Error Performing inpage operation; Drive not accessible; SP4 Problem?
A desktop computer in our home has just come up with:" F:\ is not accessible. Error performing inpage operation." This computer is not networked and has never been on the Internet. We do transfer some files back and forth, but I've been updated with McAfee automatically, and I've scanned everything (I know that does not guarantee a lack of a virus, but it's as close as I can get). This is my girlfriend's computer, it hasn't been backed up in a few weeks, and I'll be sleeping in the garage if I botch the data recovery on it. Most of her data consists of images - TIFFs, JPEGs, and Photoshop formats.
The only tinkering I've done on her machine (and my desktop, which also had a similar crash) is to install Windows 2000 sp4. I've read a couple of boards that report a similar problem with sp4, although there seemed to be a decent lag (at least a week) betwen installing sp4 & the error. I've also transferred some of my files onto her computer via a USB flash drive.
Any ideas on reading & repairing the drive? It makes a consistent, short crunching sound whien I double click on it, and then the error message comes up after about 15 seconds.
I'm very inexperienced in the area of data recovery, so if you have suggestions, please angle them more toward the Beginner end of the spectrum.
The only tinkering I've done on her machine (and my desktop, which also had a similar crash) is to install Windows 2000 sp4. I've read a couple of boards that report a similar problem with sp4, although there seemed to be a decent lag (at least a week) betwen installing sp4 & the error. I've also transferred some of my files onto her computer via a USB flash drive.
Any ideas on reading & repairing the drive? It makes a consistent, short crunching sound whien I double click on it, and then the error message comes up after about 15 seconds.
I'm very inexperienced in the area of data recovery, so if you have suggestions, please angle them more toward the Beginner end of the spectrum.
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sirbounty,
That's kind of what I thought. Funny noises always concern me, and I'd lean towards something physical (in which case I'd start looking for that sleeping bag) if it's a standalone drive. But if it's a partition (or the Flash drive -- good catch!), then that's something else again.
roeperdan,
My experience -- not nearly as great as sirbounty's -- is that if the drive has a physical problem (the motor's going out or something like that) then you'll experience some gradual deterioration in performance; it won't just happen all of a sudden. That being the case, sirbounty's suggestion of diskmgmt.msc is probably where I'd start.
ep
That's kind of what I thought. Funny noises always concern me, and I'd lean towards something physical (in which case I'd start looking for that sleeping bag) if it's a standalone drive. But if it's a partition (or the Flash drive -- good catch!), then that's something else again.
roeperdan,
My experience -- not nearly as great as sirbounty's -- is that if the drive has a physical problem (the motor's going out or something like that) then you'll experience some gradual deterioration in performance; it won't just happen all of a sudden. That being the case, sirbounty's suggestion of diskmgmt.msc is probably where I'd start.
ep
"My experience -- not nearly as great as sirbounty's" 8>} I'm flattered, even if that's not entirely accurate.
In any case, it might help if you can give us some idea of the age of the system and perhaps the model/brand name?
In any case, it might help if you can give us some idea of the age of the system and perhaps the model/brand name?
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ASKER
Thanks to everyone for your patience with me as I figure all this out…
Here’s the basic info about my system:
System: Windows 2000 Pro
Version: 5.0.2195 Service Pack 3 Build 2195 (I was wrong about having installed SP4)
AMD Athlon 1G processor (I think; the splash screen goes by too quickly; how do I freeze it or otherwise get processor info?)
BIOS Version: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
System Manufacturer: NVIDIA
System Model: nFORCE-MCP
A: Floppy; E: Zip Drive
C: Main drive (computer boots off of it)
Windows Directory: C:\WINNT
Total Physical Memory: 490,992 KB
Available Physical Memory: 303,524 KB
Total Virtual Memory: 1,638,656 KB
Available Virtual Memory: 1,327,044 KB
Page File Space: 1,147,664 KB
The drive that gives the “inaccessible” error:
F: Local Fixed Disk – Maxtor 6Y250PO
Drive Size: 250,994,419,200 bytes
Drive Media Loaded: True
Drive Media Type: Fixed Hard Disk Media
Free Space, Compressed, Size: Not Available
Info when I run diskmgmt.msc
C: - Layout: Partition; Type: Basic; File System: NTFS; Status: Healthy (system); Capacity: 18.64 G; % Free: 6%; Fault Tolerance: No; Overload: 0%
F: Layout: Partition; Type: Basic; File System: [no system was listed]; Status: Healthy; Capacity: 233.76 G; Free: 233.76; %Free: 100%; Fault Tolerance: No; Overload: 0%
Notes:
1) F is listed as “Disk 2” and it says it’s “online.”
