Laptop Troubles
Sunday, May 4th, 2008 - 12:36pm
I acquired a friends laptop and there is something weird goin on with the HDD. When I run a recovery system I can see all the files there, but when I throw in my XP disk to try and repair it or do an install without format It shows the HDD as having no Partition, I have tried creating a partition table for it but to no avail. Any ideas on how to fix this?
I even tried a Windows live cd but it also showed the hdd with nothing there.
Sorry for the brief details, gotta run.
You probably need to rebuild the mbr or the partition table.
Do a search for fixmbr - I think it's a parameter for the format command.
Also there's another command to rebuild the partition table without actually zapping anything.
If you have data you need, first, use a live linux CD to look at it.
But it sounds like either the partition table or the master boot record is fouled up. Your recovery/repair environment should have commands for both of those - just enter the console and type help. They're pretty easy to spot, IIRC.
As always, don't hold me responsible if either of those makes life worse.
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit
Ask your friend if he/she had any sort of disc security or masking installed on there.