Problems Installing 2nd Hard Drive

[tchameleon]

Here is my problem. I have two computers both running Windows XP. Just the other day one of the computers stops loading Windows XP. I think the partitions got messed up. I've attempted to connect that hard drive to the other computer that is working but it is not recognizing the new drive. It wants me to format it. I would like to try and save the data on the messed up hard drive. Any chance of recovering the data or is it lost for good? Thanks for any help!

[brujo]

What are the errors (if any) when it's trying to boot up? What type of drive? Details please!

[Butchk]

We need more info. :rolleyes:

[kryptkeeper]

try one of the many data recovery programs (or spend the small fortune of taking it to a data recovery service). PRIOR to that though MAKE SURE yourslaving the new drive to the original (DON'T put it as MASTER on the second IDE channel...I've found computers don'tlike that unless you have NTLDR set up for a dual boot.) Email me at [e-mail] OR [e-mail] if you'd like somehelp in trying to get it working (unless you feel like spending the LD call...youcan callme @ 915-269-8880 (ifyour on a land line, I'll call you rigfht back since it comes off my cell minutes either way and I don't get charged extra for LD calls (unless I'mn outta minutes...then that's a differant story...it'snever happened but I know LD minutes are somethinglike $.89 vs. $.37 or so for extra minutes....i used to go over my minutes so I upped my plan now I have yet to go over...was well worth the extra $10 a month. I didn't always go over but when I did it was by WAY MORE than $10...1hr extra ran something like $20.00 and I'dgo over up to 2 hours somem months. for an extra $10, I got an extra 5hrs...double what it used to be PEAK hours and something like TRIPLE the 500MIN OFF PEAK/Weekends I used to have)

[feigned]

try one of the many data recovery programs (or spend the small fortune of taking it to a data recovery service). PRIOR to that though MAKE SURE yourslaving the new drive to the original (DON'T put it as MASTER on the second IDE channel...I've found computers don'tlike that unless you have NTLDR set up for a dual boot.) Email me at [e-mail] OR [e-mail] if you'd like somehelp in trying to get it working (unless you feel like spending the LD call...youcan callme @ 915-269-8880 (ifyour on a land line, I'll call you rigfht back since it comes off my cell minutes either way and I don't get charged extra for LD calls (unless I'mn outta minutes...then that's a differant story...it'snever happened but I know LD minutes are somethinglike $.89 vs. $.37 or so for extra minutes....i used to go over my minutes so I upped my plan now I have yet to go over...was well worth the extra $10 a month. I didn't always go over but when I did it was by WAY MORE than $10...1hr extra ran something like $20.00 and I'dgo over up to 2 hours somem months. for an extra $10, I got an extra 5hrs...double what it used to be PEAK hours and something like TRIPLE the 500MIN OFF PEAK/Weekends I used to have)

You have got to be kidding me. Nice phone number. Mind listing your full name, mailing address, and current credit card numbers as well?

...

Navigate to "Computer Management," then down to "Disk Management" when you do open it.

There's an option at the top called "Action" so click on that, then "Rescan disks." Reply back with what happens after doing that.

[caperjack]

try one of the many data recovery programs (or spend the small fortune of taking it to a data recovery service). PRIOR to that though MAKE SURE yourslaving the new drive to the original (DON'T put it as MASTER on the second IDE channel...I've found computers don'tlike that unless you have NTLDR set up for a dual boot.) Email me at [e-mail] OR [e-mail] if you'd like somehelp in trying to get it working (unless you feel like spending the LD call...youcan callme @ 915-269-8880 (ifyour on a land line, I'll call you rigfht back since it comes off my cell minutes either way and I don't get charged extra for LD calls (unless I'mn outta minutes...then that's a differant story...it'snever happened but I know LD minutes are somethinglike $.89 vs. $.37 or so for extra minutes....i used to go over my minutes so I upped my plan now I have yet to go over...was well worth the extra $10 a month. I didn't always go over but when I did it was by WAY MORE than $10...1hr extra ran something like $20.00 and I'dgo over up to 2 hours somem months. for an extra $10, I got an extra 5hrs...double what it used to be PEAK hours and something like TRIPLE the 500MIN OFF PEAK/Weekends I used to have)

And a partridge in a pear tree .lol

[PantherAHA]

You should be able to hang the drive as a slave. But there are size limitations that may be involved here. That is why we need more info...

drive: size and manufacturer

Operating system of the machine your trying to slave it on.

You can also try 2 other options...

Option 1:

Using the XP startup disks you can try to repair the existing windows install. When you boot to the startup disks bypass the first option to repair this will bring you to a DOS console which at your level will not do you any good.
Select install and eventually it will again ask if you want to repair the existing windows installation. If you say yes and it works you won't lose anything.

Option 2:

Install windows...it will ask you if you want to delete the existing install of windows say yes and install fresh. This will keep saved data as long as it is not windows related.

These options of course are entirely dependent on wether the problem is windows or the physical drive.

[kryptkeeper]

You have got to be kidding me. Nice phone number. Mind listing your full name, mailing address, and current credit card numbers as well?

I thought this board has an option to send a private message to the user (which is what I thought I was doing) ...Regardless though...I don't have any credit cards (the costs of chemo before Medicaid kicked in (they make you wait 6 months) drove me broke long time ago). If someone was able to use my info for some kind of neferious deed, I'd say go for it...I could use it to improve my credit. To top it off, if you think just because you don't post any personal info it's not EXTREMELY easy to come by, your only kidding yourself. Besides good ol' net surfing (in which people leave tons of personal info they don't realize), you probably throw away more info than I post everyday unless of course your one of the few people who live with a paper-shredder over thier trash can. Leaving a ph#, pretty much is useless to someone, you can pick up a phone book and find ph#'s...unless you know account info, it isn't going to do much good unless you really feel like prank calling...which caler ID, call return, etc. solved long time ago...plus even my phone isn't under my name....