USB External HDD Error

[Guest Skippybox]

My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When I try to

access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

 

[Windows Explorer]

F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

 

When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File System

is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0 bytes.

 

In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition, Type:

Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity: 465.76GB, Free Space:

465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

 

I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

Could this be the cause for the corruption?

 

What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

Thank-you.

[Guest Adam]

RE: USB External HDD Error

 

That doesn't sound too good!

 

Some good advice might be to try a Linux Live CD such as Ubuntu, often I

recover data using Linux. Another good starting point might be Ultimate Boot

CD. If you search for both you will be able to find them easily. Both of

these possible solutions will not change your existing setup merely running

off a CD.

 

The next step would be to start finding data recovery software (Ultimate

Boot CD I believe has this).

 

The possibility is that the drive might be on the blink or maybe result of a

virus infection (I've had this happen to me before). Backup other data first

don't want any further losses.

 

BTW is your external HDD getting enough power through the USB bus - are you

directly connecting the HDD to the computer or through another device such as

a hub?

 

Lastly, try the drive in another computer you never know :)

 

"Skippybox" wrote:

> My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When I try to

> access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

>

> [Windows Explorer]

> F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

>

> When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File System

> is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0 bytes.

>

> In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition, Type:

> Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity: 465.76GB, Free Space:

> 465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

>

> I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

> Could this be the cause for the corruption?

>

> What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

> Thank-you.

[Guest John]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

I got an IBM IDE hard disk back in year 2000 that broke twice. First time it

broke, I was able to recover 100% of my data (I don't care about system

files and other software) using Ontrack Easy Recovery. The second time (this

HD is to replace the 1st one that died), I was only able to recover about

90% which isn't bad at all.

 

 

"Skippybox" <Skippybox@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:108A7E43-2DB9-463F-8516-51B08A9B564D@microsoft.com...

> My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When I try

> to

> access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

>

> [Windows Explorer]

> F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

>

> When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File

> System

> is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0 bytes.

>

> In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition,

> Type:

> Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity: 465.76GB, Free

> Space:

> 465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

>

> I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

> Could this be the cause for the corruption?

>

> What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

> Thank-you.

[Guest BillW50]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

In news:108A7E43-2DB9-463F-8516-51B08A9B564D@microsoft.com,

Skippybox <Skippybox@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When

> I try to access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

>

> [Windows Explorer]

> F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and

> unreadable.

>

> When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File

> System is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0

> bytes.

>

> In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition,

> Type: Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity:

> 465.76GB, Free Space: 465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

>

> I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

> Could this be the cause for the corruption?

>

> What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

> Thank-you.

 

This utility which is only free for about 6 more hours should do the trick.

It is a ZIPped file and just run Setup.exe within the next 6 hours. After

that you can relax. Then you need a way to burn an .iso file to a CD.

 

Giveaway of the Day (6 hours left)

Partition Recovery Bootable CD

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/partition-recovery-bootable-cd/

 

--

Bill

Gateway Celeron M 370 (1.5GHZ)

MX6124 (laptop) w/2GB

Windows XP Home SP2 (120GB HD)

Intel® 910GML (64MB shared)

[Guest BillW50]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

Skippybox wrote:

> My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When I try to

> access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

>

> [Windows Explorer]

> F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

>

> When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File System

> is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0 bytes.

 

RAW format means your MBR is corrupt.

> In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition, Type:

> Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity: 465.76GB, Free Space:

> 465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

>

> I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

> Could this be the cause for the corruption?

 

Yes, you probably didn't remove it properly.

> What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

> Thank-you.

 

That earlier post should take care of it and save it. It does repair the

MBR and partition information if needed.

 

--

Bill

Gateway Celeron M 370 (1.5GHZ)

MX6124 (laptop) w/2GB

Windows XP Home SP2 (120GB HD)

Intel® 910GML (64MB shared)

[Guest M.I.5¾]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

 

"Skippybox" <Skippybox@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:108A7E43-2DB9-463F-8516-51B08A9B564D@microsoft.com...

> My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When I try

> to

> access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

>

> [Windows Explorer]

> F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

>

> When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File

> System

> is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0 bytes.

>

> In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition,

> Type:

> Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity: 465.76GB, Free

> Space:

> 465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

>

> I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

> Could this be the cause for the corruption?

>

 

Yes. If you unplugged the drive before the cache had flushed, then

something won't be written back and there is a real risk that it's something

important (like the housekeeping data). Unless there is an overpowering

reason to do otherwise, I always recommend that external drives are

"Optimised for removal".

> What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

> Thank-you.

 

There are utilities which will search the disk for identifiable files. File

Scavenger is one but there are others available. The good news is that you

can try many of them for free to see what can be recovered, but you have to

pay before they will actually recover anything. The bad news is that many

will only work with NTFS file structures.

