Hey guys, I'm having real problems with my Iomega 250 GB external HD. I can plug it in (USB 2.0), move files around in it, but for some reason when I try to access random files of whatever size or try to move them off the HD, I get the "Moving..." dialog box, but the green bar will freeze with however much time, 45 seconds, 10 minutes, whatever, it freezes every other program and if I wait long enough it gives me a "Error copying file or folder: Cannot copy x, request could not be performed because of an I/O device error." None of the files were damaged when they went on the drive, only after I tried to move them or access them that they started freezing everything. There's no pattern as to what files will give me this error. Inevitably I have to pull the USB drive out or yank out the power supply for the HD to use my computer again, then it gives me a "Delayed write error: windows was unable to save all the data for the file x/$Mft". Once I retrieve the files I'll wipe the harddrive, but I need these files first. Is there any diagnostic or repair I can do without losing all of my data? This happens on whatever computer I try to access the files on, as well as Safe mode. Using XP. I'll provide any additional information as necessary. Any suggestions or solutions is welcome, thanks in advance.

-M

Get Data Back (http://www.runtime.org/faq_gdb.htm) is your answer.

File i/o and $mft file problems may negate GetDataBack from functioning via an external connection and could indicate significant hard drive corruption. If GDB works good. If not then let us know more details about the model of your drive (SATA, IDE, etc) and consider trying the drive slaved inside a PC rather than via USB. You might also want to check the drive with some HDD diagnostics.

Thanks for your replies, I appreciate the suggestions. I haven't heard about GDB, but I'll definitely try it. I just downloaded and am using EasyRecovery Professional right now, so far I've been able to extract about 30 GB, including all the data from the completely corrupted directory, which oddly enough wasn't a problem since apparently all the files in the directory weren't corrupted, only the directory (?). Anyway, the problem was apparently hundreds of cross-linked files, but ERP is able to sort through and identify the problem ones. It looks like it shouldn't be a problem retrieving the rest of the data, but it's an extremely slow process and I still have about 70 GB to go with a series of very large cross-linked files which may take days to retrieve. As a side note, I read somewhere that freezing/cooling the hard drive will allow for a temporarily easier read/write capability, and so far I think that's helped it last this long, with fans and ice packs from the freezer, and hopefully will last long enough to run for the few hours it should take to get the most important files. If it blows up or ERP catastrophically fails, I'll post some more details and go from there, but so far it's encouraging, and if it works, then hopefully this will help somebody in the future with their HD problems. Thanks for posting, wish me luck!

"including all the data from the completely corrupted directory, which oddly enough wasn't a problem since apparently all the files in the directory weren't corrupted, only the directory (?)"
My understanding of this:
When a directory [I'll call it A] becomes "lost" [disconnected from the file table]...
All the folder/files beneath that directory [in the branch] also become disconnected, even if they are not disconnected as individual "objects".
But once A becomes reconnected...
Then all the folders/files beneath A become reconnected and therefore recovered.
Unless they have also become disconnected as individuals, in which case they would need to be individually recovered.

Yes, I think they needed to be individually recovered, because while the files I recovered the from that directory work now that they're off the HD, that directory on the HD is still "corrupted and unreadable", and I'm unable to delete it. I'm not sure exactly as to what degree of corruption the files and directories are, but either way those files have been recovered fine, and as for the corrupted copies on the HD, those will be purged in a reformat once I finish the rest of the data retrieval. About 60 GB to go...

that's a lot of stuff, are you able to convert the folders or are you forced to do the files?

It may be academic in this case but note that directories and directory hierarchies are very different under NTFS and FAT. The folder structure under FAT is a hierachy and under NTFS is a B-tree. Under NTFS a folder is just another file (one identified by a folder attribute) with an MFT entry just like all other NTFS files.

Simplistically put: under FAT, folders behave much more like "virtual containers" and under NTFS they are more like "virtual (and dynamic) card indexes".

that's a lot of stuff, are you able to convert the folders or are you forced to do the files?

What do you mean by "convert the folders"?

Well, once I have what I need from the HD I'm going to reformat it, would you recommend FAT or NTFS in the future, and for what purpose would I choose for each (why)?

