oh no- updated some drivers - to HD's turned unallocated !

[rozroz]

have you clicked on the drives to open it up?

yes
all files and folders look ok.
i'm half worried.

can you please divide the steps to do now?
- in order to bring the recognized drive back to window with the data..
- what to do with the unrecognized drive? (unfortunately he's the most important)


thanks- your help is greatly appreciated

 

[brianzion]

yes i am trying o work this out for you im researching on the internet why windows does not recognize your drives something happened when you used the third party driver software.

 

[rozroz]

i have to go now.
i'll be back in 2-3 hours.. if you have the time and find info/help for me, i'll get right on it afterwards.

many thanks !

 

[brianzion]

Masters and Slaves IDE

A single IDE interface can support two devices. Most motherboards come with dual IDE interfaces (primary and secondary) for up to four IDE devices. Because the controller is integrated with the drive, there is no overall controller to decide which device is currently communicating with the computer. This is not a problem as long as each device is on a separate interface, but adding support for a second drive on the same cable took some ingenuity.
To allow for two drives on the same cable, IDE uses a special configuration called master and slave. This configuration allows one drive's controller to tell the other drive when it can transfer data to or from the computer. What happens is the slave drive makes a request to the master drive, which checks to see if it is currently communicating with the computer. If the master drive is idle, it tells the slave drive to go ahead. If the master drive is communicating with the computer, it tells the slave drive to wait and then informs it when it can go ahead.

The computer determines if there is a second (slave) drive attached through the use of Pin 39 on the connector. Pin 39 carries a special signal, called Drive Active/Slave Present (DASP), that checks to see if a slave drive is present.

Although it will work in either position, it is recommended that the master drive is attached to the connector at the very end of the IDE ribbon cable. Then, a jumper on the back of the drive next to the IDE connector must be set in the correct position to identify the drive as the master drive. The slave drive must have either the master jumper removed or a special slave jumper set, depending on the drive. Also, the slave drive is attached to the connector near the middle of the IDE ribbon cable. Each drive's controller board looks at the jumper setting to determine whether it is a slave or a master. This tells them how to perform. Every drive is capable of being either slave or master when you receive it from the manufacturer. If only one drive is installed, it should always be the master drive.

Many drives feature an option called Cable Select (CS). With the correct type of IDE ribbon cable, these drives can be auto configured as master or slave. CS works like this: A jumper on each drive is set to the CS option. The cable itself is just like a normal IDE cable except for one difference -- Pin 28 only connects to the master drive connector. When your computer is powered up, the IDE interface sends a signal along the wire for Pin 28. Only the drive attached to the master connector receives the signal. That drive then configures itself as the master drive. Since the other drive received no signal, it defaults to slave mode.

 

[rozroz]

ok, thanks.
i recon there's some confusion in my tower.
so what's the next step i need to check?
the main system sata drive is on the lower part of the tower.
i'm unsure of their hierarchy and my next steps.

 

[brianzion]

ok, thanks.
i recon there's some confusion in my tower.
so what's the next step i need to check?
the main system sata drive is on the lower part of the tower.
i'm unsure of their hierarchy and my next steps.

it maybe something to do with the ide drivers to the chipset im going to call in other gurus to help ok gregrocker and yowanvista

 

[brianzion]

im wondering if you repair windows with the windows disc it will reset the drives for you

 

[brianzion]

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7 brinks tutorial


http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

OR


How to Do a Custom Installation of Windows 7 brinks tutorial


http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20146-custom-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[yowanvista]

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7 brinks tutorial


http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

OR


How to Do a Custom Installation of Windows 7 brinks tutorial


http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20146-custom-install-windows-7-a.html

+1, this seems to be the only solution left

 

[gregrocker]

This is a chronic problem with these driver update programs which are absolutely unnecessary in Windows 7, which has the drivers in it's installer or quickly updated via optional Windows Updates. You used 67 Dodge Dart (XP) repair tools on a new Lexus.

Boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD, click through to Recovery Tools list to System Restore back until the problem goes away. You may need your earliest restore point, or a Win7 Backup Image if you made one. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

If this fails try Rolling Back your IDE Storage controller driver in Device Manager then restart the computer. It may be necessary to change the driver by selecting Browse and then Select from List to determine which is the old driver:


Your data is most likely there, but just not being read on this machine until you reverse an incorrect IDE controller driver provided by the crapware program.