[Guest Opinicus]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

"M.I.5¾" <no.one@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote

> Unless there is an overpowering reason to do otherwise, I always recommend

> that external drives are "Optimised for removal".

 

Where is that done from? I keep forgetting.

 

--

Bob

http://www.kanyak.com

[Guest BillW50]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

In news:%23AvmzXR$IHA.3964@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,

Opinicus <gezgin@spamcop.net> typed:

> "M.I.5¾" <no.one@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote

>

>> Unless there is an overpowering reason to do otherwise, I always

>> recommend that external drives are "Optimised for removal".

>

> Where is that done from? I keep forgetting.

 

Well there are a couple of ways to get there. One way is to right click on

any drive in Explorer...

 

Properties

Hardware (tab)

Select a drive you want to change

Properties (button)

Policies (tab)

 

--

Bill

Gateway Celeron M 370 (1.5GHZ)

MX6124 (laptop) w/2GB

Windows XP Home SP2 (120GB HD)

Intel® 910GML (64MB shared)

[Guest Skippybox]

Re: USB External HDD Error

 

Thanks "Adam", "John", "BillW50", and "M. I. 5 3/4", but the NTFS file system

was destroyed. I tried some recovery software, but the files were rather

unusable. I believe I simply unplugged it before it should have been,

according to my settings, which weren't optimized for quick removal. The

drive is attached directly to the computer, so it does get full power. I

didn't have another computer to try it on. I reformatted it, and now it is

working fine again. Didn't read in time to get that giveaway of the day!

MBR was ok, MFT wasn't, nor its mirror. Thanks again!

 

"Adam" wrote:

 

That doesn't sound too good!

 

Some good advice might be to try a Linux Live CD such as Ubuntu, often I

recover data using Linux. Another good starting point might be Ultimate Boot

CD. If you search for both you will be able to find them easily. Both of

these possible solutions will not change your existing setup merely running

off a CD.

 

The next step would be to start finding data recovery software (Ultimate

Boot CD I believe has this).

 

The possibility is that the drive might be on the blink or maybe result of a

virus infection (I've had this happen to me before). Backup other data first

don't want any further losses.

 

BTW is your external HDD getting enough power through the USB bus - are you

directly connecting the HDD to the computer or through another device such as

a hub?

 

Lastly, try the drive in another computer you never know :)

 

"John" wrote:

 

I got an IBM IDE hard disk back in year 2000 that broke twice. First time it

broke, I was able to recover 100% of my data (I don't care about system

files and other software) using Ontrack Easy Recovery. The second time (this

HD is to replace the 1st one that died), I was only able to recover about

90% which isn't bad at all.

 

"BillW50" wrote:

 

This utility which is only free for about 6 more hours should do the trick.

It is a ZIPped file and just run Setup.exe within the next 6 hours. After

that you can relax. Then you need a way to burn an .iso file to a CD.

 

Giveaway of the Day (6 hours left)

Partition Recovery Bootable CD

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/partition-recovery-bootable-cd/

 

RAW format means your MBR is corrupt.

 

Yes, you probably didn't remove it properly.

 

That earlier post should take care of it and save it. It does repair the

MBR and partition information if needed.

 

--

Bill

Gateway Celeron M 370 (1.5GHZ)

MX6124 (laptop) w/2GB

Windows XP Home SP2 (120GB HD)

Intel® 910GML (64MB shared)

 

"M. I. 5 3/4" wrote:

 

Yes. If you unplugged the drive before the cache had flushed, then

something won't be written back and there is a real risk that it's something

important (like the housekeeping data). Unless there is an overpowering

reason to do otherwise, I always recommend that external drives are

"Optimised for removal".

 

There are utilities which will search the disk for identifiable files. File

Scavenger is one but there are others available. The good news is that you

can try many of them for free to see what can be recovered, but you have to

pay before they will actually recover anything. The bad news is that many

will only work with NTFS file structures.

 

"Skippybox" wrote:

 

My USB External HDD has been working fine up until this point. When I try to

access the drive in My Computer I get the message:

 

[Windows Explorer]

F:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

 

When I look at the drives 'General Properties' it says that the File System

is RAW and that Used space, Free space, and Capacity are all 0 bytes.

 

In Disk Management, it says I have a Volume: (F:), Layout: Partition, Type:

Basic, File System: 'blank', Status: Healthy, Capacity: 465.76GB, Free Space:

465.76GB, % Free: 100%.

 

I had been using the 'Optimize for performance' write caching setting.

Could this be the cause for the corruption?

 

What do I do now to repair the drive and is my data still salvageable?

Thank-you.