Member Avatar for endersgame

Hi, ive got a bit of a list here, all started with a dodgy GPU which i replaced (GeForce 5200FX with GeForce 7300GT). My CDROM doesn't work so i thought id install drivers off the nvidia website. when i restared my OS to activate the new software, i received an error saying some .sys file was corrupt. thats fine, so i stole a mates CDROM and booted from disk (WinXP SP1), ran a repair thru DOS which did not work, same problem still persisting. i tryed restoring BIOS to Default settings and now, the system won't detect my HDD! problem seems to be getting much worse and im a little concerned i may lose whats on my HDD.

System
- Dual-Core P4 2.6GHz
Any Ideas???

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Dani AI

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As reported, the 120GB Barracuda is attached as a slave but is not accessible. Building on ’s point about protecting data first, here is a focused, practical recovery-and-troubleshoot plan that fills gaps not yet covered in the thread (jumpers, bus issues, diagnostics and safe-imaging).

First, power and interface checks without assuming the cause. With the machine off, confirm the drive actually spins briefly on power-up (listen/feel for spin). Identify whether the drive is IDE (40-pin ribbon + jumper block) or SATA (thin cable + SATA power). For an IDE drive: remove the other drive and put the 120GB alone on the primary cable set to Master (or Cable Select if the cable uses that), then boot and check BIOS detection. For SATA: try a different SATA port and a different power lead. If a different computer detects it, the problem is likely the original motherboard/cable/jumper, not the disk contents.

If BIOS sees the drive but Windows does not mount partitions, do not run destructive fixes yet. Make an image (sector-by-sector) of the drive onto a good drive before attempting repairs. Use imaging tools designed for failing disks (Linux ddrescue or a Windows disk-imaging utility) so you have a copy to work from. After imaging, run manufacturer diagnostics (Seagate SeaTools if it is a Seagate) and SMART checks on the original or the image. If partitions show RAW or files are missing, recover from the image using file-recovery utilities (TestDisk/PhotoRec or commercial tools) rather than repeatedly writing to the original.

If the drive does not spin, clicks, or is not detected on any host, stop. Mechanical failures need professional recovery; opening the drive will make professional recovery far more expensive or impossible. After data is secured, correct jumper/connection settings before reformatting the old disk and reinstalling an OS.

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Member Avatar for Johnathan

The first thing I would say is that if your afraid of loosing the information on your hard drive you should back it up before attempting a solution. Sometimes the best solutions go bad. You can buy cases at comp stores that you can plug your hard drive into that will run through any usb port. Second make sure everything is plugged in all the way sometimes things come loose over time without any signs. Then if you can remember the .sys file your missing try to get it from another working system and install it in your operating system where it should be just drag and drop you can do this using knoppix. All you need for Knoppix is a working cd rom. I hope this helps.

Member Avatar for endersgame

ok, i think maybe it was because i didnt uninstall the old video drivers before installing the new one. So now the PC is working, with a new Seagate 250GB HDD set as master, my old Barracuda 120GB HDD is set as the slave drive but is inaccessable! i need to remove important data off here and copy it to the master so i can format the slave and delete the corrupt OS which is still on it. Any idea how this can be done? It doesnt seem to be communicating with the Slave driver very well!

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