Unable to format external hard drive

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I have a LaCie 1TB external drive connected with a FW800 cable to a matching card also from LaCie. The drive power supply failed and the drive’s MFT was corrupted so I gave up on recovering the drive contents and followed LaCie instructions to make the drive usable and blank after purchasing a new power supply. Each step worked until the last when I got a message that formatting could not be accomplished. I rebooted and tried again but formatting (Quick) still failed. Chkdsk is unable to run on this drive. Disk Management shows “Disk 2 Basic 931.52 GB Online” and “(E:) 931.52 GB RAW Healthy (Primary Partition)” and “(E:) – Layout Simple – Type Basic – File System RAW – Status Healthy (Primary Partition) – Capacity 931.52 GB – Free Space 931.52 GB – %Free 100% – Fault Tolerance No – Overhead 0%”. My system is a Dell XPS 400 Pentium D 3.20 GHz 4GB RAM running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. Can anyone help me to get this drive running properly again, please?

Norm73

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If you haven’t written a new MBR (or GPT) as part of the process of reconditioning, right click on the drive’s disk number square in Disk management and convert it first to GPT and then back to MBR (or the opposite if using GPT). Then try partitioning and formatting.
Also, is there an alternate connection method for the drive? USB 2.0 perhaps that you can try, to determine if the whole FW800 bus is running properly?

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I did set it up with MBR. When I right click as you suggest “Convert to GPT disk” is grayed out. Of the first six options in that menu only the “Convert to Dynamic Disk…” item is not grayed out.

Also, the drive does have USB capability which I will try when I dig out the appropriate cable from my large bin of many cables.

I’ll report after I try the USB option.

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Okay, I removed the FW800 cable and tried to format using a USB 2.0 but the format also failed with that connection.

What now?

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Hello norm73,

Connect your drive & switch it ON. Open a command prompt by typing cmd in the start menu search box, right click cmd.exe and run as administrator.
Type diskpart & press enter, type list volume & press enter. This is how it looks with one of my external drives connected:-

33436-LL

If I was doing mine, I would type select volume 2 & press enter, type format=ntfs & press enter or format=ntfs quick for a faster format.
When complete type exit & press enter twice to close diskpart then close cmd.exe.

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Hello norm73,

Connect your drive & switch it ON. Open a command prompt by typing cmd in the start menu search box, right click cmd.exe and run as administrator.
Type diskpart & press enter, type list volume & press enter. This is how it looks with one of my external drives connected:-

33436-LL

If I was doing mine, I would type select volume 2 & press enter, type format=ntfs & press enter or format=ntfs quick for a faster format.
When complete type exit & press enter twice to close diskpart then close cmd.exe.

For an entire drive, “list volume” is not the correct command. Use “list disk”, since the entire disk is reporting as RAW.

After determining the proper disk number for the RAW drive, (for example let’s say it’s listed as disk 2), use the command “select disk 2”. Once disk 2 is the selected disk, use the command “clean”.

From there, use the command “convert MBR” if you want an MBR partition table.
Next, the command “create partition primary” without further switches if you want the entire disk as a single partition.
Then, if you want NTFS formatting, use “format fs=ntfs”.

After the format is complete, you can exit diskpart and command prompt, and Windows should recognize the drive.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I assume the command format fs=ntfs causes a low level format as it is extremely slow running about 1% every 25 minutes. Would it run significantly faster using FW800 instead of USB 2.0 and, if so, how can I safely abort the current USB run and restart using FW800? At the moment it is only 3% complete.

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For an entire drive, “list volume” is not the correct command. Use “list disk”, since the entire disk is reporting as RAW.

After determining the proper disk number for the RAW drive, (for example let’s say it’s listed as disk 2), use the command “select disk 2”. Once disk 2 is the selected disk, use the command “clean”.

From there, use the command “convert MBR” if you want an MBR partition table.
Next, the command “create partition primary” without further switches if you want the entire disk as a single partition.
Then, if you want NTFS formatting, use “format fs=ntfs”.

After the format is complete, you can exit diskpart and command prompt, and Windows should recognize the drive.

This is what I got with list disk, with the same external hdd connected. It’s not as easy to select the correct item compared with list volume.
Your correct, I forgot to add fs when typing format=ntfs.

33438-LL

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It’s not as easy to select the correct item compared with list volume.

In Diskpart, the command “list volume” lists partitions and logical drives on all drives, and from that listing one may only select a partition or logical drive, not an entire disk, as the “select” command allows one to select only one item from that list.

The command “list disk” lists only hard disk drives, CD/DVD drives and card readers that are assigned drive letters, without regard to partitions or logical drives. From that listing one may select an entire drive for further attention.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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In Diskpart, the command “list volume” lists partitions and logical drives on all drives, and from that listing one may only select a partition or logical drive, not an entire disk, as the “select” command allows one to select only one item from that list.

The command “list disk” lists only hard disk drives, CD/DVD drives and card readers that are assigned drive letters, without regard to partitions or logical drives. From that listing one may select an entire drive for further attention.

Thanks, noted for future reference.

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If he has been unable to format the drive it may not have a drive letter so will be harder to find.

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If he has been unable to format the drive it may not have a drive letter so will be harder to find.

Diskpart can assign and manipulate drive letters, but it uses disk numbers to identify drives, starting with Disk 0. If the BIOS can see it, Diskpart can see it.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I don’t know how to paste from my screen into the Lounge so I’m copying it manually below. This is after cleaning, convert to MBR and creating partition primary.

DISKPART> format fs=ntfs

100 percent completed
DiskPart has encountered an error: The parameter is incorrect.
See the System Event Log for more information.

In the event log I see 9 error listings from 4:07:08 AM to 4:07:39 AM all from Disk with Event ID 11 and Task Category None.

I researched this and came up with possible controller error which does not make sense as the error did not occur until over 14 hours into the format job.

I may have succeeded in attaching a word .docx with a copy of my screen.

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I may have succeeded in attaching a word .docx with a copy of my screen.

Hi norm73, this will help in your future Lounge postings. 33324-Make-an-Image-and-post-it

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Also SeaTools long test, other drive diagnostic programs, see if the drive is OK, take it out of the enclosure and connect it directly or by SATA to USB cable adapter if possible.

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A full format on Windows 7 will take a long time regardless of the buss so no, it won’t be faster. Expect about a day per terabyte.

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Okay and thanks. I’ll report in when it’s done which should be tomorrow or Monday.

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Well the important command was probably clean, since having the GPT option greyed out would indicate there was still some sort of structure on the drive, small though it must have been. So it would probably be ok to stop the long format and go for a quick, but if you have the time, a full format will replace any bad sectors there may be that could potentially cause a problem down the road. That’s why it takes so long as 7 is sort of testing the drive a bit as it formats.

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Thanks for that information. It is now at 20% complete and I will let it continue so, at this rate, it should run until late tomorrow night.

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A drive that has given you a problem does not need a quick format – you need the full format to insure that everything about the drive is as it should be.

FWIW, I never use quick format.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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True dat!

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No attachment to your post. Can Windows Disk Management see the drive? How is it listed?

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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No change except letter (E:) assignment was removed. It’s still listed as Disk 2 Basic 931.52 GB RAW Healthy (Primary Partition).

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Give it a drive letter and have Windows format it. You can try a quick format this time – if you can succeed with a format, I would run chkdsk /r on it.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I assigned a letter (E) and tried the quick format but it failed again. Chkdsk would not run.

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You can run Diskpart on the drive again, only this time use “clean all” instead of just “clean”. “Clean all” zeros each and every sector of the disk, whereas “clean” just removes the MBR and partitioning/formatting information on the disk.

Remember that you have to open the Command Prompt with “Run as administrator”.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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This is the type of error where if the drive were internal, I would say the SATA cable might be flaking out, misdirected to controller error. If you try diskpart again and it doesn’t work, I think you’ll have to separate the drive from the enclosure and try a direct SATA connection to see if the enclosure is the culprit or not. If you have one of those screwless horizontally oriented desktop rectangle LaCie’s, they’re pretty easy to pop out, but I wouldn’t know about other formfactors.

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If you try diskpart again and it doesn’t work, I think you’ll have to separate the drive from the enclosure and try a direct SATA connection to see if the enclosure is the culprit or not.

I had an eSATA drive dock flake out on me a couple of months ago. The 1TB drive came up RAW, and nothing worked. As it turned out, I had two drive docks, so I swapped out the dock, and the drive was fine. I had room in my midtower, so I just mounted the 1TB drive internally. The other dock (and drive) are still fine, and I use that as an alternate image target for my laptop.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I ran DiskPart and clean all after selecting Disk 2 and got “DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk”

What next?

Also, Roderunner – I ran the snipping tool and saved the Command window as “Capture.png” then selected the Image icon above, browsed to that file and selected “upload file” but it did not proceed to upload. I tried to upload the file at least 4 times.

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Roderunner – I ran the snipping tool and saved the Command window as “Capture.png” then selected the Image icon above, browsed to that file and selected “upload file” but it did not proceed to upload. I tried to upload the file at least 4 times.

Here is how to use the Snipping Tool’. 33443-Snipping-Tool

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It now shows as “Not Initialized” and as “931.52 GB Unallocated” and wants me to initialize as MBR or as GPT with MBR selected as default.

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It now shows as “Not Initialized” and as “931.52 GB Unallocated” and wants me to initialize as MBR or as GPT with MBR selected as default.

Go back through the same procedure you used before from my previous post. The only change is in the “Clean” command, using “Clean All” instead.

Use the command “convert MBR” if you want an MBR partition table.
Next, the command “create partition primary” without further switches if you want the entire disk as a single partition. (Diskpart automatically changes focus to the newly created partition, so you don’t need to use the “list” command again.)

Then, if you want NTFS formatting, use “format fs=ntfs”. And again, I would recommend a full, not quick, format – this is a problem disk.

After the format is complete, you can exit diskpart and command prompt.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I ran “Clean All” last night so are you telling me to run it again? I’ll assume not and proceed with the formatting. As the problems continued with the USB connection I have switched back to FW800 for speed.

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I ran “Clean All” last night so are you telling me to run it again? I’ll assume not and proceed with the formatting. As the problems continued with the USB connection I have switched back to FW800 for speed.

You have assumed correctly. No need to “Clean all” again. And if after all this you still have difficulty with the drive, you might want to try what F.U.N downtown suggested:

This is the type of error where if the drive were internal, I would say the SATA cable might be flaking out, misdirected to controller error. If you try diskpart again and it doesn’t work, I think you’ll have to separate the drive from the enclosure and try a direct SATA connection to see if the enclosure is the culprit or not. If you have one of those screwless horizontally oriented desktop rectangle LaCie’s, they’re pretty easy to pop out, but I wouldn’t know about other formfactors.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I’m afraid that connecting the drive by FW800 created a malfunction as the “format fs=ntfs” did not advance from “0%” after 15 hours so I aborted the operation using “End Task”, shut down my system and changed the drive connection back to USB. Disk Management showed the drive as “931.52 GB RAW” so I tried running a “Quick Format”. It seems to be working as, previously, it failed in the first minute. If “Quick Format” is successful I plan to run “chkdsk (drive:) /R”. Do you agree with that plan?

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If “Quick Format” is successful I plan to run “chkdsk (drive:) /R”. Do you agree with that plan?

Yes, indeed.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I had to End Task after 2 hours and shut down. Then I rebooted and ran diskpart – list disk – select disk 2 – clean – convert MBR – create partition primary – format fs=ntfs. The drive is connected with a USB cable to a USB 2.0 port. The format is running and I’ll report the result when and if it completes.

Thanks for your continued help and patience.

Norman

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There is a problem. The format has been running for 3 hours and it still says “0 percent completed”. The drive light is flickering so something is happening. Note that in my latest series of commands I ran “clean” and not “clean all”. Disk Management says “formatting” but it said that during the Quick Format period that I ended after two hours.

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It’s looking more like F.U.N. downtown may be on the right track. The FW800 connection is giving problems, the USB 2.0 is giving problems, and it may well be that the hardware interface in the enclosure may be the culprit. Do you think you can take the drive out of the enclosure and try a direct SATA connection?

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I started “clean all” again last night and it’s still running. I want to try formatting once more if “clean all” is successful.

I just turned over the drive to look for screw heads but it started a whining sound so I quickly put it back down on its base. It’s still running and there’s no error message so, hopefully, I caused no damage. If it comes down to opening the case my only concern is how to do it as I don’t see any fasteners.

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When I had to figure out how to open my LaCie (horizontal 3.5″ desktop model) I Googled and found a YouTube instructional video. If it’s like mine it involves inserting something that spreads the seam on the bottom in all four corners until the little catch snaps are released and the cover can be removed. I used four flat blade screwdrivers.

Oh, and be sure it’s turned off before any opening attempts if it comes to that. 🙂

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bbearren – I just got home and find that “clean all” is still running which is about 26 hours. I’ll let it run overnight and initialize and partition primary about 12 hours from now unless I hear otherwise. Then I’ll try formatting again. You do still advise “format fs=ntfs”? If formatting fails then I’ll go on to the next phase of this operation.

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You do still advise “format fs=ntfs”? If formatting fails then I’ll go on to the next phase of this operation.

Yes, I do.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Okay, I’m starting “format fs=ntfs” now.

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Okay, I’m starting “format fs=ntfs” now.

I’ve got my fingers crossed…

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I suggest the free program “gparted”.

The name stands for GNU (the free license) Part ition Ed itor. It is has been around for a long time and is solid.

It runs from a bootable CD, which is easy to create from the download. It has a GUI, you use the mouse, and it takes only a few minutes. It is fast fast fast. It will also format the newly partitioned drive in seconds.

I never had a problem of any kind. Just be sure you can identify the HD you want to do.

I highly recommend SpinRite from Steve Gibson. It isn’t free but is surely worth it.

Off topic but, for cloning a HD look into Clonezilla – also free under the GNU license.

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Before I started the format I ran “clean” and then initialized and assigned a letter (E), then I disconnected from the internet and shut down. I rebooted my system into safe mode with command window. In that window I started the low level format which has now been running for almost 24 hours however, as “clean all” took about 30 hours to complete when I first ran it, I’m going to allow the format to continue running until tomorrow morning. Can you keep your fingers crossed that long?

There is one quirk. It has not advanced from “0% completed”. At least that shows that the FW800 system was not the cause of this behavior before. I am still using USB.

I am responding from a different computer so I won’t be checking in again until tomorrow.

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Can you keep your fingers crossed that long?

I’ll alternate between fingers and toes to avoid cramps.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I rebooted my system into safe mode with command window. In that window I started the low level format which has now been running for almost 24 hours however, as “clean all” took about 30 hours to complete when I first ran it, I’m going to allow the format to continue running until tomorrow morning.

A point of clarity: are you running the format from the Command window itself, or from Diskpart within a Command window?

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I ran it from the command window “format E: /fs:ntfs”. After 41 hours I ended it using “End Task”. Then I decided to run Windows Memory Test so I rebooted and ran that but the next time I looked at my screen it said “Windows was unable to start” and repair was running and fixed whatever the problem was. The drive is still listed as RAW and chkdsk would not run. Perhaps the fact that Format stayed at “0% completed” was not an error but an accurate description of what had been accomplished. If that was true shouldn’t it have timed out or is the failure to time out a bug?

One restart failure is listed in the Event Log as Service Control Manager & The SABProcEnum service failed to start due to the following error: This driver has been blocked from loading. But there are a number of other errors also listed, mostly various software items “failed to load” so there must have been corruption at the bottom of it which Windows Repair fixed.

I just noticed that the LaCie drive light was flickering so I shut it down and restarted it. Now the light is steady. In the past flickering meant a power supply problem but, in those cases, the recycling routine would not cure the flickering. I bought the present power supply from LaCie last month..

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Safe mode blocks several drivers from loading. I would recommend using only Diskpart to work on this disk (as far as Windows tools are concerned – there are other disk utilities), from within a Command Prompt opened using Run as administrator.

