"not accessible the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable"
Nikko 11 February 2005 22:35:29
I'm trying to help out a friend who just bought an external hard drive. He literally just got it yesterday. He backed up all his documents and all was well. But apparently in addition to using the hard drive for back up, he was running a couple of programs off it, including one that creates a virtual drive or something like that. Anyway, now when he tries to access the hard drive, he gets a message that says "H drive is not accessible; the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable". Does that mean his drive is unusable? Can it be salvaged? Does he need to do a reformat? If so, how would he go about doing that? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Yves Leclerc 11 February 2005 22:04:25 [ permanent link ]
External hard drives normally connect to USB or Firewire ports. The first thing to do is to un-plug it from the PC and then re-plug it (using the exact same port). If this works, then you may have to check in Device Manager so as to make sure that the port used has not been told to "power down" by XP.
"nikko" <nothanks@yourmomma.com> wrote in message news:s-CdnQIuJopd2pHfRVn-ig@comcast.com...> I'm trying to help out a friend who just bought an external hard drive. He > literally just got it yesterday. He backed up all his documents and all > was well. But apparently in addition to using the hard drive for back up, > he was running a couple of programs off it, including one that creates a > virtual drive or something like that. Anyway, now when he tries to access > the hard drive, he gets a message that says "H drive is not accessible; > the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable". Does that mean his > drive is unusable? Can it be salvaged? Does he need to do a reformat? If > so, how would he go about doing that? Thanks in advance for any help you > can provide.>
"nikko" <nothanks@yourmomma.com> wrote in message> news:s-CdnQIuJopd2pHfRVn-ig@comcast.com...>> I'm trying to help out a friend who just bought an external hard drive. >> He >> literally just got it yesterday. He backed up all his documents and >> all was well. But apparently in addition to using the hard drive for back >> up, he was running a couple of programs off it, including one that >> creates a virtual drive or something like that. Anyway, now when he tries >> to access the hard drive, he gets a message that says "H drive is not >> accessible; the file or directory is corrupted and unreadable". Does that >> mean his drive is unusable? Can it be salvaged? Does he need to do a >> reformat? If so, how would he go about doing that? Thanks in advance for >> any help you can provide.
"Yves Leclerc" <yleclercNOSPAM@maysys.com> wrote in message news:%23m6xgQGEFHA.3580@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...> External hard drives normally connect to USB or Firewire ports. The first > > thing to do is to un-plug it from the PC and then re-plug it (using the > exact same port). If this works, then you may have to check in Device > Manager so as to make sure that the port used has not been told to "power > down" by XP.
nikko: I really can't see how Yves' suggestion to disconnect the external hard drive and then reconnect it will help. But I suppose there's no harm in trying it.
You mentioned the problem arose after your friend ran a program that "creates a virtual drive or something like that." Might it be wise to contact the program's developer to determine if they've run across this problem and have any solution? Ditto for the other programs he accessed from the external drive just before the problem arose. You might also want to try a Google search for "hard drive restore programs" and/or "data recovery" to determine if there are any restoration programs that might be helpful in this situation.
Another possible approach, if feasible, is to remove the HD from its USB (I assume it's a USB device) enclosure and install it as an internal IDE HD in your friend's computer to determine if the data can be accessed through that means. However, if the HD is in a sealed enclosure this might not be possible. And even if so, it might void the warranty on the unit. Art
