I was using windows 7000 before and i need to say that it was brilliant! now when i`m using 7100 it becomes a nightmare While instalation of a new system(7100, by the way reinstalation-upgrade was not possible due to system 7000k somehow) i lost 4 partitions and more than 320GB in data. i managed to retrieve some of a data from my main HDD but my External WD My Book 250GB is not visible in system i`ve tried that "computer managemend" in administrative tools in order to specify drive letter but i can`t find my WD hard disk at all it is not visible there In case of my main HDD it was visible as RAW format. I`ve tried many programs to recover data from disk. ( on track easy recovery pro,WD lifeguard, get data back.) but none of the programs can see this HDD. My WD my book hdd works ( i`ve tested usb interface and it works, the hards drive spins and acts as regular one, no fall damage was made, no bad sectors etc) using programs to gather info about computer in section of my hard disk i should get HDD name and serial number. In this case i get some half data finished with "_" signs my external drive was pluged in after instalation- it was not plugged in during- and later on scaned with windows scaner (surface scan). now when my data is lost and i can`t get it back i`m asking you for help in getting my data back. also i want to inform you that such a problem appeared in my case so if it`s possible i`m ready to sned some more data about this issue, just let me know how i can help(none of a problems with my HDD`s were noticed by system and send back to you). please help Peter Jarzabek Fan of Windows 7k

Have you tried connecting your external drive to another computer? Testing the USB interface and the fact that the drive spins up does not guarantee that the drive did not fail.Jim - MVP Windows Live - Forum Moderator - Live One Care - Live Mesh - Microsoft Security Essentials

I`ve tried many programs to recover data from disk. ( on track easy recovery pro,WD lifeguard, get data back.) but none of the programs can see this HDD. Have you tried TestDisk / PhotoRec? I have had great success with these programs. TestDisk link PhotoRec link Please try every solution given to your problem...and reply back with its results... - JoelbX

Yes i`ve tried i`ve used desktop pc with stable vista running also i checked that hdd on diffrent interface - i have 3 of them and all works including that WD one

Sorry it took me some time. but i had to be sure i`m using program correctly i`ve checked that TestDisk / PhotoRec and my HDD is not visible there as well ;/ Is it possible that electronics on HDD are gone? or is it the Head?

Is it possible that electronics on HDD are gone? or is it the Head? Wait a second. We are talking about a WD My Book right? I have heard that the My Book's controller that you plug the USB cord into, and the SATA drive inside plugs into, goes bad REALLY easily. Open up the My Book's case, and take the SATA drive out of there, and then hook it up to a free SATA port in the comp, and there is your data. Note that I have read that opening up the My Book (besides voiding the warranty) is a pain to do. You may have to look up instructions on how to do this.Hello! Please try every solution given to your problem...and reply back with its results... - JoelbX

I`ve checked that controller already with diffrent harddrive aswell as i`ve checked WD harddrive using diffrent controler. all work except for that lousy HDD :( By the way my version is old one, it`s PATA rather than Serial ATA Any clues how i can get my data? i heard recovery companies take like 1k$ just for plugging into a computer :/

Did you take the PATA drive out of the My Book case and plug into in a comp as a internal drive? Yes, data recovery companies can charge thousands of dollars to recover valuable data, but you can make them go out of business by always making backups of your data.Hello! Please try every solution given to your problem...and reply back with its results...Click here for my thread on Win7 min. requirements - JoelbX

Sorry it took me ages to reply. Iwas looking for some old PC with IDE ata slot on motherboard and some xp running. Situation look`s like that. under BIOS disk is visible - disk found but no onfo about cyls, heads etc. under XP it is not. the system slows down to extreme speed`s - 30 minutes to see loging screen(usually 1:30sec`s). After a day of initialization and digging to computer management - section disk mangement, whole PC freezes on "initializing virtual drives" - it is showned at bottom of a screen(keyboard is responding to capslock but system doesn`t). some time`s i`m able to see disk info just for miliseond on a screen with 0bytes info. :/ - this happens aopnly when i`m using usb to ata converter to use this disk :/ It look`s like disk is wasted completely and i have no option to recover data except for sending it to profesionals - disk plates transplantation etc.... Thank for Help