Hard Drive Not Accessable

[jimras]

Hi All

The other night, I turned on the computer and got a screen that gave me choices of:

Safe Mode

Safe Mode with networking

Safe Mode with something else

Last know configuration that worked

Start Windows normally.

The computer worked fine that morning and I can't figure what changed but something did.

I tried everything, all the choices above, to get the darn thing to boot and nothing worked. It just kept looping back to the POST--- SO I put the XP disc in the CD drive and booted up from CD and I can get the computer up that way but I can't access the disk. I ran the repair console and I repaired the Boot sector and the MBR. It did tell me that I had a bad boot sector and supposedly repaired it.

I still couldn't get it to boot......I still get the black screen described above.

Well.............I wanted to install a second HD anyway so this seems like the right time.

Got the new drive......formatted it and installed XP Pro on it and got it up and running.

I have tried to install the old drive as a slave drive by setting the jumpers on the new drive and the old drive and that didn't work---The computer wouldn't boot again. It was just like I had the old drive in there alone. I switched the jumpers around to cable select and I have the right kind of cable, and that wouldn't work, either, so I unhooked the old drive and then it will boot from the new drive just fine. REALLY FRUSTRATING!!!

I really don't want to lose some of the data on the old drive. It's only a little over a year old, too. Does anybody have any ideas about what I could try to salvage this drive???

[Chappy]

Hi jimras

Hook up the old drive by itself again and boot your XP install disk. This time tho, choose the Install option and allow it to go thru till you get the EULA screen where you have to push F8 to accept. After you do accept it will detect any WINDOWS installation on the disk.

It should still see the old Windows installation folder and show that partition on the screen. At this point you can select to repair this install, select that option and run a repair install.

This will only delete and rewrite all the Windows installation files and when it's done you will have to go thru the same installation process as if it were a new install but all your other data on the drive will be there when it finshes.

Hope this works for ya

Dave

[jimras]

Ok I'll try that

I did part of it before but when I got to the screen that said it wanted to format the partition, I freaked. I didn't want to format and lose all the data.

I guess I'm at a point right now where I don't expect I'll be able to save it, although, there is a lot of stuff on there.......music files and pictures, and stuff like that, that I'd really not like to have to duplicate.

Thanks for the suggestion

[Chappy]

Hi jimras

Do Not Format the partition!

Once you're past the EULA screen it will try to detect any existing installation and will display the partition as such:

C\Windows XP Home Edition (or Pro whichever)

If that is indead the partition you want it will have the option to repair this install, I believe you press the "R" key for yes. It will then ask you if you wish to replace the existing Windows folder, again select the Yes option. If all is well it will delete and rebuild the windows installation folder and all is saved...hopefully.

If it fails to detect any previous installed windows version, then it is truly mangled and getting your new drive to boot and detect the old one is your only option I think.

If this is going to be the case, try to hot connect the old drive after you boot the new install. Connect only the power cable before boot and once you're up, connect the IDE cable and see if XP will detect it.

Dave

[mikeyb]

Hi jimras,

you may want to try booting to a DOS prompt and running a CHKDSK /F on the drive, as long as the BIOS is detecting the drive that is! see if it finds any problems on the drive.

mikeyb