You may want to try F.U.N. downtown’s suggestion of working on the disk directly through its SATA connection, rather than through the LaCie hardware interface. That interface has not yet been eliminated as a possible fault area.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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For anyone else facing the same problem:

I ran into something similar on a WD 500GB disk that I wanted to reformat to FAT32.

After trying on a couple of pcs and failing I finally connected it to my daughters Mac laptop – and was able to wipe, and format the disk. Then put it back on the PC and was able to re-format under windows.

No idea why it worked – but it’s the first time I’ve been happy her school requires the kids to go Apple….

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I am running “clean all” via FW800 and it has been running for 26 hours but, as it took 30 hours last time, I will let it continue until morning. If it completes properly I will try full format using “Diskpart”. If it fails then I will look into removing the drive’s case since, at that point, I’ll have nothing to lose.

While typing this I hit “Alt” and then “Esc” twice and my message vanished. I see that there is an “Auto-Saved” periodically but how can I recover that “Save”?

I do not have access to an Apple other than during family dinners which is not long enough.

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Well, “clean all” is still running after about 45 hours. Does Windows 7 believe it is accomplishing something?

I do have a Dell Inspiron laptop that operates with Vista Home Premium 32-bit. Do you think that PC might succeed where Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit failed?

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If this were my hard drive, I would open the case and try it directly connected to a SATA cable and power plug, to see if the LaCie hardware interface is the culprit.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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If this were my hard drive, I would open the case and try it directly connected to a SATA cable and power plug, to see if the LaCie hardware interface is the culprit.

I fully agree with this. By connecting it via SATA cable and power plug as an internal drive, you eliminate one or more middle men which may be causing problems for the process.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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I’ve installed both drives and noticed that one has a jumper in the first of 4 positions and the other has no jumpers. The first time I booted there was a problem so I entered Setup – Drives – SATA Operation and changed it from “RAID Autodetect/AHCI” to “RAID Aotodetect/ATA” That worked and Windows intalled various drivers on both drives as well as on the System.

However, Disk Management only shows one of the drives. I set that one up and ran CHKDSK which found no problems. I have not run CHKDSK /r yet as I wanted to post this and wait for a reply. Physically I don’t know which of the two disks Windows found.

Thanks for the good wishes.

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However, Disk Management only shows one of the drives. I set that one up and ran CHKDSK which found no problems. I have not run CHKDSK /r yet as I wanted to post this and wait for a reply. Physically I don’t know which of the two disks Windows found.

Thanks for the good wishes.

The drive without the jumper is probably the master, and the drive with the jumper is probably the slave. You can try powering down and unplugging them one at a time to get a better idea of what’s up with each one. Use only the end connector to do this.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I found instruction videos on You Tube for opening the case but the drive images show cases a bit different from mine. I am tied up the rest of today and have a full schedule Wednesday day & night but I will be able to work on it Thursday, March 28th.

Thanks for the advice.

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I found instruction videos on You Tube for opening the case but the drive images show cases a bit different from mine. I am tied up the rest of today and have a full schedule Wednesday day & night but I will be able to work on it Thursday, March 28th.

Thanks for the advice.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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The You Tube video was no help and I’ve had to ponder my drive case for days but the solution finally came to me as to how to open it. There are two Seagate disks connected by a ribbon cable but each one needs to be powered separately. I believe I’ll have to remove one of my internal drives to connect these. Hopefully I have an extra power connection available.

I won’t be able to continue until Monday and I’m having laser eye surgery on Tuesday.

I’ll post as I progress.

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Good luck with the surgery!

If there are two drives in the case, there’s also a RAID controller in there, I do believe. That could prove interesting.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Thank you.

It did come set up for RAID but I converted it to function as one large drive. There was a card connected to the inputs and the ribbon connector plugged into that card.

I tried to enlarge this text by setting size to 4 but the text remains at size 1 even though the size box says 4.

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Converting it to come up as one large drive is probably RAID 0. Did you convert it using its own software, or through Windows Disk Management?