2) It says 100% of the F drive is free, but there is actually a large amount of data on it.
3) We bought the drive new in June or July & had it installed by Compusa.
4) Since my girlfriend is paranoid about going online with this computer, it has never been updated, except when Compusa installed SP3 so that the 250G drive could be recognized to its full capacity.
*** Ericpete: Is this an error that comes up when you boot? Or does the computer boot, and you get the error when you try to access the drive?
Roeperdan: The computer boots and I get the error when I try to access the drive
***Ericpete: Is your F: drive a physical drive or a partition on a single drive?
Roeperdan: F: is a physical drive (see info above).
***sirbounty: Was that the "F" drive?
Roeperdan: Yes; our secondary physical hard drive is the F drive.
*** sirbounty: Try Start->Run->Diskmgmt.msc and see what drives you have listed there.
Roeperdan: See all the drive information listed at the top of this comment.
***sirbounty: You might also try hooking the USB drive back up to determine which drive letter it uses.
Roeperdan: The USB flash drive shows up as “G”
***sirbounty: IMO, it's unlikely that SP4 is the culprit at this point, and nothing leads me to believe virus-like activity. Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive...
Roeperdan: 1) Turns out I didn’t install SP4; sorry about the incorrect info.
2) What does “Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive” mean?
***ericpete: My experience -- not nearly as great as sirbounty's -- is that if the drive has a physical problem (the motor's going out or something like that) then you'll experience some gradual deterioration in performance; it won't just happen all of a sudden.
Roeperdan: Yeah – it was sudden.
***sirbounty: In any case, it might help if you can give us some idea of the age of the system and perhaps the model/brand name?
Roeperdan: Hard Drive was bought new and installed sometime around June, 2004. The rest of the system is a mish-mosh of various ages, ranging from 6 months to 3 years.
***wlennon: The error along with F:\ is not accessible is usually (as noted above by my fellow experts) is either a Drive Failure or Controller. Since you are hearing a 'crunching noise', I am inclined to agree that you are (if not already) about to experience a total drive crash.
Roeperdan: Is there something I can do if it’s a problem with a Controller?
***wlennon: If you could reply with more information about your PC, the Manufacturer, Operating System, and any experience you may have with the internal workings (and of Hard Drives especially), we can help you nail down the Problem and get you fixed up.
Roeperdan: Please see info at the top of this comment.
***wlennon: I am having a Mod/Admin move this question to the Hardware area for you.
Roeperdan: Thank you.
Ericpete: Thanks for the list of hard rive manufacturers; I’ll try to find and run some diagnostics.
One clarification on my initial post: I received a similar error message (drive inaccessible) on a seemingly unrelated hard drive on a completely different computer. The drive was a laptop hard drive in a USB enclosure; when I ran GetDataBack, it recovered data from the laptop hard drive – NOT the F: drive being discussed above. I mention this just in case there is a connection I’m not seeing, since it seems odd that two of our hard drives would crash in the same 30 day period.
Here’s the basic info about my system:
System: Windows 2000 Pro
Version: 5.0.2195 Service Pack 3 Build 2195 (I was wrong about having installed SP4)
AMD Athlon 1G processor (I think; the splash screen goes by too quickly; how do I freeze it or otherwise get processor info?)
BIOS Version: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
System Manufacturer: NVIDIA
System Model: nFORCE-MCP
A: Floppy; E: Zip Drive
C: Main drive (computer boots off of it)
Windows Directory: C:\WINNT
Total Physical Memory: 490,992 KB
Available Physical Memory: 303,524 KB
Total Virtual Memory: 1,638,656 KB
Available Virtual Memory: 1,327,044 KB
Page File Space: 1,147,664 KB
The drive that gives the “inaccessible” error:
F: Local Fixed Disk – Maxtor 6Y250PO
Drive Size: 250,994,419,200 bytes
Drive Media Loaded: True
Drive Media Type: Fixed Hard Disk Media
Free Space, Compressed, Size: Not Available
Info when I run diskmgmt.msc
C: - Layout: Partition; Type: Basic; File System: NTFS; Status: Healthy (system); Capacity: 18.64 G; % Free: 6%; Fault Tolerance: No; Overload: 0%
F: Layout: Partition; Type: Basic; File System: [no system was listed]; Status: Healthy; Capacity: 233.76 G; Free: 233.76; %Free: 100%; Fault Tolerance: No; Overload: 0%
Notes:
1) F is listed as “Disk 2” and it says it’s “online.”
