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Thread ID: 107131 2010-02-05 06:55:00 Is my hard drive stuffed? tut (12033) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
855551 2010-02-05 06:55:00 I use a 200GB external hard drive for temporary storage of files until I can back them up to a DVD.
Today while adding a small vid I got the message,

E:\ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupt and unreadable.

Just though I would ask if there is a remedy before I biff the lot into the bin.
tut (12033)
855552 2010-02-05 07:00:00 Is E a DVD writer?? What version of windows are you using? If XP, XP, doesnt burn to DVD natively. Without an update Speedy Gonzales (78)
855553 2010-02-05 07:08:00 If you mean the ext drive have you checked the cables haven't come loose? gary67 (56)
855554 2010-02-05 07:12:00 The DVD writer is :\D on this Toshiba Satellite Pro but I dont use it, I take the hard drive to a friend to burn the discs. More reliable that way as I am not Comp Lit.
O/S is Vista Pro.
tut (12033)
855555 2010-02-05 07:16:00 So whats E then if this is a laptop? Speedy Gonzales (78)
855556 2010-02-05 07:22:00 When I open explorer I see DVD RW DRIVE D
When I plug the USB cable form the external hard drive into the computer it comes up with,
Local Disk (E:)
When I click on this to access the drive it comes up with the message
tut (12033)
855557 2010-02-05 07:30:00 Ah ok then. Is this a new external hdd?? Have you used it before on this laptop? If you havent you have to format it, before you can use it Speedy Gonzales (78)
855558 2010-02-05 08:08:00 The External drive is out of a computer, It is not very new.
I have used it for this purpose several times
I have tried another drive using the same cables and power transformer and that works fine.

I saw this problem once before on an external drive so I am picking there is no way to repair it.
I recovered some of the photos off this faulty one by using Diskdigger but have never had any luck with recovering vids.

If there is no way to restore it I would like to try and format it to see if it will work with a new directory.Wont trust it if it dies work though.

Guess I just got caught out again. I think I will stick with flash drives. Got 8GB one that works but is a bit small for what I need it for and i cant afford a bigger one hence the hard drive.
tut (12033)
855559 2010-02-05 09:23:00 There are various programs which detect the s.m.a.r.t status of the drive. I used one called hdd sentinel for an internal IDE drive. Can you do a chkdsk /r on it? I run it from the command line (start,run,cmd) so I can see the report etc. pkm (13527)
855560 2010-02-05 18:45:00 Guess I just got caught out again. I think I will stick with flash drives. .

Terrible idea.

One: Stick to the more trustworthy brands of hard drive. Namely Seagate and Western Digital.

Two: Don't MOVE your stuff to it, COPY it. That way you have them backed up in 2 locations, chances of both hard drives dying on you at once is fairly slim.

Three: Have you removed the drive from the enclosure and tried accessing it direct? Sometimes it's the drive, sometimes the enclosure. You might be lucky.
pctek (84)
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