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Accessing old "unallocated" Win 95 / ME / 98 hard drive
Hi Folks,
Just wondering if anyone can offer any recommendations on how I could gain access to the files on an OLD hard drive - around 20 years old!
I've plugged in an external hard drive docking station but Win 8 is showing it as "Unallocated" in Disk Management. I can't remember if Win 95 / ME / 98 was installed on it. If it helps the hard drive is only 1.2gb!
When I try and allocate it, it gives me an I/O error. It does power up / spin etc and there's no reason to suspect the drive has any errors. I've tried several recovery programs on it but no go. I also tried the old PC but it appears to have given up the ghost today.
From reading around online I think it's something to do with the file system? And I'm kind of thinking my only option would be to install a virtual copy of Win 98, but that might bring on a new set of problems in itself (compatibility / drivers etc)?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
TIA
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Well, when you first put the drive in the external closure, did you set all of the jumpers in the right place? Is this an older IDE drive or older than that? You could try booting into DOS (you will be able to find a DOS image online somewhere) and try to access it from DOS. Just my first initial thoughts on the matter.
OS
Windows 8 Pro
System Manufacturer/Model
ASRock 990FX Killer
CPU
AMD FX 8320
Motherboard
ASRock 990 FX Killer
Memory
32gb
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte GTX 750i
Sound Card
Realtek (Stock on MB)
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS 27 HD Monitor & a 37" LCD HD TV Screen (For movies)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 250 GB SS hard drive for OS
1 1TB hard drive for data / mirrored to a second 1 TB hd.
PSU
650W
Case
No name tower
Cooling
Enermax Liqtech 240
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech
Internet Speed
Dnload 10.48 Upload .48
Browser
IE 11 and Chrome when IE doesn't work
Antivirus
F-PROT
Probably HD is FAT32, my wild guess. In earlier days, HDs and/or really close [similar] sector/cluster/track numbers had to listed in the BIOS tables, I don't know if that's the case today with modern day UEFI or BIOS tables.
OS
Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
CPU
i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
Motherboard
Desktop w/Gigabyte
Memory
Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
Graphics Card(s)
Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
Monitor(s) Displays
flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
Screen Resolution
1368x768; 1600x900
Hard Drives
1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
PSU
what's PSU?
Cooling
Regular plus external fans
Keyboard
desktio w/PS2
Mouse
desktop w/PS2
Internet Speed
DSL middle level [160?]
Browser
from Netscape 0.9 to FF 36
Antivirus
well-balanced, well-configured mult-layered defense is best
Other Info
From MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 6.22, from Windows 3.1 to WFW 3.11 to Windows 95-98SE, now to Windows 7 Pro.
Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Thank guys...
I've set the jumper to Slave... So play2mefish, are you saying if I boot up in Dos (as per
How To Access Advanced Startup Options in Windows 8 or 8.1 ), you think I should be able to access the drive / file structure as normal... then just copy whatever files accross?
Edit: It's an old Western Digital IDE drive
Thanks again
Last edited: Mar 13, 2015
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
I would think you would want the jumper set to CS (Cable Select) or MASTER. Booting to DOS will only work if the harddrive is mounted on the IDE channel of the MB...provided of course you still have an IDE connector.
I would change the jumper setting to CS and then try accessing it again from Windows again. The old hard drive will be FAT or FAT32 and not NTFS.
To boot to a DOS based system, it would be easier to have the harddrive configured as an internal drive and connected directly the IDE connector of the motherboard. Then you would boot from a floppy disk if you can find one...LOL!
OS
Windows 8 Pro
System Manufacturer/Model
ASRock 990FX Killer
CPU
AMD FX 8320
Motherboard
ASRock 990 FX Killer
Memory
32gb
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte GTX 750i
Sound Card
Realtek (Stock on MB)
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS 27 HD Monitor & a 37" LCD HD TV Screen (For movies)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 250 GB SS hard drive for OS
1 1TB hard drive for data / mirrored to a second 1 TB hd.
PSU
650W
Case
No name tower
Cooling
Enermax Liqtech 240
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech
Internet Speed
Dnload 10.48 Upload .48
Browser
IE 11 and Chrome when IE doesn't work
Antivirus
F-PROT
Ah, I'm using the enclosure on a laptop
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
Another way to access data files(music, documents, pictures... right?) is download yourself a Ubuntu ISO burn it to disk and use the live session. Then you can drag and drop the files to your Win8 folders.
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Retired from the grind
VIP Member
Pro User
At this point, the heads are probably frozen, so you may never be able to recover anything off of it. You could try a Linux Live DVD and see if it sees the drive in the external enclosure.
OS
Linux Mint 17.2
Computer type
Laptop
System Manufacturer/Model
Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
CPU
AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
Memory
12GB
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek HD
Monitor(s) Displays
LCD
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768
Hard Drives
Crucial M500 240GB SSD
Mouse
Logitech M525
Internet Speed
45/6 - ATT U-Verse
Browser
Google Chrome
Antivirus
None needed. It is Linux.
Other Info
Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer
A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Ok, will give Unbuntu a shot and report back - THANK YOUS! :thumb:
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
At this point, the heads are probably frozen, so you may never be able to recover anything off of it. .
A very good point. Try giving the drive a s
oft but firm clap to loosen the heads
on the sides (not top or bottom)
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
I've had it powered up and spinning and it sounds exactly like I remembered it? No bad sounds etc. It's not been stood idle for 20 years, maybe the last 2 or 3. It's choking me up at the thought of getting rid of it - it was my first system!..
Even if I can't recover the files, if I can get a working drive will be a bonus, I can't believe what they're listed for on ebay!
Thanks again
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
. It's choking me up at the thought of getting rid of it - it was my first system!..
Spoken like a true GEEK!
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Spoken like a true GEEK!
Ha! not geek enough apparently!
I'm loaded into the live "Try Ubuntu", but I can't see the USB enclosure. (I'm actually trying to access another drive that I know works fine in Windows etc) I can see my main drive + an SD card in situ... Any suggestions?
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
On your keybord hit your windows key(superkey) and it opens the Dash, then type "disks" to access the disks utilities tool to see and test all connected disk drives. Read
this article at how-to-geek to use it. The article is a bit old and the screen shots are of an older version but the principle is the same.
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
You can also use Gparted to see your drives and their partitioning.
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Thanks so much Cliff - Well Ubuntu found the drive, it's just as an unknown volume... Beginning to think the data's a lost cause? :huh:
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
Thanks so much Cliff - Well Ubuntu found the drive, it's just as an unknown volume... Beginning to think the data's a lost cause? :huh:
You mean it doesn't see anything?
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Just shows "Volumes > 1.3GB Unknown" ... There are 4 options > Format, Create Disk Image, Restore Disk Image, Benchmark... I tried to Create Disk Image and it shows as unreadable (replacing with zeros)
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
I did try initialising the drive in Windows last week as MBR - don't know if that's had any effect?
OS
7
Computer type
Laptop
Missing my GIF avatars:(
Pro User
Can you see or find the option "mount" the drive then look in Ubuntu file explorer(Nautilus) at the files
OS
Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
CPU
Intel Core i9-9900K
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
Memory
32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
Sound Card
(1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
Hard Drives
C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
PSU
Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
Case
hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
Cooling
Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
Keyboard
Trust GTX THURA
Mouse
Trust GTX 148
Internet Speed
25+/5+ (+usually faster)
Browser
Edge; Chrome; IE11
Antivirus
Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
Other Info
Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR