Pulled plug on HDD while running, now PC won't recognize

I have Windows xp pro w/sp2 computer. I was trying to backup an image of my C: drive to a (Iomega 160gb USB2) external drive, using a program called "driveimage xl". I was using driveimage in the drive to drive mode. I got a prompt that if I went ahead with the drive to drive image backup, that the the Iomega would ovewrite whatever was on the Iomega. That was all right because I had already moved everything to a different hdd, so I went ahead and done the backup. I done the backup for about 30 or 40 minutes, seen that it was going to take hours, so I canceled the backup. By the way, I should also say that when I canceled the backup, I had to unplug, shut the hdd off because the program would not cancel on it's own. That's probably a "no no", if that's the case is there any thing that I can do to make the computer recognized the hdd? As a matter of fact, the more I think about it, the more I know "that sure was stupid" oh well, we learn by our mistakes. Now the Iomega hdd will not show up in "My Computer". It was letter J: but now nothing. Can anyone help me?
Thanks

 

I had the same problem with a usb to ide adapter. but all I had to do was reboot and it worked. then later it quit for some reason(still don't know why), but the way i fixed it then was right click on my computer>properties, hardware tab, device manager. I found my hdd(had an error on it) right-clicked and uninstall, unplug then plug back in. it took a few times but eventually it picked it up. If the error says something about it being removed unsafely it should only need a reboot(and uninstall won't be effective at all).

also i should mention my usb adapter required no special drivers. if yours does uninstalling may remove them and you may have to reinstall them. but the first thing i'd try is rebooting in any case(solved most issues i've had with usb devices).

 

i would try and check it on another comp. it's bad to unplug any external h/d's, or thumbdrives, while it's reading or writing data. so, it's very possible that it's fubar now!! - sos

 

Ditto, if it shows up there just reformat from there and it should sort the issue.

 

I went to disk management: in the window it reads as follows:
Disk 0 is C: primary E:, G:, H:, I, as logical drives (I have my internal HDD partitioned that way)

Disk 1 shows up as 149.05gb Unallocated


In device manager: It shows up as USB Mass Storage Device
I right click--went to properties, and it reads as follows:
Device Type: USB Controllers
Manufactuer: Compatible USB Storage Device
Location: Location 0 (Iomega HDD USB 2.0 Drive) "which it is"


In the Device Status window---it reads as follows:
The device is working properly

If you are having problems with this device click trobleshoot.



Does this help explain my problem?? What do I do?
Thanks
Karen

 

which exactly is your drive? i'm posting my thumbdrive (screenshot) for example.

mine is "h", if i right click on "disk 2" on the bottom, i only get so much (options). however, if i right click on the "h" i get more options (this is what you see in the screenshot). can you explain more, or can you take a screenshot, and upload the pic?? - sos

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=26019 <-- Taking Screenshots

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=86880 <-- HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post

 

thanks for all of the info---I hope the upload works---I don't see it in the reply window.
My disk is Disk 2 149.05gb Unallocated

 

ok, on disk 2, where it says unallocated, can you right click, and tell us what options there are (like my screenshot)? do you have anything on their you really need? is "mark partition as active" selectable (if so, try that)?

i'd say if you can see it, it might be ok. however, it might have to be formatted (as mentioned prior, which would mean losing all data on there). but, we need to see what is selectable when you right click on it. - sos

 

Sosaman I hope I'm getting better at this uploading!

As you can see, when I right click I only have
New Partition
Properties
Help

No I don't have anything on the disk that I need.

How do I assign the HDD a letter, or whatever I need to do so as windows will recognize it?
Thanks

 

hmm, i was really hoping to see mark as active, or format. ok, i'm not sure about this, but i don't think it will hurt. i'm guessing that it could already be formatted (still - but corrupted?), and you just need to partition it? :confused anyway, i'd go ahead and select new partition (if it's selectable), and see what it does, make the partition the whole size.

i'm guessing each time you plug it in, it changes? in the 1st pic you posted, it is disk #2, and in the 2nd pic you posted it's disk #1? maybe it has to do, if you had it plugged in (and on), when you booted up your comp?

see what happens after you partition it. hopefully other options will come up, like "mark as active partition", or "change drive letters and path". - sos

 

These directions are for unallocated space on disk 0 but the procedure will be the same for your external hd that the computer sees as disk 1.
http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives_06.htm

 

:-D sosaman---I done what you suggested (clicked on New Partition) I was able to format the whole partition and also assign a letter.

As I was doing this I received another post from plodr
giving me a link to download directions "To partition a unallocated disk"---exact same thing that you suggested.
So, sosaman I want to give you a big thankyou.


plodr I want to give a big thankyou to you also.


Note: the drive shows up as a local drive, but I'm pretty sure that I can fix that.

BUT I learned a big lesson (not to shutoff a HDD while it's still running) I really think I lucked out, big time.

Thanks again, :wave

 

kewl, i'm glad it worked out for you. in the beginning i was thinking it was toast, but i also agree that you may have gotten lucky. i had read plodr's post earlier but couldn't respond (i wanted to thank him as well - i thought the link clarified it more) as i had to go to a family function (graduation weekend here). but, i have bookmarked the link for future reference. - peace out all - sos