Question HDD letter not being read

[Artisanico]

When I connected up my old IDE HDD the PC could see that there was a storage device there but couldn't read the drive letter. I can see only one possible reason: the drive is getting on twenty years old. I can't afford to take it to a lab; is there any hope for this? TIA.

 

[USAFRet]

When I connected up my old IDE HDD the PC could see that there was a storage device there but couldn't read the drive letter. I can see only one possible reason: the drive is getting on twenty years old. I can't afford to take it to a lab; is there any hope for this? TIA.

How, exactly, are you connecting this to your current PC?

 

[stonecarver]

When I connected up my old IDE HDD the PC could see that there was a storage device there but couldn't read the drive letter.

Extremely common dragging and old IDE drive out and current windows looses the drive letter.

If the drive shows up in Disk Management and if it shows no drive letter just right click and assign it one. Drive will than be accessible.

All your doing is giving the drive a letter. DO NOT DO ANY FORMATING.

 

[Artisanico]

Extremely common dragging and old IDE drive out and current windows looses the drive letter.

If the drive shows up in Disk Management and if it shows no drive letter just right click and assign it one. Drive will than be accessible.

All your doing is giving the drive a letter. DO NOT DO ANY FORMATING.

OK so the PC - which I connected to my old caddy when I wrote the OP - will be inaccessible for any weeks, as it's being used to recover data. On the advice of members of this forum I have bought a new caddy; my old one is in other usage. (I needed to buy a connector extension for the new caddy to get the IDE connections in place, as it's an old PATA disk.) Now the disk is not being so much as recognised in computer management. I have looked carefully at the (new) USB cable but can't see a problem with it. The disk is buzzing so I know that power is getting through. Between the issue with the drive letter that I mentioned in the OP and now, I have not done anything with my HDD. Can anyone help? TIA

 

[Ralston18]

Make, model, capacity of that old PATA disk?

 

[Artisanico]

Make, model, capacity of that old PATA disk?

I don't know the exact details but it is 250 Gb, manufactured by Hitachi and I bought it in 2008.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Now the disk is not being so much as recognised in computer management.
Can anyone help?

Show screenshot from Disk Management and
screenshot from Device Manager - disk drives and storage controllers sections expanded.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

 

[Artisanico]

Show screenshot from Disk Management and
screenshot from Device Manager - disk drives and storage controllers sections expanded.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

https://imgur.com/a/R4hVMAM

View: https://imgur.com/a/R4hVMAM

 

[Ralston18]

Stated capacity = 250 GB

Disk Management indicating 28.89 GB

I suggest posting some photographs of the drive and the plug and port connections.

And any adapters and cables.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I don't know the exact details but it is 250 Gb, manufactured by Hitachi and I bought it in 2008.

There is no 250GB drive being detected.
Only your OS drive is being detected.

Show, how you have 250GB drive connected. Make photos.

 

[Artisanico]

There is no 250GB drive being detected.
Only your OS drive is being detected.

Show, how you have 250GB drive connected. Make photos.

I can't see anything wrong with the connections. I am using a SATA extension cable, though, which connects to a PATA adaptor.

 

[Artisanico]

There is no 250GB drive being detected.
Only your OS drive is being detected.

Show, how you have 250GB drive connected. Make photos.

Photos of the caddy connectors, including the extension cables.
I am just hoping that I haven't bent a pin during the connection of the IDE ribbon, but presumably that would mean I wouldn't be able to push the connector in properly? I don't force anything.
I connected it up first to my laptop and then to a friend's PC -- same result in each case.
I hope this does it, at last https://photos.app.goo.gl/zD1xh9vnRJrjDt1m6

 

[SkyNetRising]

Photos of the caddy connectors, including the extension cables.

Show, how you have connected all cables to pc.

Instead of experimenting with external usb adapters,
why don't you use internal IDE controller card instead?

https://www.startech.com/en-eu/card...CL9apyJpL0w-xQOxpE__3nw9r6b_P0dwtBp51sewBzlB7

 

[Artisanico]

Show, how you have connected all cables to pc.

Instead of experimenting with external usb adapters,
why don't you use internal IDE controller card instead?

https://www.startech.com/en-eu/card...CL9apyJpL0w-xQOxpE__3nw9r6b_P0dwtBp51sewBzlB7

I can't because my PC is being used to recover corrupted files, and this will be going continuously on for many months as it's doing 134 Gb at, currently, 0.2 Gb per day.

 

[stonecarver]

I hope this does it, at last https://photos.app.goo.gl/zD1xh9vnRJrjDt1m6

Can you repost the pictures on imgur.com

It preserves privacy on BOTH parties.

I can't because my PC is being used to recover corrupted files, and this will be going continuously on for many months as it's doing 134 Gb at, currently, 0.2 Gb per day.

About your on going project getting the drive to show, so if I'm understanding it correct you have an ongoing recovery with a different drive and in the background your trying to throw this MIA IDE drive onto an already taxed PC already doing a recovery.

Regardless of getting the drive to show, leave that other recovery alone meaning use a different computer for the IDE drive or wait.

 

[Artisanico]

Can you repost the pictures on imgur.com

It preserves privacy on BOTH parties.





About your on going project getting the drive to show, so if I'm understanding it correct you have an ongoing recovery with a different drive and in the background your trying to throw this MIA IDE drive onto an already taxed PC already doing a recovery.

Regardless of getting the drive to show, leave that other recovery alone meaning use a different computer for the IDE drive or wait.

No, I am indeed leaving the PC alone and using my laptop to try to see my old HDD. It doesn't read on that, nor on my friend's PC.

 

[Artisanico]

Can you repost the pictures on imgur.com

It preserves privacy on BOTH parties.





About your on going project getting the drive to show, so if I'm understanding it correct you have an ongoing recovery with a different drive and in the background your trying to throw this MIA IDE drive onto an already taxed PC already doing a recovery.

Regardless of getting the drive to show, leave that other recovery alone meaning use a different computer for the IDE drive or wait.

I have spent all afternoon struggling with imgur.com and then tagbox.com. They won't give me the hyperlink I want. What is wrong with my use of Google Photos? I can report that there was nothing obviously wrong with the caddy connections. This whole business is driving me up the wall - it just goes on and on.

 

[Artisanico]

Show, how you have connected all cables to pc.

Instead of experimenting with external usb adapters,
why don't you use internal IDE controller card instead?

https://www.startech.com/en-eu/card...CL9apyJpL0w-xQOxpE__3nw9r6b_P0dwtBp51sewBzlB7

The cables are connected to my laptop in exactly the way they are designed to be.

 

[stonecarver]

Imgur is super easy. Drag picture to imgur. there are 3 stacked dots on the right click them than click hit copy link. On Tom's now just right click and paste the link.