Drive G: intermittently disappears

Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast

  1. Posts : 141
    Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
       #1

    Drive G: intermittently disappears


    My Drive G: a 2 TB WDC Black 7200 RPM intermittently disappears from my Windows 7 Pro system. Is this a sign the drive is going bad?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Drive G: intermittently disappears-drive-g-gone.jpg  
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #2

    Please post a full screenshot of Windows Disk Management including the disk map.

    In the meanwhile, try with another cable, try all the USB ports. Also full details of your drive.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 141
    Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    jumanji said:
    Please post a full screenshot of Windows Disk Management including the disk map.

    In the meanwhile, try with another cable, try all the USB ports. Also full details of your drive.
    The drive is connected to a SATA port on my motherboard Gigabyte X58A-UD3R connected to a Corsair 850 power supply. I'll try tomorrow to swap out the SATA cable.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Drive G: intermittently disappears-disk-management-1.jpg   Drive G: intermittently disappears-disk-management-2.jpg   Drive G: intermittently disappears-drive-g.jpg  
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 26,863
    Windows 11 Pro
       #4

    In addition to jumanji's recommendations, I would also suggest downloading Western Digital's Data lifeguard for DOS, Western Digital's diagnostic program. Run the short and long tests to check the drive. If it fails, I would copy everything onto another drive.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #5

    My observations:

    1. One too many drives.

    2. Atleast one drive does not have a drive letter - for whatever reason. It is also flagged active.

    3. That apart there are two more drives flagged active one 2TB drive included - not counting the System drive C which has to be active.

    Now let me not pretend I can read your system well .

    Please remove the active flag in all the drives that is not the system drive and check whether it resolves the problem.

    Steps:
    1. Open the Command Prompt by typing cmd in the Run box.
    2. Now type diskpart which will open a new window.
    3. Type list disk, this will lists all the disks connected
    4. Now type select disk # (same as listed in the window), to select the disk where the partition is marked active.
    5. Type list partition, this will display the entire partition list.
    6. Now you need to type select partition # (same as listed) to select the partition to mark it as inactive.
    7. Now just type inactive.

    Do this to turn all disks/partitions which you want to make inactive.
    After you have done all the steps, the disk partition will now be turned back as inactive, and you can exit the session.

    if it does not help we will move on to the next action/s - essenbe's suggestion included but that may come later after excluding all other non-system drives, internal and external.
    Last edited by jumanji; 04 Apr 2014 at 03:22. Reason: Steps added.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 141
    Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    I installed a SSD drive to replace my c drive. I don't have room on the SSD to store all the documents etc from the original HDD so I have the old HDD connected to the Computer thru a SATA dock on the top of my computer case that is connected to one of the SATA ports on my MB. This enables me access the my documents etc on the old drive. I'm planning on copy the my documents etc to a new drive and telling Windows 7 to use the alternate location.
    1) do you think have 2 drive listed as active (ie. having the old boot HDD connected) is a problem?
    2) What is the best way to copy the my documents etc to a new location?
    3) Best method to change the location that Win 7 pro uses for the my documents. Can I include AppData\Roaming directory that certain programs use?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 141
    Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    2. Atleast one drive does not have a drive letter - for whatever reason. It is also flagged active.
    This appears to be my external Samsung drive that I use for backups connected to an ORICO PFU3-4P USB3.0 4 - Port PCI Express Host Controller. I disconnected it and the entry went away.

    Here is the drive list without the Old System drive connected
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Drive G: intermittently disappears-disk-manager-after-drive-removal.jpg  
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #8

    Theoretically, if you have multiple hard disks installed on your computer, it's possible for each hard disk to have a partition set as active. However, the active partition on the first hard disk that your computer's BIOS detects is the one that will start the computer.

    To avoid any confusion, it is advisable to have only the system drive as active.

    Referring to questions 2 and 3 in your post #6, you may raise your query in the Installation and Setup subforum where you can get the expert advice.

    In order to deal with the specific hardware problem of intermittently disappearing WD 2TB drive:

    1. Please plug out all external drives/Card Readers/USB hubs connected to your computer ports and the add-on card ports.

    2. I presume that the built-in SATA dock in your computer case is just an extension of the mother board SATA port deriving power with the conventional SATA power cable from the computer power supply and that it can accommodate only one HDD. I also presume that you have plugged in your problem drive into that. In such a case, please post a screen shot of how the drive appears in Windows Disk Management, excluding all other external drives. And yes, I would like you to remove the active flag in that drive.

    After seeing the screenshot, I may ask you to do a drive cleanup.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #9

    Did you do the steps in post#5? Your truncated snips don't provide much info.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 141
    Windows 7 Pro 64Bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    The G: drive which had the disappearing problem is inside my computer case connected to the MB SATA port. The 2nd active drive L: was my old boot drive prior to installing the SSD to replacing it. It was connected to the SATA dock as described by Jumanji in his last post, so I just removed it completely. All external HDD are removed my card reader is built into the computer case and connected to a MB USB header so I'd rather not remove it unless absolutely necessary. FYI the G: drive passed the short and long WD Diagnostics.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Drive G: intermittently disappears-dm-2a.jpg   Drive G: intermittently disappears-dm-2b.jpg  
      My Computer


 
Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 17:12.
Find Us