HDD partition problem ( problem...helpp please )

If you format the drive...you will probably lose the data on it. When did the problem start? You need to give more details. Is this your HD or did you just find it somewhere? Does it have an OS on it?

like other posters have said we need some more info about your system & the HD what version of windows are you running? and if you format the HD you will loose data! you may find this article helpful http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1139

well, i have an asus a7n8x-x, amd xp2500+ the hd is a maxtor 60gb, i am using windows xp....hope this helps

oops, yeah this was my drive, i used it for music and stuff, it was like a backup drive, no it has no OS on it, it's FAT32 i believe since i can see stuff in dos

Rather than format, why not convert it to NTFS?

it's possible to convert it without a format?

It's possible, but you'll get the worst possible performance since you really can't control the cluster size.

Partition Magic will allow you to change the cluster size, but that's about a 50/50 chance from what I've experienced.

other then partition magic how can i convert it?

Did you check that the jumpers on that HD are set properly (master or slave)?
Also, older HDs do not like 80-wire IDE-cables (and vice-versa).

^^^^^^^
it's in "my computer" just that i can't access it

anyone? can i convert it to NTFS without losing the data? and will that solve the problem of not being able to access it?

just an update....i installed partition magic, i went to the properties of the drive and i get "error #45 CRC error in data" will formatting solve this? help please

As per Symantec/Partition Magic:

http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/primus/id2406.html

Error 45 CRC Error in data
Solution: Error 45 CRC Error in data Use ScanDisk (or CHKDSK /R in Windows NT) to perform a thorough surface scan of the disk.This flags any bad sectors on the disk so that they cannot be used in the future. Reinstall the software you were using when ...


If your HD were in good nick (which yours obviously is not) you can convert to NTFS without losing data, using the inbuilt converter from Windows.
PartMagic can do it as well and a hell of a lot faster than MS convert.

so should i/would i be able to format this drive?

Hunt around for a utility with the name "File Wizard". Install that on your C-drive in c:\fw
Have a FAT32 partition available that is big enough to recieve the files from your troubled HD.
Then start from a boot-floppy (e.g. WIN98) and run File-wizard. It should be able to copy from bad HD to good FAT32-partition.

Another possibility is "Active Uneraser" from www.uneraser.com
If it can recover your data, you have to register it for £27($50).

Like JWL said - use R-Studio.
I have recovered data from a lot of drives with all kinds of problems.
If you get errors using the program I don't think you are using it right - the program doesn't really validate the data, just shows you what there is.
Then you can start recovery - but don't recover to your problem disk as you them might overwrite data - recover to alternate disk.