Heeelp Plse !!? Error "windows cannot find file $Mft." (Packard Bell 3500 Store & Save )

Hello.

This problem will probably look very easy to solve (?) ,
to any PC experts reading this. Admittedly, I'm still very
much a novice .... so ANY advice / information would be
GREATLY appreciated !

I have stored, over the last 18 months, around 440 Gigabytes
of media ( Mpegs, Mp3's etc.. ) onto a Packard Bell 3500
Store & Save external hard-drive. It had almost reached it's
capacity of 500Gigs. Now when I plug it into ANY of the USB
ports in my main PC, it takes about 10 minutes to load ( & show
in *my computer*) & it stops ALL other programs from functioning,
whilst doing so. Once loaded, the files all show ( as they did before )
but when I try to open ANY of them, I get an error message saying
that "windows cannot find the file H.\\ $Mft. ". My main PC is XP
Home edition ... although that is probably not relevent as the same
error message & problems occur when I try to access the drive via
any USB on my seperate, brand new lap-top ( windows Vista system ).

I've tried to find problems , about " $Mft." files (via internet search
engines),
to no avail.
I would hate to lose ALL my data that is on the drive .... is there ANY
way that it can be saved ? As I said, it does still show up as a list of
files , but NOTHING will open. Any info. much welcome !

Cheers.

Mr. Blue :-(

"Mr. Blue" wrote in message
...
Hello.

This problem will probably look very easy to solve (?) ,
to any PC experts reading this. Admittedly, I'm still very
much a novice .... so ANY advice / information would be
GREATLY appreciated !

I have stored, over the last 18 months, around 440 Gigabytes
of media ( Mpegs, Mp3's etc.. ) onto a Packard Bell 3500
Store & Save external hard-drive. It had almost reached it's
capacity of 500Gigs. Now when I plug it into ANY of the USB
ports in my main PC, it takes about 10 minutes to load ( & show
in *my computer*) & it stops ALL other programs from functioning,
whilst doing so. Once loaded, the files all show ( as they did before )
but when I try to open ANY of them, I get an error message saying
that "windows cannot find the file H.\\ $Mft. ". My main PC is XP
Home edition ... although that is probably not relevent as the same
error message & problems occur when I try to access the drive via
any USB on my seperate, brand new lap-top ( windows Vista system ).

I've tried to find problems , about " $Mft." files (via internet search
engines),
to no avail.
I would hate to lose ALL my data that is on the drive .... is there ANY
way that it can be saved ? As I said, it does still show up as a list of
files , but NOTHING will open. Any info. much welcome !

Cheers.

Mr. Blue :-(



Though it looks like the drive is corrupted, there is a possibility that
the problem is with the USB interface in the enclosure.
You could remove the drive and install it internally and see if it works.

If not, I'd try some data recovery software.

just an example, not an endorsement
http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file...htm?language=1


As a last resort you can run chkdsk /f on the drive.

Note: If it's simply a matter of logical errors, chkdsk /f *might* possibly
fix the problem

but NOTE: It could also render the entire drive useless by writing all your
data to .chk files
which would make recovery essentially impossible!

Thank you, very much, philo for your time & advice.

I tried to run checkdisk, via properties ... & immediately got "windows
cannot run checkdisk on
disk H". It looks like I'll have to buy some kind of data recovery
software. :-(

Thanks again, anyway friend. It's comforting to know that there IS ,
actually, at least ONE
genuine *helper* out there, in the relevent newsgroups, amongst the mass of
horrible spammers !

Please do NOT go away .... people like yourself will ALWAYS be a godsend to
the struggling
newbies like myself !

Merry Xmas to you & yours, Sir !

Mr. Blue.



"philo" wrote in message
...
Though it looks like the drive is corrupted, there is a possibility that
the problem is with the USB interface in the enclosure.
You could remove the drive and install it internally and see if it works.

If not, I'd try some data recovery software.

just an example, not an endorsement
http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file...htm?language=1


As a last resort you can run chkdsk /f on the drive.

Note: If it's simply a matter of logical errors, chkdsk /f *might*
possibly
fix the problem

but NOTE: It could also render the entire drive useless by writing all
your
data to .chk files
which would make recovery essentially impossible!

Wow.

I take it from your message that since the rest of us were working and busy
during the day, and haven't come to your aid yet, we are drivel that don't
matter, and should immediately end our existence forthwith.

Only gave us about 5 hours to answer your question..........

I'll be outside looking over the cliff, and doing some calculations to make
sure that when I hit the rocks below I'm sure to make a big splat. I'm a
"newbie" at jumping off of cliffs, so I want to get this right.

Happy holidaze.

bobwatts
EartH
nonhelper



"Mr. Blue" wrote in message
m...
Thank you, very much, philo for your time & advice.

I tried to run checkdisk, via properties ... & immediately got "windows
cannot run checkdisk on
disk H". It looks like I'll have to buy some kind of data recovery
software. :-(

Thanks again, anyway friend. It's comforting to know that there IS ,
actually, at least ONE
genuine *helper* out there, in the relevent newsgroups, amongst the mass
of horrible spammers !

Please do NOT go away .... people like yourself will ALWAYS be a godsend
to the struggling
newbies like myself !

Merry Xmas to you & yours, Sir !

Mr. Blue.



"philo" wrote in message
...
Though it looks like the drive is corrupted, there is a possibility
that
the problem is with the USB interface in the enclosure.
You could remove the drive and install it internally and see if it works.

If not, I'd try some data recovery software.

just an example, not an endorsement
http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file...htm?language=1


As a last resort you can run chkdsk /f on the drive.

