Lost external drive


  1. jake7363
    Posts : 20
    Windows 7 Pro 32bit
       New #1

    Lost external drive after update


    Hello,
    I am using Windows 7 Pro. I did an upgrade this morning and when the desktop restarted, I lost an entire external drive. It showed the drive letter, but told me that in order to use the drive, I would have to reformat it.
    I tried the same drive in a Vista laptop with the same results.

    What happened and how can I fix this?
    Pardon me for being skeptical (Vista user), but is this going to happen again?

    Please help.

    Thanks,
    J
    Last edited by jake7363; 23 Jun 2010 at 12:13. Reason: Change title
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  3. DeaconFrost
    Posts : 5,795
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
       New #2

    Did you have the drive plugged in during the install?
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  4. jake7363
    Posts : 20
    Windows 7 Pro 32bit
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    re: Lost External Drive


    I think perhaps the wording was misleading. What occurred was right after a Windows 7 "update", not upgrade. I have had Windows 7 for a few weeks and installed their software updates. And yes, the device was plugged in for the updates.

    Apologies if there was any confusion...

    J
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  6. stpbby
    Posts : 54
    Windows 7
       New #4

    just some basics... but unplug the drive power and usb cable. Reboot your computer, then plug the drive back in. Maybe go into computer management and uninstall the drive, then do a rescan.
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  7. jake7363
    Posts : 20
    Windows 7 Pro 32bit
    Thread Starter
       New #5

    Thanks, but 'been there, done that..'

    J
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  8. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       New #6

    Open an elevated command prompt and run chkdsk /f X: , where X is the letter of the drive
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