For text size, you either need to change the size before you type anything, or after typing, highlight all the text and then convert the size.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I set size to 3 and got the text you see(?) but not the size I selected before typing anything. Below is what I got by highlighting and then selecting size 3.

I definitely did not use its own software. I searched the internet for “How to…” instructions and followed them about three years ago.

Okay, the text enlarged when I posted it.

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I suggest trying the individual disks one at a time connected directly to your PC, running chkdsk /r.

Are they SATA or IDE? You said ribbon cable, which makes me think IDE.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

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Ultra ATA – Seagate Barracuda 7200.10

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That’s an IDE – type connection. Does your PC have IDE connectors on the motherboard. Ultra ATA uses an 80 conductor cable, if I remember correctly. This Wikipedia article has pics of the interface.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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There is a cable like that connecting my two DVD drives to the motherboard except that it has an indent. The HD’s inside my tower are WD Serial ATA. There is no other available connector site on my motherboard. If I disconnect the cable for the DVD drives from my motherboard can I use that spot to connect the Seagate drives?

My Dell XPS 400 system was built in 2004 and I purchased it from the Dell Outlet in 2005. It was defective (BSOD every day) and I spent 9 months trouble shooting it only to discover a bad RAM card. Dell refused to honor my warranty even after I explained that I had a neurologic disorder so I had to test the cards (4x1GB) two at a time until I narrowed the problem down to one card. They still refused to send a tech to my home but they did mail me a replacement card. The system also had a defective DVD drive but they did send a tech to replace that.

By the way, the laser surgery went fine but I have to go back in a week for the other eye to be done.

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Yes, the connector for your DVD drive will work just fine for the LaCie drives. Power down, disconnect the cable from the DVD, and connect to one of the drives. Notice that the female connector on the drive matches the notch on the ribbon cable end. They’re keyed so you won’t connect them upside down. If it’s a double-connector cable, you can actually connect both drives at once, if you enough power connectors. The IDE spec supports primary and secondary drives, although some OEM’s made single-connector ribbon cables for DVD’s.

Congrats on the eye surgery, and good luck on the next one.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Well, I too would have followed bbearren’s recommendation to treat them separately. The RAID autodetect could have set up RAID 1, which means only one drive will show up and it will be difficult I think to perform diagnostics that way. Unless you have a specific purpose in mind for putting them into RAID.

Overall though it is looking like the drives are fine so far and the enclosure is the leading suspect.

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The drive is showing 465 GB available and they are 500 GB drives. If the drives are linked wouldn’t there be a way to determine the total capacity of 930 GB?

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Here may be one way if using Intel (Matrix Storage manager).

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RAID 0 would show full capacity. If you could determine that the current RAID is 1 and its working then you would know both drives are fine. I don’t know how one would check directly.

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No. My BIOS setup doesn’t look like that. It is about 8 years old.

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The drive that was at the end connector is the one that was formatted and had a letter. Strangely, that drive came up as Drive 0 in Disk Management. When I had just that drive connected and booted I got a message that a single drive (4 or 5) could not be found. When I disconnected that drive and connected the other to the end connector I got a message that drive 4 and drive 5 could not be found and Disk Management only showed my usual two internal drives.

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The end connector is recognized as the master drive, or drive 0. It would appear that the problem is a failing/failed drive in the pair, and now you know which it is. I would run chkdsk /r on the good drive for confirmation. Perhaps you could put the case back together (at least enough to get it connected to the PC) with just the one good drive to see if the hardware in the case is good.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I’m confused. If the one drive is truly dead then why did windows see it and set up both when they were first connected and why does it now say that it cannot find Drive 4 and Drive 5? Also, once I remove them, how do I get rid of that message?

My plan is to disconnect & reconnect the problem drive to be sure I’ve not made an error with the connection and, also, I’ll run Chkdsk /r on the other drive. Once that completes correctly I’ll try putting the original case back together with the one good drive.

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I’m confused. If the one drive is truly dead then why did windows see it and set up both when they were first connected and why does it now say that it cannot find Drive 4 and Drive 5? Also, once I remove them, how do I get rid of that message?

