Locate a missing hard disk

Q My new hard disk appears to have disappeared. I am using Windows XP and have tried two system restores, but without success. When I start go restore a message says drive G (the new HD) won’t be affected by the restore as it has been removed or switched off.

In My Computer it is not listed in the drives that appear, but if I go into device manager and click on hard drives it tells me that Samsung HD103UJ (the new disk) is working properly.

Andy Aldridge

A The description shows that the problem is likely to rest with the partition. Partitions are areas of a disk that have been prepared for use with Windows (or whatever operating system you happen to be using). Normally, they fill the whole disk, but there are times when it is convenient to have more partitions.

It is possible that the partition has been deleted, although as the process isn’t completed in a couple of clicks, it’s surprising that you hadn’t noticed. Just like deleted files it may be possible to recover the partition, though sadly there are no free tools for this.

Paragon Partition Manager 9 Personal can undelete partitions. If the disk doesn’t appear in the Windows Disk Management tool, this suggests that the disk itself is either disconnected or broken. If so, check it is connected properly.