Note: If it's simply a matter of logical errors, chkdsk /f *might*
possibly
fix the problem

but NOTE: It could also render the entire drive useless by writing all
your
data to .chk files
which would make recovery essentially impossible!

"Robert E. Watts" wrote in message
...
I take it from your message that since the rest of us were working and
busy
during the day, and haven't come to your aid yet, we are drivel that don't
matter, and should immediately end our existence forthwith.


Hey, Sorry fella. When I clicked on the group, there was so much spam in
it, I just posted my message
& hoped for the best. I honestly didn't even think that I'd get ONE
response. Apologies, if I've stepped
upon your toes.

I didn't mean any harm to anyone here.

Sorry .

"Robert E. Watts" wrote in message
...
Wow.

I take it from your message that since the rest of us were working and
busy
during the day, and haven't come to your aid yet, we are drivel that don't
matter, and should immediately end our existence forthwith.

Only gave us about 5 hours to answer your question..........

I'll be outside looking over the cliff, and doing some calculations to
make
sure that when I hit the rocks below I'm sure to make a big splat. I'm a
"newbie" at jumping off of cliffs, so I want to get this right.

Happy holidaze.

bobwatts
EartH
nonhelper




Don't jump!!!

I'm sure the OP was simply referring to the trolls
that often inhabit many of the newsgroups...
though fortunately, they don't seem to bother to come here!

"Mr. Blue" wrote in message
m...
Thank you, very much, philo for your time & advice.

I tried to run checkdisk, via properties ... & immediately got "windows
cannot run checkdisk on
disk H". It looks like I'll have to buy some kind of data recovery
software. :-(

Thanks again, anyway friend. It's comforting to know that there IS ,
actually, at least ONE
genuine *helper* out there, in the relevent newsgroups, amongst the mass
of
horrible spammers !

Please do NOT go away .... people like yourself will ALWAYS be a godsend
to
the struggling
newbies like myself !

Merry Xmas to you & yours, Sir !

Mr. Blue.




OK

if you Google there are plenty of free utilities.

BTW:

If you cannot recover any data, as I mentioned, the drive may still be
perfectly
good and it *might* just be a problem in the interface.

As a last resort, you can remove the drive an install it in your desktop...
or have a tech do it if you don't like to fool with hardware!

"philo" wrote in message
...
I'm sure the OP was simply referring to the trolls
that often inhabit many of the newsgroups...
though fortunately, they don't seem to bother to come here!



Heck ..... now I'm getting paranoid. What's an OP ?
My mind is now working overtime, on this.
Please don't tell me it stands for "Offensive Pr*ck" !?
I was not trying to offend anyone.
Seriously, I'm not a computer genius .... & YES ... I confess,
I was trying to get some good advice, without having to pay
big money to some PC engineer that will rip me off.

I was only asking about my external drive that isn't working.
I did not want to offend anyone here. I'm sorry if I have.
I now realise that I may be regarded as a *troll*, but I did
not know this when I chanced upon seeking some help in a
newsgroup that I found purely by typing the words Packard
Bell into my easynews group search.

My apologies if I have upset anyone here.

Whatever .... I wish you all ( spammers apart ) a wonderful
Christmas & all the VERY best for 2009 !

Regards,

AB.

Hello Mr. Blue !

Fair enough, please accept my apologies.
(I'll explain later )
But fortunately, your second message was dead on, and accepted. It's great
to see new posters, and you defused the situation nicely. :-)

I'm kinda busy now, but I'll try to help later. Or someone will come along.
Not many posters lately, and the gang is probably anxious to do *something*.

By the way, OP means original poster. :-)

Just don't do anything rash with the drive ( for now ). Sometimes, doing
"something" results in things that can't be fixed. Doing nothing is
sometimes a pretty good strategy.

If you have another computer, try plugging it in there, and see if Windows
XP "see's" it. Just don't write to the drive for now.

bobwatts
EartH
( computer tech since '96 )



"Mr. Blue" wrote in message
m...

"Robert E. Watts" wrote in message
...
I take it from your message that since the rest of us were working and
busy
during the day, and haven't come to your aid yet, we are drivel that
don't matter, and should immediately end our existence forthwith.


Hey, Sorry fella. When I clicked on the group, there was so much spam in
it, I just posted my message
& hoped for the best. I honestly didn't even think that I'd get ONE
response. Apologies, if I've stepped
upon your toes.

I didn't mean any harm to anyone here.

Sorry .

"Mr. Blue" wrote in message
news

"philo" wrote in message
...
I'm sure the OP was simply referring to the trolls
that often inhabit many of the newsgroups...
though fortunately, they don't seem to bother to come here!



Heck ..... now I'm getting paranoid. What's an OP ?
My mind is now working overtime, on this.
Please don't tell me it stands for "Offensive Pr*ck" !?
I was not trying to offend anyone.
Seriously, I'm not a computer genius .... & YES ... I confess,
I was trying to get some good advice, without having to pay
big money to some PC engineer that will rip me off.

I was only asking about my external drive that isn't working.
I did not want to offend anyone here. I'm sorry if I have.
I now realise that I may be regarded as a *troll*, but I did
not know this when I chanced upon seeking some help in a
newsgroup that I found purely by typing the words Packard
Bell into my easynews group search.

My apologies if I have upset anyone here.

Whatever .... I wish you all ( spammers apart ) a wonderful
Christmas & all the VERY best for 2009 !

Regards,

AB.




"OP" Simply stands for "Original Poster"

or the one who originated the thread..

I also never considered you to be trolling,
I usually put trolls in my killfile pretty fast.

Good luck to you with your drive.

Also note:

Since sooner or later all drives will fail...
I always suggest keeping data on at least two physically separate drives!