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Windows Forum / Windows 98 / General Topics / May 2007invalid drive specification
Suppose format c: was interrupted by accident. Then an attempt to change to c: was greeted with "invalid drive specification." Further suppose that, after a reboot to A:, the hard disk partition D: is now the CD-ROM, which used to be E:. Is there any way to get this mess straightened out while recovering the files from the original d: hard disk partition? Thanks What does fdisk say about the partitions? You may want to mount the disk to another working Windows installation to salvage your files. John > Suppose format c: was interrupted by accident. Then an attempt to > change to c: was greeted with "invalid drive specification." Further [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Thanks I was able to start Windows with errors, but this straightened out the problem, so that it now recognizes C: and D:. Thanks, Alan The reformatting of C: is taking HOURS. It is saying: Trying to recover allocation unit xxx,xxx Is there anything I can do to make this go faster without repartitioning and losing data from the D: partition? Thanks, Alan I think your drive is on it's way to HD heaven! Copy your data off the drive while you still can and run a drive diagnostic on it. The diagnostic utility should be available at the drive manufacturers web site. John > The reformatting of C: is taking HOURS. It is saying: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Thanks, Alan > The reformatting of C: is taking HOURS. It is saying: > > Trying to recover allocation unit xxx,xxx > > Is there anything I can do to make this go faster without > repartitioning and losing data from the D: partition? Boot DOS from a floppy and use FDISK (1) to remove the Primary DOS partition (your old C: drive (2) to create a new Primary DOS partiition. Then reboot (to complete FDISK's changes) and FORMAT C: If this formatting takes unusually long, the drive is too badly damaged to be useable. If formatting takes only normal time, you may wish to run the HDD manufacturer's test routines before proceeding to reinstal the OS on your new C: drive.  SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) I stopped reformatting, started Windows so it could find C: and D: again, rebooted to DOS, ran scandisk, and then it reformatted fine! Thanks, Alan This procedure will delete the contents of the D partition, and is therefore not appropriate for the current situation. SignatureJeff Richards MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User) > snip < > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > test routines before proceeding to reinstal > the OS on your new C: drive. You've got me confused. How in blazes can you be booting Windows (presumably on the problem "C" partition) if it's in mid-reformat? On which partition does Windows reside? SignatureGary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User www.grystmill.com > I was able to start Windows with errors, but this straightened out > the problem, so that it now recognizes C: and D:. > > Thanks, Alan Gary, I was reformatting C: at the DOS prompt. I pressed Ctrl-C to stop. I removed the boot disk from A: and cycled power. It gave me some errors about missing files, but it somehow started Windows. I was surprised, too! > You've got me confused. How in blazes can you be booting Windows (presumably > on the problem "C" partition) if it's in mid-reformat? On which partition [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Gary S. Terhune > MS-MVP Shell/Userwww.grystmill.com Ahh, so the format was interrupted before it totally destroyed the file system. Glad you got it sorted out. SignatureGary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User www.grystmill.com > Gary, > I was reformatting C: at the DOS prompt. I pressed Ctrl-C [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >> Gary S. Terhune >> MS-MVP Shell/Userwww.grystmill.com |
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