Why can't I see the files?

aliasojo

Used space: 0 bytes
Free space: 0 bytes

I've managed to get Recuva scanning this E drive. Right now it's looking for deleted files and it's taking hours but so far it reckons it's found over 22,000 deleted files.

onzey

Are you planning to let Recuva run to completion?

aliasojo

I don't know. Would it make any difference? It's obviously finding things that aren't showing up through normal methods but I'm not sure what benefit there would be just knowing thousands of files had been found.

I was thinking of trying to find HDD Regenerator next. It apparently can repair rather than simply find.

Any suggestions welcomed.

onzey

I'm wondering if the drive is fine but the caddy is a bit dodgy. Don't suppose you have another do you?

Is it powered through a single USB lead or does it branch into two?

By the way did you attach the caddy to the desktop after the desktop was up an running or did you boot with it attached?

Sooler

What make is the caddy?

Does it need drivers installing?
http://www.eightforums.com/drivers-hardware/24962-problem-mounting-partition-usb-external-hard-drive.html

Toxteth_OGrady

onzey wrote: »

I'm wondering if the drive is fine but the caddy is a bit dodgy.

If main PC is a desktop, OP could take the drive out of caddy and and attach it to a spare internal SATA port inside the PC.

aliasojo

I'm confident caddy is fine. I also have another drive taken from a desktop and it works perfectly.

Mains electric plug, single usb cable.

Desktop was running when I attached the caddy usb.

I will try shutting down and booting with it attached now to see if it makes any difference.

closed

bitten the dust how?

aliasojo

closed wrote: »

bitten the dust how?

Several issues developed over months....gradual loss of keyboard keys (I initially thought this was software related but it wasn't, eventually I lost the use of many keys), I used an external usb keyboard instead.

Erratic 'hardware warning' messages would pop up when doing a restore.

Laptop overheated regularly and cut out despite fan working. It would go from warm to very hot within a few short minutes.

Display adapter had to be continually reset (this would happen automatically whilst booting, booting would hang then eventually load and the reset message would appear warning that there was a problem and it had had to be reset.

Then last night the laptop would not load, it showed the windows start up screen (black with windows logo) then it would go to a blank screen and hang. That's when I took the hd out to see if I could access the files.

I stopped Recuva just before rebooting just now, chkdsk is highlighted in red and it lists 3 unrecoverable sections (boot something or other) that have apparently been overwritten by windows system files and are not able to be recovered.

I couldn't boot the main pc with the usb laptop drive attached, it just hung. I had to remove the usb lead to get the main pc to boot.

onzey

I know you are confident of your caddy but personally I think I would now follow Toxteth's advice and attach it inside the PC. It might be interesting to see if the Bios has any problem with the drive.

Boot up once the drive is installed and enter the bios and check the drive is recognised. Make sure the first boot device is the desktop's usual hard drive and not the laptop drive.

You probably know this but I keep meaning to say that while trying to resolve this problem if Windows requests to format anything, DON'T!

Also, is the latop drive making any odd noises or giving you any reason to believe it's on it's last legs?