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computer does not recognize external hard drive

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by shadob, Mar 18, 2006.

  1. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Of course the $490 is for a 200GB disk but I'm sure you now appreciate how much data recovery costs, and why it costs that much. Interesting you chose to add the .00 on the end of a rough figure, according to the exchange rate its actually about $492.l7 I think last check.

    It's unfortunately a live and learn scenario.
     
  2. shadob

    shadob Guest

    When you get to $490, 2.17 more or less does not matter much I guess. This has definitely been a live and LEARN experience! I have an IBM machine that has been running Windows 95 ever since that version came out. The HP machine was only 4 yrs. old. Go figure!
     
  3. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    My P3 450 system never caught fire, but this system did!
     
  4. shadob

    shadob Guest

    sammorris
    Could you explain your last message?
     
  5. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I'm basically saying it's ironic that I never had any data grief with my old P3 system but the disaster with the current system led me to lose data.
     
  6. shadob

    shadob Guest

    Thanks, the catch fire expression was new to me. Am just beginning to realize how lucky I have been all these years. Am looking to buy another computer, but am not sure what I want yet. Am into video capture and other video pursuits, do not use the computers for business or any office duties. Write an occasional letter in Word, and that is about it. Nor do I download movies. Am into creating my own slide shows and virtual tours with the pics I take of my dog and when I go somewhere. My email address is psa@gotricounty.com, if you would like to use it.
     
  7. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    New or not, the catch fire expression is the truth, the floppy disk drive started smoking!!
     
  8. shadob

    shadob Guest

    I thought you just meant you lost data, did not realize it would actually catch fire. Boy, I have been lucky.
     
  9. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    I believe Shadob has not had a hardware failure; rather, his NTFS filesystem has collapsed. An important distinction.
    If there is nothing wrong with the HD, it could simply be re-formatted and reused.
    If it contains data but cannot be accessed and NTFS repairs cannot be made, then yes you might be in the bizarre position of trying to data-recover a perfectly functional HD.
    But surely it must be simpler to access the data than if the HD itself was broken down... can we not repair the filesystem?
     
  10. shadob

    shadob Guest

    OGS, Don't have a clue if it was the NTSF file system that collapsed, or that the hard drive failed. Is there some where I could find out how to repair the file system, if that is the problem? Cannot figure out how to access the hd in it's new case, it just says it cannot be opened, or the computer just stops responding. If there is a way to get into to the disk and repair the file system I would sure like to try it. Any info. you can pass on will be appreciated. Thank You
     
  11. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    NTFS partitions don't collapse by themselves do they?
     
  12. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Maybe I got shadob mixed up with another guy, his external harddisk stopped working when the power flickered (lost NTFS info through write-caching).
    Sorry. Shadob's harddisk is toast, right? Try hooking it up directly to something, to rule out any external connection issues... just to make sure.
    But yeah, they do go; usually sudden and data-recovery is not really a good option.
    I had a 200GB Maxtor with 180GB movies on it, so I picked up a new 250GB/16MB SATA. That 200GB collapsed just DAYS after I got my movies off! (but I did lose some other less important stuff.)
    Really close one though...
     
  13. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Yeah, I think DVD backups are the way to go now. Get a big carry case with a numerical file and just brim it with DVDs, if you have a habit of downloading lots.
     
  14. shadob

    shadob Guest

    So, at this point, everyone is saying trash the hard drive, get a new one, dry my tears, and move on? And, NEVER AGAIN, be with back ups.
     
  15. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    be Without, surely?
     
  16. shadob

    shadob Guest

    Yes!! you are right "without"
     
  17. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    If it still appears in BIOS, you can use tools on it via DOS prompt and diagnose exactly what has happened.
    If you 'give up' on the data on the HD, you can use delpart.exe and fdisk.exe and see if the HD is truly cooked.
    Don't count on it, but it is not impossible that it might be okay and will accept new partition (but no matter what, your data will still be gone).
    If the HD is half-gone, SMART will report this.
    But HDs go: they do go away on you; it will happen to you sooner or later...
    So backup! Backup, yes :^)
     
  18. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Gone is my belief that data loss "won't happen to me". It does, and you'd better believe it.
     
  19. shadob

    shadob Guest

    It's me again, with another problem. Have given up on data recovery
    from failed hard drive and am now looking to buy a new one. The external case I bought fit the Maxtor 98196HB and would like to use it on the next drive I buy. Am looking at HDs but cannot figure out which one I need. They have IDE, SATA,SCA, and SCSI and I cannot figure out what that means. Looked on the Maxtor website and it seemed that the failed drive was an IDE, but do not know if that is what I need this time. Cannot find the HD info on the computer I am going to use this new drive to back up. Guess I have always just used HDs and never learned anything about them. Any info will be appreciated. AND Thanks again to all who have been so helpful since this problem began.
     
  20. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    S-ATA is better, if you have the sockets on your motherboard. S-ATA drives are newer, and as a result, quieter and faster.
     

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