2) It says 100% of the F drive is free, but there is actually a large amount of data on it.
3) We bought the drive new in June or July & had it installed by Compusa.
4) Since my girlfriend is paranoid about going online with this computer, it has never been updated, except when Compusa installed SP3 so that the 250G drive could be recognized to its full capacity.
*** Ericpete: Is this an error that comes up when you boot? Or does the computer boot, and you get the error when you try to access the drive?
Roeperdan: The computer boots and I get the error when I try to access the drive
***Ericpete: Is your F: drive a physical drive or a partition on a single drive?
Roeperdan: F: is a physical drive (see info above).
***sirbounty: Was that the "F" drive?
Roeperdan: Yes; our secondary physical hard drive is the F drive.
*** sirbounty: Try Start->Run->Diskmgmt.msc and see what drives you have listed there.
Roeperdan: See all the drive information listed at the top of this comment.
***sirbounty: You might also try hooking the USB drive back up to determine which drive letter it uses.
Roeperdan: The USB flash drive shows up as “G”
***sirbounty: IMO, it's unlikely that SP4 is the culprit at this point, and nothing leads me to believe virus-like activity. Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive...
Roeperdan: 1) Turns out I didn’t install SP4; sorry about the incorrect info.
2) What does “Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive” mean?
***ericpete: My experience -- not nearly as great as sirbounty's -- is that if the drive has a physical problem (the motor's going out or something like that) then you'll experience some gradual deterioration in performance; it won't just happen all of a sudden.
Roeperdan: Yeah – it was sudden.
***sirbounty: In any case, it might help if you can give us some idea of the age of the system and perhaps the model/brand name?
Roeperdan: Hard Drive was bought new and installed sometime around June, 2004. The rest of the system is a mish-mosh of various ages, ranging from 6 months to 3 years.
***wlennon: The error along with F:\ is not accessible is usually (as noted above by my fellow experts) is either a Drive Failure or Controller. Since you are hearing a 'crunching noise', I am inclined to agree that you are (if not already) about to experience a total drive crash.
Roeperdan: Is there something I can do if it’s a problem with a Controller?
***wlennon: If you could reply with more information about your PC, the Manufacturer, Operating System, and any experience you may have with the internal workings (and of Hard Drives especially), we can help you nail down the Problem and get you fixed up.
Roeperdan: Please see info at the top of this comment.
***wlennon: I am having a Mod/Admin move this question to the Hardware area for you.
Roeperdan: Thank you.
Ericpete: Thanks for the list of hard rive manufacturers; I’ll try to find and run some diagnostics.
One clarification on my initial post: I received a similar error message (drive inaccessible) on a seemingly unrelated hard drive on a completely different computer. The drive was a laptop hard drive in a USB enclosure; when I ran GetDataBack, it recovered data from the laptop hard drive – NOT the F: drive being discussed above. I mention this just in case there is a connection I’m not seeing, since it seems odd that two of our hard drives would crash in the same 30 day period.
roeperdan,
Credit where it's due: sirbounty has the list, not me... *grin*
“Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive” means that when you disconnected your flash drive, you didn't close the session, so your computer is looking for it and not finding it.
"Is there something I can do if it’s a problem with a Controller?" -- They're usually built into the mother board nowadays. Depending on the specs of your mother board, you might be able to turn off the controller (it's usually dipswitches on the board) and then install a controller.
"...when I ran GetDataBack, it recovered data from the laptop hard drive..." -- Is there any reason you couldn't do the same thing from your C: drive for your F: drive? You might get lucky...
ep
Credit where it's due: sirbounty has the list, not me... *grin*
“Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive” means that when you disconnected your flash drive, you didn't close the session, so your computer is looking for it and not finding it.
"Is there something I can do if it’s a problem with a Controller?" -- They're usually built into the mother board nowadays. Depending on the specs of your mother board, you might be able to turn off the controller (it's usually dipswitches on the board) and then install a controller.
"...when I ran GetDataBack, it recovered data from the laptop hard drive..." -- Is there any reason you couldn't do the same thing from your C: drive for your F: drive? You might get lucky...
ep
ASKER
"Is there any reason you couldn't do the same thing from your C: drive for your F: drive? You might get lucky... "
I'm trying to get every bit of information I can before I do anything at all to the drive;
I think I read on another post on this site that GetDataBack will not alter the data in any way; is this true? If so, I'll give it a shot.