40 GB to go...

NTFS is better for most applications.

You should have some sort of file system on your hard drive. don't jus throw files on the hard drive. you should, for example have a folder for music, and then the artists, and then the album. (note, this is only an example, and there might be a better way to file music) If there is no file system on the Hard drive, that's why you may have had the problem in the first place. It may take longer to do, but being organized in computers can save you from loosing data or having computer problems.

"would you recommend FAT or NTFS in the future, and for what purpose would I choose for each (why)?"
1. I figure it's best never to make anything more complex or sophisticated than is necessary.
i.e. Keep things as simple as you can stand provided they fit the need, or unless there is a need for something more sophisticated.

2. Hence, only one of my partitions is NTFS; all others including those on my external HDD are FAT32. I've not yet detected any disadvantage to this, but am aware of at least one advantage = easy accessibility.
My USB HDD with FAT32 partitions could be connected to different PC with various OS's installed and be accessible to those.

3. e.g. Most or all major OS's can access FAT32.
I have customised my "Emergency Boot CD" [EBCD] by adding "USB for DOS" drivers so that [among other things] the copy of "MS Scandisk" on that bootable CD can [in theory if not so well in practice] scan the FAT32 file systems on partitions on my external USB HDD [or other USB devices like my Flash Drive], and fix problems in the file systems on the various partitions.
I also have made bootable DOS floppies that include "USB for DOS" drivers, and have used that in the past to reformat my Flash Drive when Windows couldn't do it.
I can't remember if I've used it to repartition or reformat the USB HDD, but it's worth having the possibility available.

If there is no file system on the Hard drive, that's why you may have had the problem in the first place. It may take longer to do, but being organized in computers can save you from loosing data or having computer problems.These comments are, I'm afraid, a bit off-course. There is always a file sytem on any hard drive used by all the standard operating systems. File management, which I think is being alluded to, is not the same thing. You can also be as organised on your drive as you like but it will not prevent you losing data. The only way to protect yourself in this regard is to backup important data onto a second hard drive or other medium. Drives do fail completely - sometimes with no warning - and the OP has been lucky that most if not all data looks as if it will be recovered. With this warning in mind now is the time to consider a backup policy and routine. Do so or real disappointent or great expense will eventually be yours.

This drive should certainly be checked for problems and also check its properties to check whether file caching has been enabled. File caching improves performance but means that external USB drives can suffer bad file corruption if they removed or turned off prematurely.

NTFS, as intimated, is almost certainly the File Sysem of choice if you will not be wanting to access the external from a Mac or an early version of Linux or DOS or a DOS based version of windows - the last of which was WinME.

You can of course have both by splitting your drive into partitions.

NTFS vs. FAT: Which Is Right for You? (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/russel_october01.mspx)
NTFS and FAT File Systems Explained (http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/filesystems.htm)

I was refering to file management. One of the teachers I had which touched on Pro-Tools explained how we needed to save our files at the right place. Just throwing the files on the Mac could mess the computer up, and in some cases, in need of a lot of work. For a while, he went to companies to just clean up the computers so that they would be useable for recording again.

...and now it's done! ERP was definitely the way to go, got all the files off there without a hitch. Thanks for the info on FAT/NTFS, I'll see if this old drive is still worth using regularly and probably use the NTFS format. Incidentally, I used it for temporarily storing large files that soon would be burnt to DVDs, as such data moved on and off of there very frequently, so in hindsight I was very haphazard about frivolously organizing the files. I'll definitely be defragmenting and using Chkdsk/Scandisk more often in the future, I'd hate to have to go through this agony again.

I have one more question however, some .avi files I found have a few corrupted frames/sections of video that work fine otherwise past those points (this is what contributed most to the extremely long copy times/cross-linking), is there a repair program anyone would recommend to fix the small errors in these video files? Thanks again for your suggestions, I appreciate all the useful info.

Yeah, I defnitely need something to fix the file errors, I can't burn them onto DVDs, the burning process freezes at some point. If there are any good programs out there for that sort of thing please suggest it. Thanks again

I cant recommend any particular programs other than to point you to a Google Search (http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&q=repair+corrupt+avi+files&btnG=Google+Search&meta=)