::: 1.5TB configure issue/am I missing something?:::

[rlubocki]

Hello,

(Perhaps someone can help me)...

I aquired a WD 1.5TB sata drive (It will be secondary drive used for data storage, my main drive will continue to host XP)... And I dont understand if this drive needs full format or quick format in XP or doesnt need it at all. I thought these things are setup in factory to be formated?.. I did run disc management in XP and the full format froze my whole computer after 2%!! When I did a forced reboot (not even task manager worked!) and when it started loading windows, it stopped on the loading screen! After removing the new drive, Windows started to load, and got a screen (blue one) telling me it is rebulding or something like that.. What did I do wrong?
Any software out these that will get the job done?

(PS my motherboard in 3years old..

 

[Paperdoc]

Any new empty drive needs tow operations done on it so Windows can use it. They are (1) create a Partition, and (2) Format that Partition. You cannot Format an empty drive without creating at least one Partition on it first.

Take your new drive out of the machine (at least disconnect its power and data cables) and concentrate on getting it working the way it was before. When you get back into operation, read up on Partitioning and Formatting. You can do these steps yourself in Disk Manager, or you can download free utilities from the website of your disk's manufacturer to make the job even easier.

When you get to these steps, FYI, a Quick Format installs all you need on a Partition to create the File System and finish the preparation process. A Full Format does this step, then goes through EVERY part of the Partition and tests it all for errors. It's not usually necessary on a new drive, and it takes MANY hours to do, but you can do that if you have spare time.

Now, the error you made in trying to Format the new drive without first establishing a Partition for it to work on makes me very suspicious. First of all, Formatting a new drive will not cause trouble on the original boot drive. HOWEVER, I then question why you were able to use the format operation with no Partition established on the new drive. I suspect that, by mistake, the system offered you the option to Format the only real usable Partition it had available - your boot drive! If that is what happened, some or all of that drive has been lost. That may be what it is trying to rebuild. It may just be that only some of the File System files have been destroyed. If that can be restored you might be able to get back all your data files.

Look up Partition Recovery software, and Data Recovery software. You may need these to restore your original hard drive.

 

[rlubocki]

Paper,

Your advise has been very helpful and informative!! I read up on how to partition a new drive, and format it. I do believe I took the right steps, maybe I missed something crucial to get the outcome of the problems. I thought I partitioned it. Its when I started formatting it (full format) when after 2% it froze my system. My motherboard is 3 yr old, could it be that a same resource was shared with my boot drive? The drive is a Western Digital, oddly there arent any utilities from manufacturer ??!! Only Data Lifeguard utility that scans for errors but does not have utility to prep the drive for a system. Do u know of any 3rd party software that can do the trick?
Many thanx, I appriciate your time
Rob

 

[rlubocki]

I noticed, my system with my original boot drive is unstable, like you said some files might be missing.. Will "system restore" help me in this case?

 

[rlubocki]

Man!! My pc is very sick Now I cannot even boot into safe mode.. You were right