I don't have an answer for you; I've never used GetDataBack, so I'd be talking out of turn. Perhaps one of the others knows; I just thought that if you'd used it to retrieve data from one computer, you could use it in this case.
GetDataBack is a great product. I've used it a few times and it's very useful when nothing else seems to work.
That and Restorer 2000 are both great for restoring data from an otherwise dead drive (and of course, much more preferable to paying 1-2k for a professional data recovery service). I don't know that it would be neceessary to use it unless your drive is inaccessible though.
I've yet to read your detailed response, but I'll get to that when I can get my sister off the phone...lol :)
That and Restorer 2000 are both great for restoring data from an otherwise dead drive (and of course, much more preferable to paying 1-2k for a professional data recovery service). I don't know that it would be neceessary to use it unless your drive is inaccessible though.
I've yet to read your detailed response, but I'll get to that when I can get my sister off the phone...lol :)
ASKER
I ran the Maxtor diagnostic - PowerMax version 4.21.
It gave me a diagnostic code and said that the drive is failing.
I got all excited about the diagnostic code; I thought perhaps it would tell me what was wrong so I could fix and/or avoid it.
Alas, the 8 digit diagnostic code is to be submitted to Maxtor with the dead drive so they'll send us a new one, if it's still under warranty.
I know that hard drives kick it all the time, but I'm wondering if there's something we're doing that might increase the odds of a crash. My first hard drive crash made a bit of sense: it was in an enclosure, I carried it back and forth to school each day, and middle schoolers were always leaping around it iwth spears and magnets...
On the other hand, the failed desktop hard drive (F) was used frequently, but not heavily; the computer case was rarely touched, and it has only been opened a few times (not recently).
Any suggestions for software that I can put on future drives to help with data recovery?
We generally back up every couple of months; guess we'll back up more frequently.
Any ideas why the first drive (the laptop drive in the enclosure) would suddenly and mysteriously become accessible, when I only ran GetDataBacl on it? it seems to indicate something other than the irreversible hard drive crash that the tech support guys at Compusa & Microcenter said it was.
It gave me a diagnostic code and said that the drive is failing.
I got all excited about the diagnostic code; I thought perhaps it would tell me what was wrong so I could fix and/or avoid it.
Alas, the 8 digit diagnostic code is to be submitted to Maxtor with the dead drive so they'll send us a new one, if it's still under warranty.
I know that hard drives kick it all the time, but I'm wondering if there's something we're doing that might increase the odds of a crash. My first hard drive crash made a bit of sense: it was in an enclosure, I carried it back and forth to school each day, and middle schoolers were always leaping around it iwth spears and magnets...
On the other hand, the failed desktop hard drive (F) was used frequently, but not heavily; the computer case was rarely touched, and it has only been opened a few times (not recently).
Any suggestions for software that I can put on future drives to help with data recovery?
We generally back up every couple of months; guess we'll back up more frequently.
Any ideas why the first drive (the laptop drive in the enclosure) would suddenly and mysteriously become accessible, when I only ran GetDataBacl on it? it seems to indicate something other than the irreversible hard drive crash that the tech support guys at Compusa & Microcenter said it was.
ASKER
One more thing:
The most recent new installation was a printer -- the drive became inaccessible after that. Any chance that might have something to do with it? She installed an HP Photosmart 8450, then didn't use the computer for a few days. The next time she used it, she got the error (I just got this info; sorry I didn't mention it earlier).
Does this now officially constitute a new question? Should I close this one and open a new one?
The most recent new installation was a printer -- the drive became inaccessible after that. Any chance that might have something to do with it? She installed an HP Photosmart 8450, then didn't use the computer for a few days. The next time she used it, she got the error (I just got this info; sorry I didn't mention it earlier).
Does this now officially constitute a new question? Should I close this one and open a new one?
This is not good:
>>F: Layout: Partition; Type: Basic; File System: [no system was listed]; Status: Healthy; Capacity: 233.76 G; Free: 233.76; %Free: 100%; Fault Tolerance: No; Overload: 0%
File System: [no system was listed] and the fact that the entire usable capacity is showing as %Free 100%
I have GetDataBack for both FAT32 and NTFS, it has saved my butt a few times. If you are using GetDataBack try running it on the F:\ Drive.
>>I ran the Maxtor diagnostic - PowerMax version 4.21.
