Need Some Suggestions for Extracting Data...

[djnsmith7]

As the title reads, my dilemma is that I have a backup Seagate SATA II drive that I formatted on my XP Pro SP2 system & can't get Vista 64 to see it.

If I remove the HDD & just plug in the external USB enclosure, a Removable Drive appears, but if I install the SATA drive, it doesn't. This is the result in any of the 3 systems.

I originally formatted this drive in an XP Pro SP2 system using the Seagate Tools software & never had a problem until now.

I've tried installing it internally & externally using a USB / SATA enclosure, connecting to the USB port. I've also tried to get my laptop, which is an XP Pro system to see it & it does, but even though it acknowledges the drive, it doesn't show up as a Removable Drive.

So, I'm open to suggestions as to how I can extract this extremely valuable personal data off this SATA II drive.

 

[tynopik]

> even though it acknowledges the drive, it doesn't show up as a Removable Drive

this is rather vague, what do you mean by it? can it pull files off the drive?

are you sure your external enclosure works with Vista64?

if all else fails, mail it to me and i promise to send you your personal data

 

[kirilus]

When you format a drive you erase all data, right? If you want Vista to see you formatted drive right-click on My Computer icon on your desktop and select Manage. Then double click on Storage then Disk Management and you'll see the list of all drives there.

 

[djnsmith7]

Originally posted by: tynopik
> even though it acknowledges the drive, it doesn't show up as a Removable Drive

this is rather vague, what do you mean by it? can it pull files off the drive?

are you sure your external enclosure works with Vista64?

if all else fails, mail it to me and i promise to send you your personal data

Vista acknowledges the hardware once the enclosure is powered on, but nothing else happens. The drive doesn't even show up. The labeling on the box indicates it works with Vista, but doesn't specifiy Vista 64. The drive doesn't show up in XP either though. I'm wondering if I should just try another enclosure.

 

[djnsmith7]

Originally posted by: kirilus
When you format a drive you erase all data, right? If you want Vista to see you formatted drive right-click on My Computer icon on your desktop and select Manage. Then double click on Storage then Disk Management and you'll see the list of all drives there.

I can see the drive there, but Vista only offers the option to convert it to Basic Disc. I don't want to do that because that will reformat the drive & I'll lose the data. I'm trying to recover the data, then reformat it.

 

[tynopik]

vista home basic and home premium can't read dynamics disks

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/254105

Dynamic disks are not supported on the following hardware:
? Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 serial bus
? Universal Serial Bus (USB)
? Removable disks
? Disks in laptop computers or laptop docking stations

so you need xp pro or vista business or vista ultimate and it needs a direct sata connection (not usb)

 

[djnsmith7]

Originally posted by: tynopik
vista home basic and home premium can't read dynamics disks

So how do I rectify this problem? I can't get XP to see it either.

 

[tynopik]

see my edit above

 

[tynopik]

more info than you ever wanted on the subject:
http://mypkb.wordpress.com/200...-disks-to-basic-disks/

another approach (hack xp pro on laptop to always allow dynamics disks)
http://www.maximumpc.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=299600

So, I went into the Dekstop registry and jotted down the start values for each dm* service. They were:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dmio
dmadmin: 3
dmboot: 4
dmio: 0
dmload: 0
dmserver: 2

I applied those same values to the same keys on my laptop's dm* entries, then rebooted.

Well, when I opened disk management the next time, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the "activate disk" option was present again for the external USB hard drive.

 

[djnsmith7]

I've got the drive up & running on my XP Pro laptop. Thank you for your help!

 

[tynopik]

Originally posted by: djnsmith7
I've got the drive up & running on my XP Pro laptop. Thank you for your help!

what did you do?
or did it just start working?

 

[djnsmith7]

I wasn't aware of the option to import a Foreign Drive, since I've never had to use it. That's what worked. The drive was available once I did that, & it's still inside the USB / SATA enclsoure, which is cool.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that I can't do this in Vista 64. Technology was supposed to take a huge leap forward with Vista, but this makes it feel like it took a step backwards.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: djnsmith7
I think it's absolutely ridiculous that I can't do this in Vista 64. Technology was supposed to take a huge leap forward with Vista, but this makes it feel like it took a step backwards.

You never said what version of Vista you are using. But it sounds like you have a dynamic disk are are running Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium. Like XP Home, those can't handle dynamic disks.

In general, dynamic disks should be avoided unless you have a clear understanding of how they work and how to fix problems with them.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: djnsmith7
I think it's absolutely ridiculous that I can't do this in Vista 64. Technology was supposed to take a huge leap forward with Vista, but this makes it feel like it took a step backwards.

You never said what version of Vista you are using. But it sounds like you have a dynamic disk are are running Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium. Like XP Home, those can't handle dynamic disks.

In general, dynamic disks should be avoided unless you have a clear understanding of how they work and how to fix problems with them.

only because im curious whats the issue wth dynamic disks?

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Anubis
only because im curious whats the issue wth dynamic disks?

Well, the biggest issue with dynamic disks is revealed in this thread. There aren't a lot of people with a good working knowledge of dynamic disks. You can pick up a Basic disk and pretty much move it anywhere you want. People assume the same with Dynamic disks and can't figure out how to get their data back.

There are several more-technical gotcha's that mostly apply to RAID arrays done with dynamic disks. My recommendation is to go over Microsoft's documentation on dynamic disks and play with them in a virtual PC if you are going to use them for important data.

 

[djnsmith7]

I didn't intend to create a Dynamic Disk when I formatted it. I found a way to extract the data, but it's going to take forever to do it.

I'm running Vista Home Premium 64 Bit.

 

[jterrell]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: Anubis
only because im curious whats the issue wth dynamic disks?

Well, the biggest issue with dynamic disks is revealed in this thread. There aren't a lot of people with a good working knowledge of dynamic disks. You can pick up a Basic disk and pretty much move it anywhere you want. People assume the same with Dynamic disks and can't figure out how to get their data back.

There are several more-technical gotcha's that mostly apply to RAID arrays done with dynamic disks. My recommendation is to go over Microsoft's documentation on dynamic disks and play with them in a virtual PC if you are going to use them for important data.

No offense here but the issue is with Microsoft not dynamic disks IMHO.

This isn't 1999 and new OSes should read them just fine even at the basic Home versions.

Anytime someone wants to add new functionality or devices there will be a learning curve but the OS really shouldn't be a limiting factor on what are fairly common devices at this point.

It would probably also help if there weren't 75 different version of Vista out. Then again I guess one should also take a special class in that before ordering Vista in the first place....