Disk 1 Unknown, Not Initialized

[Metallo]

Hi, My DVD Recorder died, so I took out the HDD Seagate DB35.2 and plugged it in my laptop. I get the above message in disk management. I also tried Knoppix 7.0 but the disk does not show up. My scope is to save the content in the disk and move it to my PC, is it a mission impossible? Any suggestion is very welcome. Thanks Alex

 

[essenbe]

I'm not sure you will have much luck if the disk is not readable. You can usually use a Linux distro to try to read it, but you've tried that. If it can be read you can also try http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html. Other than that you could try Recuva and see if that will work. But, if the disk can't be read, I'm afraid there is nothing you can do if those 3 options don't help.

 

[jumanji]

Hi, My DVD Recorder died, so I took out the HDD Seagate DB35.2 and plugged it in my laptop. I get the above message in disk management. I also tried Knoppix 7.0 but the disk does not show up. My scope is to save the content in the disk and move it to my PC, is it a mission impossible? Any suggestion is very welcome. Thanks Alex

First and foremost, I do not understand why you should pull out your HDD for the reason the optical drive was not working. Can you please elaborate your exact problem?

If your HDD for some reason had become inaccessible, you should have tried any recovery on the same machine without pulling the HDD out and you could have run a live Linux pen drive.

Even now I would advise you to go back to your original configuration and try recovery with a live Linux pen drive.

 

[DocBrown]

I got the impression this was a TV DVD recorder (like Panasonic) or (TIVO) not from a computer. I know from reading the TIVO forums that they use a special type of format on their HD's in the TIVO units.

 

[jumanji]

Could be. This again brings to the fore the importance of giving full details of the problem so that people do not misunderstand. In this instance the OP should have indicated the make and model of the DVD Recorder - not a very difficult task.

If it is indeed a standalone DVD Recorder and not the computer optical drive as I misinterpreted, then I am out on this thread.

 

[Metallo]

Hi, I do apologize for the confusion, it is a standalone DVD Recorder for TV. The brand of the machine is not important, the HDD is a Seagate DB35.2 (ST3160212ACE) and I'm afraid DocBrown is right, the manufacturer has probably used their proprietary format. I expected Knoppix to work, but it seems I'm out of luck. Thanks for your suggestions Alex

 

[jumanji]

If you know the manufacturer, you may contact their tech. support or search in their forum - if one exists- on the possibility of retrieving any data from such failed HDDs. I am sure that many other people could have experienced the same problem.

 

[whs]

Doc Brown is definitely right. If the recordings originated from a TV, the PC cannot read them because the formats are completely incompatible.

 

[Metallo]

The company that manufactured the recorder is no longer in business, but this is a problem which is common to any consumer HDD, regardless the brand. Alex

 

[jumanji]

We still do not know what exactly is the error message you got while your HDD was still in the HDD/DVD Recorder, but just out of curiosity I made a small search and here is one user.

"The hard drive crached due to a power failure and I could not access any of my recordings (and the disk was of cause 90% full as always). It just came up with the "incorrect drive info"

The solution: I opened the unit and removed the drive (guide in pioneerfaq.info). I installed the drive in an external USB disk case and attached it to a PC running windows.

An now to the new part: I downloaded and installed the program UFS Explorer Standard Recovery. I let it seach though the disk and it found all of the recordings that could be downloaded to my PC!

I needed to purchase a license for the program (22 Euro), but I used the trial version first. It allowed me to let the program scan though the disk and show me what files it had found (but not to extract any data)."

So if you are still in an experimental mood you can download the trial version of UFS Explorer Standard Recovery UFS Explorer Standard Recovery and check whether it can show your files. Good luck.

Edit: Google "retrieving data from a failed HDD of a DVD Recorder"

 

[Metallo]

The HDD does not give any error as the DVD recorder does no longer switch on. Regarding the solution you found on Google, UFS is likely another software for data recovery, but if the PC cannot see the HDD I do not see the reason to try. Thanks for all your efforts to help, I really appreciate it Alex

 

[DocBrown]

What was the make & model of the DVD recorder ?
What is the make & model of the HD you took out ?

 

[Metallo]

As I said in my previous posts, the manufacturer is no longer in business therefore there is no literature over this make, Nortek NDVX HD 160P. Regarding the HDD, please read post #6. Thanks Alex

 

[jumanji]

The HDD does not give any error as the DVD recorder does no longer switch on. Regarding the solution you found on Google, UFS is likely another software for data recovery, but if the PC cannot see the HDD I do not see the reason to try. Thanks for all your efforts to help, I really appreciate it Alex

And so it turns out that the HDD, per se, is not faulty (like in most other cases). It is most probably a power supply module failure on your HDD/DVD recorder.

1.Most power supply failures occur due a component failure such as a bulging capacitor, an open resistor, a fusible resistor that has actually fused or even some active component. An expert technician with good technical acumen should be able to do a component level testing of the Power supply module (even without a service manual) and zero in on the faulty component and replace it if available easily (in most cases it will be.).

2. Though UFS Explorer is yet another data recovery software, its special feature is that it can recover data from UFS. Windows may not be able to see/access UFS - it does see the drive "Disk 1 Unknown, Not initialised -, but the software installed on the Windows machine may perhaps be able to access it. Remember the user I had quoted used a Windows PC."I installed the drive in an external USB disk case and attached it to a PC running windows."
So there is absolutely no harm in giving the trial version a go. It is a read-only software and so your data will remain unmodified. Check whether the bios sees the drive and then give it a try. ( That you removed the hard drive in itself is a definite indication, that you wanted to recover data. So why not try it? Create a system restore point before you install the program, so that you can restore the system back after trying it.) If the trial version demonstrates that it can be recovered, to buy it or not is upto you.

 

[p1tcho0]

Hi, My DVD Recorder died, so I took out the HDD Seagate DB35.2 and plugged it in my laptop. I get the above message in disk management. I also tried Knoppix 7.0 but the disk does not show up. My scope is to save the content in the disk and move it to my PC, is it a mission impossible? Any suggestion is very welcome. Thanks Alex

R-Studio is pro !
Also
O&O Software are too !

Try those, i never been in situation of not able to recover with those software

 

[Layback Bear]

Metallo
I'm not understanding why you won't give information when requested. You might not believe it necessary but the members need information in order to help you. These good members need your help so they can help you.
Have a nice day.