It gave me a diagnostic code and said that the drive is failing.
When did CompUSA do the installation, and did you/her buy the drive as part of the installation? It could still be under THEIR warranty. On a 250GB HDD, the system will use about 6 to 8% leaving you with around what the capacity is showing, 233GB.
No, installing a printer would have no effect on the secondary drive. Judging by the Diagnostic progarm report, you may be out of luck on data recovery, but it's worth a shot.
>>F: Layout: Partition; Type: Basic; File System: [no system was listed]; Status: Healthy; Capacity: 233.76 G; Free: 233.76; %Free: 100%; Fault Tolerance: No; Overload: 0%
File System: [no system was listed] and the fact that the entire usable capacity is showing as %Free 100%
I have GetDataBack for both FAT32 and NTFS, it has saved my butt a few times. If you are using GetDataBack try running it on the F:\ Drive.
>>I ran the Maxtor diagnostic - PowerMax version 4.21.
It gave me a diagnostic code and said that the drive is failing.
When did CompUSA do the installation, and did you/her buy the drive as part of the installation? It could still be under THEIR warranty. On a 250GB HDD, the system will use about 6 to 8% leaving you with around what the capacity is showing, 233GB.
No, installing a printer would have no effect on the secondary drive. Judging by the Diagnostic progarm report, you may be out of luck on data recovery, but it's worth a shot.
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ASKER
1. I checked wth Compusa; no warranty through them.
2. I used GetDataBack and, as far as we can tell, it recovered 100% of the data we needed off the drive. I had read that large files (like 80 MB images) have less of a chance of being recovered intact, but the 20+ images we opened were fine.
3. I decided to go with the Ultimate Fix: we purchased a new desktop computer. Hers was going on 4 years old, it was having hardware & software compatibility problems, and it was clearly developing a number of psychological issues-- as were we in trying to deal with it. Once the drive crashed, I started doing a bit of research and found that, instead of spending $400 on new parts, for $600 we could get a new machine with all sorts of nice features (DVD RW, 512 MB RAM, card readers, P4 processor, 7 USB ports, firewire port, better graphics card, etc.).
4. Since I have an enclosure & everything is backed up, I'll try the crashed drive out on another computer to see if it's really crashed.
2. I used GetDataBack and, as far as we can tell, it recovered 100% of the data we needed off the drive. I had read that large files (like 80 MB images) have less of a chance of being recovered intact, but the 20+ images we opened were fine.
3. I decided to go with the Ultimate Fix: we purchased a new desktop computer. Hers was going on 4 years old, it was having hardware & software compatibility problems, and it was clearly developing a number of psychological issues-- as were we in trying to deal with it. Once the drive crashed, I started doing a bit of research and found that, instead of spending $400 on new parts, for $600 we could get a new machine with all sorts of nice features (DVD RW, 512 MB RAM, card readers, P4 processor, 7 USB ports, firewire port, better graphics card, etc.).
4. Since I have an enclosure & everything is backed up, I'll try the crashed drive out on another computer to see if it's really crashed.
roeperdan,
That's good news. Now for the tough part.
If any of the comments above helped you, then you should select it as the "answer" by clicking the Accept button next to the Expert's name (at the right side of the window). If more than one helped you, you can split the points by clicking the Split Points link just above the big text box.
If none of them helped you, you can get a refund by posting a request in the Community Support TA (https://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/). Make sure you include a link to this question so the Mods can find it.
Regards,
ep
That's good news. Now for the tough part.
If any of the comments above helped you, then you should select it as the "answer" by clicking the Accept button next to the Expert's name (at the right side of the window). If more than one helped you, you can split the points by clicking the Split Points link just above the big text box.
If none of them helped you, you can get a refund by posting a request in the Community Support TA (https://www.experts-exchange.com/Community_Support/). Make sure you include a link to this question so the Mods can find it.
Regards,
ep
ASKER
I tried the hard drive out with an enclosure on another computer; same problem, so I assume it's not a case of juggling the drive letters.
Thanks to all for an educational adventure in hard drives & data recovery!
Thanks to all for an educational adventure in hard drives & data recovery!
Was that the "F" drive?
Try Start->Run->Diskmgmt.msc and see what drives you have listed there.
You might also try hooking the USB drive back up to determine which drive letter it uses.
IMO, it's unlikely that SP4 is the culprit at this point, and nothing leads me to believe virus-like activity. Probably just not a closed session to the previously attached drive...