Format question

[frikkin]

Hi,
I upgraded a laptop from Windows ME (don't ask!) to win 2000. The machine had 3 partions (C,D & E) but when I booted using the Windows 2000 cd (hardware specific shipped cd) it seems to have deleted all partitions and created one big c: drive.

Is this normal? Of course its only gone and wiped off the CEO's files stored on the E: drive

Any thoughts? Please

Thanks

 

[jaeddy]

Well, it should have asked you where you wanted to install, or it should have defaulted to the C:\WINNT folder (or perhaps c:\Windows if it was an upgrade). When you installed, did you get any warnings about insufficient disk space or the like? Even MS is usually not so arrogant as to assume you want to annihilate your old partition scheme.

Did you actually install this yourself, or did you use Remote Installation Service, unattended installation, ghosting (in which case the result is understandable)?

 

[Rhort]

We had some similar problems with this with ME to 98 "down"grades :-( It killed every single document and user config file without warning (which, let's face it, is just rude!). I think this is a ME thing, rather than an 2k/98 issue.

Sounds like Windows 2000 has done a complete reset of the disk, down to the partition level (probably whilst upgrading to NTFS from FAT32). I'm sorry to say that you'll be lucky to find any way of getting your data back from under that :-(

 

[braddds]

You can try a program called "easy recovery 512" (I believe is the right name). Anyway, my brother accidently re-partitioned (I know, don't ask) his hard drive and used this utility to recover most of his lost data! Sorry I can't give you more info but I'm sure you can go onto the web and find who, what and where to get this program!

Only sugestion is "DON'T USE THE LAPTOP" until you get a chance to use a recovery program...the more you use it the better the chance it will overwrite something important!!!

good luck

 

[frikkin]

Hi again,
When I put the win2k cd in it booted into setup mode but didnt ask me about partitioning at all, honest!!!!
It just writes files locally and continues to format the hard drive, no questions asked, then begins copying files to the new partition for setup.

There were no warnings about insufficient disk space, its a large hard disk (i think its 10G) so it wouldnt have had any problems.
Anyway pleased to report we have managed to go back in and seemingly have re-created the drive through diskedit program. just a small matter of hooking the hard disk to another machine and getting the files off.

Fingers crossed
Thanks for the replies!

 

[braddds]

A quick question?

What program did you use?

...ok! Two questions!

Did it make a new partiton or re-find the old E: drive you lost?

 

[frikkin]

1) We used diskedit from Norton Utilities.
2) The procedure (as i can best describe as It wasnt me that did it) was to manually create a new record in the partition table which pointed to the start of the supposed d: drive.
This created a new logical drive (d so we could access the data.
Its pretty darn complicated unless youre fluent in hexidecimal!