Hello. I recently got a new computer and copied all my files to a Maxtor n256 80 GB external hard drive. Now, when I connect the drive to the new computer I can see the drive in Explore, but get an I/O error when trying to read anything on it. I loaded some Maxtor One Touch II software I found, and when I run the troubleshooting portion on the disk it scans for the disk and cannot find it. Although, when I do a scan for drive information it sees it. It also shows up in Explore, but gives me the I/O error when I try to see what is on it? Do you have any suggestions? I really, really need to get to these files! Thanks so much.
Hello. In case anyone has this problem with Maxtor One Touch, I get this problem using USB but the 1394 Firewire connection still allows reading the files. Before you format and lose your data, if you have the firewire option, try it to get the data off the computer.
I back up my IMPORTANT files to a DVD as data files, not an external hard drive. Then check the files for access on another computer. Consider your files lost!
Thanks again. Too late. The data on the old PC is gone. When I hooked up the drive to the original old PC it once again saw the drive, but could not read it. I determined that there is no operating system on the external drive. Is it possible to copy files when there is no operating system. If so, what to do now? Thanks so much! All of my life pictures are on this drive. I've tried it on 5 PC's now, including the original and it sees the drive but can't read it and gives an I/O error. . . : -(
Couple of questions first: -What operating system was running on the new and old PC? -Is the old PC still running and available? Once you answer these we?ll start work.
First I would immediately tell your friend to not delete the data on the old PC that you are trying to recover ?. Just in case. If he has already deleted the data the PC should be turned off and not used for anything until you are positive you have recovered all your data from this USB drive. More to follow.
It sounds like the external drive has been corrupted, that?s why I suggested you protect the original data. Again even if the files have been deleted from the old computers hard drive an inexpensive program can usually recover them as long as the computer is not used at all.
I?m a little confused about the reference to ?no operating system?. Usually most external drives are just used to store data, not boot from. Exactly when does this message appear?
If your old PC has been reformatted then the chance of recovering your data is low?.
Your co-worker probably meant NTFS (NT file system) which is how the drive is organized to store data, kind of like organizing a closet with drawers and such to store your clothes. The fact that the external drive is kind of recognized but when you try to ?open? the + sign you get the IO error is a classic symptom. What you do next depends on how much this data means to you and how much you are willing to spend to recover it. Other than doing nothing there are basically two options:
- Send the drive to a commercial data recovery company, this is the more expensive of the two but more likely to recover most of your data. I only have experience with one company, OnTrackhttp://www.ontrack.com/ which I have been very pleased with over the years but there are lots of them. Just do a Google search for ?data recovery?. You may even have a local computer shop that does it but be warned most of them just send the drive to OnTrack and bill you.
- Several companies sell tools which claim to be able to recover data from corrupted drives. OnTrack and Norton both have an offering but there are others.
Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions. Don?t forget to buy a backup solution once you?ve gotten your data back!
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Hello. Thank you for the quick response. The operation system on both computers is Windows XP. The old computer was given to a friend, but I could access it if necessary. He's 50 miles away.
Paula
I made that comment because my brother told me before he gave me the external drive that he wiped everything off of it. Then a co-worker looked at it and there was no file system showing up (I think it was NSFS showing up) when he viewed it and it showed that the drive had 100% available space. He thought that meant it was not able to read the files because there was no file system present.
More information: I took the drive to the old computer and it recognized it as the K drive with a plus (+) sign (which made me think the files were there). I did verify when I did the copy that they were there. However, although it saw the K drive, I again got the I/O error when trying to read it.
Thank you again for anything you can tell me.
Thank you for your help. I appreciate the time you spent with me and will recommend you to others.
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