Hard drive doesn't show

Status
Not open for further replies.
So basically I have a 400 gb hard drive that has been working fine till yesterday.

I think it is a WD drive, it is internal.

I have to hard drives in my windows xp. The operating system is on the c drive but I added an internal drive to have more memory and use it mostly just for storage like music, movies etc. Yesterday I went to copy something from my desktop which is on the C drive into the F drive (this is the add-on drive that is not working properly) and it started copying but about half way through I got some errors and than the F drive disappeared from under my computer. I restarted the computer but I got an error stating that this is not drive plugged in to SATA 2, which was the location of the F drive. After a while passed I restarted the computer again but this time it would load without an error but once it gets past the windows booting screen the screen would go blank and nothing will happen.

I've ran the computers hard drive diagnostics and on the WD hard drive it just says fail but all the other drives and the cd-roms load fine.

The computer starts up fine with the F drive disconnected. Could it be that the F drive crashed and is lost?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Could it be that the F drive crashed and is lost?
That's a possibility but if you haven't already, check the connections of the cables to make sure they aren't loose. If that doesn't do anything, try replacing the cable.
 
I've tried all connections and cables but that did not do anything, basically the computer senses the drive there but the computer itself cannot boot up properly with the F drive attached, so it senses it but it doesn't read it or anything.

If i was to let the computer load with the F drive not attached but than I was to attach it, would this cause some problems to the computer or would it just not see anything there?

Basically would i be able to attach the internal hard drive as if it was an external one? Just to see if it sees anything than.
 
If you are using the F drive for storage and the operating system or programs are not installed on it, then you could leave it disconnected without a problem for your system.

If you place the F drive in an external enclosure or perhaps a docking station (a SATA docking station is simpler and more convenient), that would be a good way to see if you can access your F drive files.
 
If i was to let the computer load with the F drive not attached but than I was to attach it, would this cause some problems to the computer or would it just not see anything there?
The drive is Plug and Play so, in theory, you should be able to connect it internally after Windows starts and (assuming the drive is OK) Windows should see it, install the drivers and you should be able to use it (assuming the drive's OK)

However, i'd also be more comfortable attempting to connect the drive externally, as mailpup suggests, to test it
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back