the E drive
after the restart it again tells me the drive needs to be formatted.
So it is a never ending cycle of format-cannot complete format-needs
to be formatted. I have ran fdisk to erase the drive and startover,
but it made no difference in the format-cannot complete format
problem.
Click to expand...

Open a Command Prompt window first (Start - Run - CMD)

Then in that window enter the command:

CHKDSK E: /R

and make note of the result.


Use the EXIT command to close the command prompt window.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
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