Mr. XP.... wheres my partition ???

[aadityaonline]

I've a PIV 2.8 GHz with 512MB RAM and 80GB HDD, running Win XP SP2.
I partitioned my harddisk into 3 partitions.
But whenever I start my PC I can see only 2 partitions C & D. I then have to go to Computer Management in the control panel and assign a drive letter (E) to the third partition. Only then can I access the thrid partition.
What could be the problem ???
Help,
Aditya

[Choto Cheeta]

can i ask u how did u format the HDD??

[aadityaonline]

Hi,

The machine had 2 partitions initially. C was and is still 12 GB and rest which was there, I created into 2 equal partitions using Partition Magic.

Aditya

[Choto Cheeta]

hum.... i think u better break the partitions the make a 1 full 80GB..... the break it in.. what ever u like...... but u should still wait for other comments.....

[Ashootosh]

try naming the drive using partition magic.r u using only xp or anyother OS as well?

[curvenger]

Ok Heres the solution, open partition magic, and in partition magic, right click on the E partition and click Hide Partition, then apply, and then the comp will restart automatically. After you restart, open partition magic again, right click on th same partition i.e E and then Unhide Partition, apply.. and than it will restart again.. thats all folks, the problem is solved!

[aadityaonline]

Hi guys,

I first tried Ashootosh' method by assigning a drive letter to the partition using Partition Magic. But it didnt work as expected. Btw Ashootosh, I have only one OS loaded i.e Win XP.

Next I tried Curvenger's method of hiding and unhiding. But guys this too has not worked.

I'll be trying saurav's method next. Just waiting to get a spare harddisk from a freind to backup my data.

Any more alternatives ??

Regards,
Aditya

[aadityaonline]

Guys I just noticed something funny !!!!!

If I change my drive letter to F or G or anything other than E, the OS has no problems detecting the partition after a restart.
Somehow it shows some allergy only to the letter E.

Confused,
Aditya

[Sourabh]

now i just hope that in ur next post u dun point out that u forgot that u had installed clone cd virtual drive, or virtual Cd or Nero Image drive before and then removed it

well if it works fine with other drive letters then certainly some network locations/flash drives etc are being used as drive letters

[klinux]

do u have additional cd/dvd drives on ur pc ???

Simple Step . Assign another letter to ur cd/dvd drive

Long Step
- Make sure u have Recovery Console installed from the original xp cd . (winnt32 /cmdcons)

- uninstall any listing of optical drives from device manager . shutdown , remove ur drive .

restart into recovery console . run diskpart . which does ur drive get listed there as e or anything else ?

if its a blank partition . remove that partition and create it again . format it here itself , full format .

restart and check if its detected in xp . If things are fine , reboot and fix ur optical drives again and check that it doesnt clash with ur partitions .

Eventual Step : If things dont work out fine and u have to repartition the whole disk , get the Disk Manager from the HDD manufacturer and use it to create partitions in a jiffy and also take a backup of the MBR . Use the DM to take backups each time u repartition .

Cautious Step : Everytime u want to repartition within winxp . always disconnect the cd/dvd drive as while partitioning with it causes hdd letters to be assigned after cd/dvd letters . this can be a headache sometimes .

[aadityaonline]

No buddy.... nothing of that sort installed... No virtual drive, no Nero ( no burner rather )....
Its a brand new machine which has come pre-installed with Win XP Pro with SP2.
The problem started when I partitioned the 80 GB HDD.

[iinfi]

this is not a major problem dude

just use partition magic and convert the third partition into a logical drive

the problem is caused by 2 active partitons.... since there cannot b 2 active partions one of them is hidden by ur OS...
ur problem will b solved once u convert E drive into a !!! logical drive!!!