If all else fails, I would try a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R which may sort out the mess which has been made.

If you decide to reinstall, wipe the HD of any corrupt or possibly infected code, keep all other HD's unplugged during reinstall. http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/125874-re-install-windows-7-a.html#post1086729

 

[OldMX]

TestDisk - CGSecurity

That should undelete the partitions.

 

[scrooge]

i had something like that happen to me abit back .can't remember what i was doing to the system at the time but i was able to fix it by assigning the drives a new letter .after that the drives came backup and no data was lost.
hope that helps ...

scrooge

 

[rozroz]

This is a chronic problem with these driver update programs which are absolutely unnecessary in Windows 7, which has the drivers in it's installer or quickly updated via optional Windows Updates. You used 67 Dodge Dart (XP) repair tools on a new Lexus.

Boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD, click through to Recovery Tools list to System Restore back until the problem goes away. You may need your earliest restore point, or a Win7 Backup Image if you made one. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

If this fails try Rolling Back your IDE Storage controller driver in Device Manager then restart the computer. It may be necessary to change the driver by selecting Browse and then Select from List to determine which is the old driver:
View attachment 120496

Your data is most likely there, but just not being read on this machine until you reverse an incorrect IDE controller driver provided by the crapware program.

If all else fails, I would try a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R which may sort out the mess which has been made.

If you decide to reinstall, wipe the HD of any corrupt or possibly infected code, keep all other HD's unplugged during reinstall. http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/125874-re-install-windows-7-a.html#post1086729

when i'm checking for restore point on regular windows loading there's none.
if i'm in the recovery cd i WILL find a restore point ?
i don't have an image backup and just reinstalled windows 2 week ago and don't want to do all that again.
if there is no restore point to be found even on recovery cd process should i uninstall the driver and look for earlier drivers on regular windows loading?

 

[rozroz]

i had something like that happen to me abit back .can't remember what i was doing to the system at the time but i was able to fix it by assigning the drives a new letter .after that the drives came backup and no data was lost.
hope that helps ...

scrooge

it's not really possible if you look at the options i've got:

 

[rozroz]

TestDisk - CGSecurity

That should undelete the partitions.

should i keep that as final solution?
(i don't have any space if i need to transfer data or such)

 

[brianzion]

This is a chronic problem with these driver update programs which are absolutely unnecessary in Windows 7, which has the drivers in it's installer or quickly updated via optional Windows Updates. You used 67 Dodge Dart (XP) repair tools on a new Lexus.

Boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD, click through to Recovery Tools list to System Restore back until the problem goes away. You may need your earliest restore point, or a Win7 Backup Image if you made one. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

If this fails try Rolling Back your IDE Storage controller driver in Device Manager then restart the computer. It may be necessary to change the driver by selecting Browse and then Select from List to determine which is the old driver:
View attachment 120496

Your data is most likely there, but just not being read on this machine until you reverse an incorrect IDE controller driver provided by the crapware program.

If all else fails, I would try a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R which may sort out the mess which has been made.

If you decide to reinstall, wipe the HD of any corrupt or possibly infected code, keep all other HD's unplugged during reinstall. http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/125874-re-install-windows-7-a.html#post1086729

thanks gregrocker i have highlighted the options i totally agree with that you should try

 

[rozroz]

im wondering if you repair windows with the windows disc it will reset the drives for you

i've tried to start with the recovery cd but then had to stop cause i was unsure:
i got this "load saved windows image" which i don't have, also not big chance of getting a restore point cause i don't find any now.
on that options window i had "load drivers" - for inserting window original cd..
and "next"..
also- i don't have a rolling back option on drive properties.

 

[brianzion]

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7 brinks tutorial


http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

OR


How to Do a Custom Installation of Windows 7 brinks tutorial


http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20146-custom-install-windows-7-a.html

+1, this seems to be the only solution left

thanks yowanvista i no you dont want to reinstall windows but it seems to be the best option

 

[rozroz]

that's the driver installed now:

 

[brianzion]

(credit gregrocker)If this fails try Rolling Back your IDE Storage controller driver in Device Manager then restart the computer. It may be necessary to change the driver by selecting Browse and then Select from List to determine which is the old driver: