PCFormat Forum Archive

Hi Folks
Got a USB backup drive with about 2TB of data I want to back up to the server. When I tried using the standard USB 2 connection, the transfer would go for about 3 hours, then the PC would become slower and slower and explorer would crash and I'd have to start again.

I then tried removing the drive from the box and connecting it directly to a desktop machine using sata. When booting into windows, I was prompted for a new raid device, and I selected a new raid device with only that drive. Trouble was then going into window, the drive did not show. I then went into disk manager and now see the drive has no file system. I put it back into the caddy, and reconnected using USB, but again, it shows no file system, only RAW.

Any attempt to access the drive prompts for me to format the drive which I am not going to do obviously.

Is there anything I can do to get the file system back again? I know the disk recovery places do it pretty quickly but I am not keen on an expensive visit to then just to restore the file system...

Firstly, your thread is misleading as you do not have USB drive
Secondly you have destroyed the partition. That's usually what happens when you try to create a RAID drive with only one disk.
Why did it prompt you to add anew RAID disk anyway? Very weird...

Plenty of tools out there to try and get your data back...
I've never had to use any so I cant make a personal recommendation, but a quick Google showed people recommending EaseUS http://www.easeus.com/partition-recovery/download.htm
Free tool, so worth a shot.

Maybe someone else can recommend something they have used personally

On the bios you can set the sata ports to raid or normal, but not individually. Since I have three drives in the machine in a raid array, it seems the only way I can add the drive. I've added them before as a single drive array and it's worked, but lately i don't seem to win...
Sorry, will change title.
Let's see if software works...

Fingers crossed, brosef!

Got it back eventually! Free program too...

Dammit! Why did I not mention the program name so I'd not have to search around for it now??

You did it again?

Ritual suicide is in order - commence!

Belix - I've been using EaseUS's Partition Master for a while now (thanks by the way jamin) and I've found it to work quite well.

Yes do share Belix when you remember.
Jamin try teaching that to our countrymen as a form of protest it probably wouldn't be that hard since they have already adopted "burning what you have to protest not having enough"

Gotta do things wrong twice just to make sure they are wrong...
No, this time had a raid 0 install go belly up...