Hello, while trying to format the boot partition (C) from partition D (where all my data is stored) something happened and the format process could not be completed. Since then I have no access to any of my hard disk's partitions. While trying to access them from the OS installation CD, it said there is no hard disk installed on my computer (Acer laptop). Later on I tried the Western Digital's diagnostic tools (the HD is WD's) and it recognized the two partitions, yet there is not much to (you can't get access to files through diagnostic tools, you just see what there is). When I boot from DOS, it recognizes C: but when typing Dir it says the disk has no name and shows no files. It doesn't recognize D: though. So, I decided to execute an FDISK on C from DOS, but I was wondering whether it would harm the D partition, which is not even recognized by DOS. Any ideas? Thanks

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Originally Posted by guyweisz

...When I boot from DOS, it recognizes C: but when typing Dir it says the disk has no name and shows no files. It doesn't recognize D: though. So, I decided to execute an FDISK on C from DOS, but I was wondering whether it would harm the D partition, which is not even recognized by DOS. Any ideas? Thanks

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One has to be careful fiddling with drive structures from DOS for modern Windows and other operating system installations. One issue is that partitions formatted with the NTFS or other file systems will not be recognized by DOS and assigned a drive letter which may result in the drives being lettered differently what they were in Windows. Another is the DOS FDISK and FORMAT commands that shipped with the Win9x or earlier series of operating systems do not work 100% correctly with large disks. FDISK needs a patch and FORMAT displays the size wrong. A third is that highly integrated computers like laptops may have special diagnostic or recovery partitions formatted with file systems not recognized by either DOS or Windows which again necessitates understanding exactly what partitions will be operated on when using a partitioning or formatting tool.

You can delete C: with a patched FDISK without affecting D:, however the OS installation disc's failure to recognize the drive is a concern. Usually it is easier to create, delete, and format partitions using Windows setup during installation that to resort to DOS. Personally, I'd stick the drive in a working system first, get a backup of the data, then zero fill it, check it with WD's diagnostic, and then rebuild it from scratch.

Resources:
Microsoft Support: How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk
Microsoft Support: FDISK Does Not Recognize Full Size of Hard Disks Larger than 64 GB
Microsoft Support: Format Displays Size of Partitions or Logical Drives Larger Than 64 GB Incorrectly