My plan is to disconnect & reconnect the problem drive to be sure I’ve not made an error with the connection and, also, I’ll run Chkdsk /r on the other drive. Once that completes correctly I’ll try putting the original case back together with the one good drive.

My guess is that the piece of hardware to which they were both connected in the case was a RAID controller for RAID 0, which would make the pair look to Windows like a single drive with lots of bad sectors. Just a guess, mind you.

Your plan sounds like a good one. Keep us posted.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Chkdsk /r completed and found no errors. Should I run any other commands on that disk? Let’s call it the good drive, okay?

I switched the end connector to the other drive and it continued to fail to run. Then I noticed that the connector wasn’t evenly seated so I brilliantly tried to force it which did not work. I removed that drive and examined it only to find a bent pin which was one of the two pins closest to the power connection. I did managed to straighten it and I also switched cables using the one from the LaCie case to connect my motherboard to the drive (end connector) that I had just repaired and did not connect the good drive at all.

I had forced a shut down of my PC so it wanted to run a repair when I rebooted it with the LaCie cable in place and I allowed the repair feature to run. After restarting I got the following message – “ST3500830A ATA Device Device driver software installed successfully”. I opened Disk Management and the drive was listed so a ran “Initialize”. Then I opened a command window and ran Diskpart and List Disk and Select disk 2 but Create partition primary timed out with a message to run RESCAN which was unsuccessful. I rebooted but the drive no longer appeared. I stopped at that point and posted this message.

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It would now appear that you have confirmed that you have one drive that is good and one drive that is toast. I guess the next step is to see if the good drive will run from the LaCie case.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Ya the only confirmation of crispyville I would need is that the drives, once treated separately where jumpered the same [as the one that checked out ok].

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I’m back and my vision is better. I tried removing the jumper from the one drive that had it but it made no difference. Next step is to reassemble the external drive setup with just the one drive.

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Congrats on the improved vision. Glad the surgery went well.

Good luck on the reassembly, and keep us posted.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Reassembled and shows as disk “E” but not accessible. I ran “Diskpart” and it shows as Disk 2.

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Reassembled and shows as disk “E” but not accessible. I ran “Diskpart” and it shows as Disk 2.

Diskpart starts numbering with zero, so your internal drives would be 0 and 1, and the external would be 2. Did you try to format it with Diskpart? If so, and it’s still not accessible, my guess would be that the connector/controller part of the LaCie case is a big contributor to the overall situation, since the good disk passed the chkdsk /r run when connected directly.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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In Diskpart I selected Disk 2 and tried to run “clean”. Eventually I got the following error message – “The semaphore timeout period has expired. See the System Event Log for more information” – and the Log shows “Error VDS Basic Provider Event ID 5”. and “Cannot zero sectors on
disk \?PhysicalDrive2 79@0101000F”

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I would say the controller/connector in the LaCie case is the culprit.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Yes, I agree but I believe the cause was the failed power supply for the LaCie unit which should have just shut down but, instead, sent incorrectly configured power (volts/amps). I have multiple surge protectors including a “Whole House” unit and four APC UPS units. When Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy hit every electronic item in my home survived except the LaCie external drive. I explained this to them but they just made me buy (about $50) another new power supply, my fourth. I’ll never buy another LaCie product.

Now, can I make use of the one surviving Seagate hard drive? I have an available slot designed to hold a floppy drive. I’m not sure if there is enough length in the ribbon cable but, if there is, will Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit accept the Seagate and my DVD-RW drive connected to that cable and, if so, does it matter which one is on the end connector? Would I have to make any changes in the BIOS?

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You can have both the DVD-RW drive and the hard drive connected to the ribbon cable. It does matter which one is where, though. The hard drive needs to be on the end connector, and the DVD-RW drive needs to be on the middle connector.

Once you get everything connected and power up, you won’t need to make any BIOS changes, and Windows 7 should pick up the drive without difficulty.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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My cable is much too short between the two connectors but I think I have a solution. Can I use the other motherboard connector that is now in use for my floppy drive. I remember that the ribbon cable for floppy is different from the one for hard drive. At least, it was that way 23 years ago so I will try the old hard drive cable that is in my two old desktop units. Hopefully one is long enough.

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No, you can’t use the floppy cable – the pinouts are completely different, and the connector won’t fit, either.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Yes, but can I use a correct cable where the floppy cable is connected to the motherboard?

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Yes, but can I use a correct cable where the floppy cable is connected to the motherboard?

As Jerry said, it won’t work. The connectors are slightly different, and one won’t fit in the other. If you hold them side by side, you can see the difference. And on top of that, the floppy connector is part of the floppy controller. Even if you could make the connection, the hard drive still wouldn’t work. IDE connector cables can be up to 30 inches long, if I remember correctly.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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No, you can’t use a hard disk IDE cable to plug into a floppy disk connector on the motherboard. You could wind up bending some pins if you try.

Jerry

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Okay, I removed the working drive from the LaCie unit and installed it in the available slot in my PC and connected it using my DVD cable which I had to remove from my two DVD drives which I very rarely use. While I could have removed my upper DVD drive and placed the hard drive in that location which would have maintained my DVD-RW drive connected, it would have left me with a substancial opening in the front of my tower. This would have been unwise as I have two curious cats.

Now, when I boot, I get “Drive 5 not found : Parallel ATA, PATA-1 (PRI IDE Slave)” and “Press F1 to continue”. Is there a way to eliminate this message?

The IDE cable is long but the distance between the two connectors is very short. I would need an extension cable to plug into the end connector.

I ran an image backup for my two internal HD’s to the newly installed drive which completed successfully but I wonder if it is practical. If one of those drives crashes would the image just restore the one?

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I’ll have to dig deeper on that error message. Have you looked in Disk Management? As for the IDE cable, they are made with the middle connector in various locations, so you might be able to find one that will have the middle connector in a position that would be convenient for you. I would think a local PC shop might have a box full that you could sort through.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I don’t see any clues in Disk Management.

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I don’t see any clues in Disk Management.

How about Device Manager > View > Show hidden devices?

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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That generated a very, very long list. Could you please say what sort of item I should be looking for?

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That generated a very, very long list. Could you please say what sort of item I should be looking for?

Open Device Manager and in the View menu select “Devices by type”. Expand Disk drives. Note what you see there. Then go back to View, and select Show hidden devices, and expand Disk drives again.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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The Disk Drives list did not change after Show Hidden Devices. Both before and after showed my 3 hard drives and a flash drive.

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There’s the possibility that the firmware on the drive has been modified by LaCie to accommodate the configuration that made the two drives appear as one – RAID 0 configured in a different process.

If this is the drive with the jumper, have you tried it with the jumper removed?

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I removed the jumper. Now when I boot I get:

Drive 4 not found: Parallel ATA, PATA-0 (PRI IDE Master)
Drive 5 not found: Parallel ATA, PATA-1 (PRI IDE Slave)
and I have to press F1 to continue.

The drive remains present as “E: Backup”.

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I watched an Inspector Lewis Mystery and, as he solved his mystery, the solution to my computer problem popped into my head. I opened the Drives section of my Setup and found SATA drives 0 & 2 set to ON and drives 1 & 3 set to OFF and PATA drives 4 & 5 set to ON. When I changed PATA drive 5 to OFF the message about drive 5 vanished. The message about drive 4 did not appear while the jumper was in place so putting the jumper back in should eliminate the drive 4 message. I’ll do that tomorrow when the sun is up as I cannot do such fine work in room lighting.

I do not understand why SATA drive 1 was not set to ON instead of drive 2 but that’s the way it came from Dell. I also do not understand why the jumper makes a difference about the message as the drive works just as well with the jumper in or out. Of course I’ll adjust the settings should I ever reconnect the DVD-RW drive.

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I replaced the jumper and no longer receive any messages when booting. You have enabled me to salvage a 500 GB drive from my no longer functioning LaCie external drive. In the process you have given me an education that I will likely use in the future. Thanks, bbearren, for all you have done for me.

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Glad you finally got it sorted out, and also glad to be able to help out.

We (individually) may not always be here, but we (the Lounge) are always open!

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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