Disk status suddenly 'not initialised' - Can i fix/repair this?

markey164 · 01-03-2007, 08:57 PM

Evening guys,

Looking for some help. I have a 250GB SATA II disk (approx 1 year old) which has been working fine up until now.

Suddenly, although it appears in the promise raid bios boot screen, in Windows it is no longer visible.

Checking disk management shows the disk displayed as 'not initialized'.

Now obviously this status usually appears for 'new' disks, but this is not the case here. From doing some digging it appears the disk may have lost its disk signature and/or MBR.

I have a lot of valuable data on this disk (unfortunately not backed up, although it will be the first thing i'll do if i recover from this!!)

What steps should i take to recover from this please?

Additionally, if i follow the 'initialize disk' wizard, will this simply fix the disk, or will it wipe the existing data on it during the process?

Thanks

Mark

RHochstenbach · 01-03-2007, 04:12 PM

If you initialise a disk, it will be mounted as a drive. You will only lose your data, if you would format it.

markey164 · 01-03-2007, 04:18 PM

Ok i went through the initialize disk wizard.

Now it says online, but 232GB Unallocated. In fact there is 230GB of actual data on it. Does this mean i've lost it all?

If not how do i restore/fix it?

donkey42 · 02-03-2007, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markey164

Ok i went through the initialize disk wizard

you killed you data by initializing the disk, you could try some freeware utils to restore your data but the only way to guarentee you data retreival, a firm that specialises in data recovery - although that v expensive

Off Topic:

i think they charge by the number of Gb they retreive

markey164 · 02-03-2007, 01:55 PM

Oh great, are you serious. It only took a few seconds, so the data must still physically be on the disk.

So i shouldn't have followed the advice of post #2then? What should i have done instead for reference?

would a fixdisk /mbr or something similar fix the disk in this situation. It seems like it has lost its partition table or something. Which is why it thinks the space is unallocated.

anyone else any suggestions that might fix this?

MArk

donkey42 · 02-03-2007, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markey164

Oh great, are you serious. It only took a few seconds, so the data must still physically be on the disk.

yeah, that's why i suggested trying some freeware utiities, here is a google search freeware data recovery software

Quote:

Originally Posted by markey164

What should i have done instead for reference?

that depends, was the drive making any clicking noises and you could have downloaded a utility .iso (bootable CD image) from the HDD manufactures website

Off Topic:

with Seagate drives their utility CD is called Seatools, Seatools can destroy data but you have to agree to wipe the data twice

Quote:

Originally Posted by markey164

would a fixdisk /mbr or something similar fix the disk in this situation. It seems like it has lost its partition table or something. Which is why it thinks the space is unallocated.

dunno,

Code:

Fdisk /mbr

used to just wipe the MBR (Master Boot Record) but XP can do so much more

Off Topic:

but i not expert in XP cos i use linux, i hate Win

all i know about XP is what i've picked up on HWF

Off Topic:

although i did use XP (over a year ago) but i wouldn't say i knew a lot about XP

markey164 · 02-03-2007, 04:38 PM

Ok have now fixed the disk and all seems ok. So data wasnt killed fortunately.

For reference this was what i did.

Suspected cause: symptoms suggested partition table possibly damaged.

Steps taken to fix:
Downloaded Partition Table Doctor 3.5
Used the dropdown list to select the faulty disc (this was a data disk not the boot disk)
Clicking the browse button revealed that the data folders were still visible (good sign)
Selected option to rebuild partition table.
Rebooted PC
Disk now visible and working correctly again.

Thanks for your help guys.

donkey42 · 02-03-2007, 04:48 PM

[quote=markey164]good, I've added Partition Table Doctor 3.5 to my bookmarks, so it will benefit others in the future

Off Topic:

thankies

01-03-2007, 08:57 PM	# 1 (permalink) Top
markey164 Geek Trainee Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 Times Helpful: 1 Status: Offline	Disk status suddenly 'not initialised' - Can i fix/repair this? Evening guys, Looking for some help. I have a 250GB SATA II disk (approx 1 year old) which has been working fine up until now. Suddenly, although it appears in the promise raid bios boot screen, in Windows it is no longer visible. Checking disk management shows the disk displayed as 'not initialized'. Now obviously this status usually appears for 'new' disks, but this is not the case here. From doing some digging it appears the disk may have lost its disk signature and/or MBR. I have a lot of valuable data on this disk (unfortunately not backed up, although it will be the first thing i'll do if i recover from this!!) What steps should i take to recover from this please? Additionally, if i follow the 'initialize disk' wizard, will this simply fix the disk, or will it wipe the existing data on it during the process? Thanks Mark

01-03-2007, 04:12 PM	# 2 (permalink) Top
RHochstenbach ehh...what's up, doc? Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 21 Male Posts: 2,155 Times Helpful: 192 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	If you initialise a disk, it will be mounted as a drive. You will only lose your data, if you would format it. __________________ TechLife Zone \| My Blog \| Twitter \| Last.fm "There are only 10 types of people in the world - Those who understand binary, and those who don't."

02-03-2007, 04:48 PM	# 8 (permalink) Top
donkey42 in doubt, give it a clout Join Date: Mar 2006 Age: 36 Male Posts: 6,353 Times Helpful: 338 My Mood: Paranoid Status: Offline My Computer	[quote=markey164]good, I've added Partition Table Doctor 3.5 to my bookmarks, so it will benefit others in the future Off Topic: thankies __________________ GRUB manual \| distromania \| Distrowatch \| ~~Kubuntu~~ \| hwf.myminicity \| My Distro (Lenny)

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01-03-2007, 04:18 PM	# 3 (permalink) Top
markey164 Geek Trainee Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 Times Helpful: 1 Status: Offline	Ok i went through the initialize disk wizard. Now it says online, but 232GB Unallocated. In fact there is 230GB of actual data on it. Does this mean i've lost it all? If not how do i restore/fix it?

02-03-2007, 01:55 PM	# 5 (permalink) Top
markey164 Geek Trainee Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 Times Helpful: 1 Status: Offline	Oh great, are you serious. It only took a few seconds, so the data must still physically be on the disk. So i shouldn't have followed the advice of post #2then? What should i have done instead for reference? would a fixdisk /mbr or something similar fix the disk in this situation. It seems like it has lost its partition table or something. Which is why it thinks the space is unallocated. anyone else any suggestions that might fix this? MArk

02-03-2007, 04:38 PM	# 7 (permalink) Top
markey164 Geek Trainee Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 Times Helpful: 1 Status: Offline	Ok have now fixed the disk and all seems ok. So data wasnt killed fortunately. For reference this was what i did. Suspected cause: symptoms suggested partition table possibly damaged. Steps taken to fix: Downloaded Partition Table Doctor 3.5 Used the dropdown list to select the faulty disc (this was a data disk not the boot disk) Clicking the browse button revealed that the data folders were still visible (good sign) Selected option to rebuild partition table. Rebooted PC Disk now visible and working correctly again. Thanks for your help guys.

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