Unable to format slave hard disk. NEED HELP.

doctorjaysdoctorjays
edited April 2004 in Hardware
I'm trying to recover a hard drive that has a few errors. Windows and Partition Magic were unable to format it. My last resort was to use fdisk. Here's what the command line read....Any suggestions on how to recover the drive.

C:\>format f: /fs:ntfs
The type of the file system is RAW.
The new file system is NTFS.

WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE F: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with format <Y/N>? y
Verifying 1144663M
Volume Label <ENTER for none>? WD
Creating file system structures.
THe NTFS boot sector is unwritable.
All NTFS boot sectors are unwriteable. Cannot continue.
Format failed.

C: format f: /fs:fat32
The type of the file system is RAW.
The new file sytem is FAT32.
WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE F: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with format <Y/N>? y
Verifying 1144663M
The volume is too big for FAT32.

Comments

  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited April 2004
    have you done a surface scan? It could be a damaged drive.
  • doctorjaysdoctorjays
    edited April 2004
    how or what program do I use to do a surface scan?
  • doctorjaysdoctorjays
    edited April 2004
    i attempted to use CHKDSK and here's what it read :

    C:\chkdsk f: /f
    The type of the file system is RAW.
    CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited April 2004
    from inside windows. Go into Control Panel>>Administrative Tools>>Computer Management then go to the properties for the drive and there is a scan drive option. Just check on the advanced and full options and it'll do a surface scan.

    If you can see the drive from windows explorer you can right click it and choose properties and do it from there also.
  • paroxymparoxym Toronto, Canada
    edited April 2004
    TestDisk is the way to go. Load it up and analyse the drive. If it finds the partition information that looks familiar to you, write it to the drive. There are some other tests and tools available in the app so poke through and see if you have any luck. Be sure to check the documentation for the app and post some questions if you are not sure how to proceed. Good Luck! :thumbsup:

    Also, consult this thread for a similar situation and possible solution.
  • Wild-ChildWild-Child
    edited April 2004
    doctorjays wrote:
    I'm trying to recover a hard drive that has a few errors. Windows and Partition Magic were unable to format it. My last resort was to use fdisk. Here's what the command line read....Any suggestions on how to recover the drive.

    C:\>format f: /fs:ntfs
    The type of the file system is RAW.
    The new file system is NTFS.

    WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
    DRIVE F: WILL BE LOST!
    Proceed with format <Y/N>? y
    Verifying 1144663M
    Volume Label <ENTER for none>? WD
    Creating file system structures.
    THe NTFS boot sector is unwritable.
    All NTFS boot sectors are unwriteable. Cannot continue.
    Format failed.

    C: format f: /fs:fat32
    The type of the file system is RAW.
    The new file sytem is FAT32.
    WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
    DRIVE F: WILL BE LOST!
    Proceed with format <Y/N>? y
    Verifying 1144663M
    The volume is too big for FAT32.

    Could use the Data Lifeguard Tools From Western Digital to diagnose and format the drive.Located here:
    Data Lifeguard Tools Download Good Luck :cool:
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