i have a 4gig hd  (samsung?)with partition,configured as host for c
(h:)and c:
the partition gives 50% to each drive roughly but there is 1.9 gig
unallocated so i only have 2gig available
C: is compressed and has errors that scandisk cannot resolve.
format and fdisk wont work becos of the erRors and compression
how do i clean the disk??????????
western digital tools do not detect a drive at all!!!!!!!!!

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Request for Question Clarification by missy-ga on 22 Nov 2002 16:17 PST

What operating system are you using, please?  I don't want to point
you towards Win98 help if you're using WinNT!

--Missy

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 22 Nov 2002 17:46 PST

kel347...

If you have two 2gig partitions on a 4gig drive,
and one of them is compressed, and still taking
up 1.9gig, you may have a serious problem. 

It sounds to me like you need to uncompress the
drive in order to straighten it out. H is not a true
partition, as would be created by fdisk, but is a 
host drive created by DriveSpace in Windows 98(and, perhaps, another version?).
I'd suggest you run Defrag, and then use the
DriveSpace Utility to uncompress the C drive,
The compression utility should be able to tell 
you how much disk content there will be when
you uncompress it, so you'll be able to tell if it
will fit in your 4gigs of space. If not you will 
need to delete some content, defrag, and then
run DriveSpace (or is it Compression Agent? - 
I can't remember, but I think they're related to
each other functionally). Both will be in the 
System Tools.

Once the drive is uncompressed, you should
be able to run scandisk and correct any errors.
If you still want to format the drive and use fdisk,
you should be able to do so afterwards.

If this sounds like it might work for you, respond
to this clarification, and let me know what else
you need to know. If I've missed the mark, let me
know also - it will help me or another researcher
assist you better.

And some free advice - NEVER compress your hard
drive...it's far too easy to end up with too little room in
which to decompress the contents.

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Clarification of Question by kel347-ga on 22 Nov 2002 21:29 PST

i am running windows 95

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Clarification of Question by kel347-ga on 22 Nov 2002 21:32 PST

decompressing doesnt work because scansisk wont run due to
insufficient space..the old catchhhhhhhhhhhh 22

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Request for Question Clarification by seizer-ga on 23 Nov 2002 05:58 PST

Hi there.

Could you let us know whether you intend to keep any of your files, or
whether you just wish to clear the whole disk and start again?

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Clarification of Question by kel347-ga on 23 Nov 2002 11:49 PST

i would like to keep operating system but if necessary am happy to
wipe the lot and have clean start

Hi kel,

I'm sorry you're having such trouble with your computer.  Annoying,
isn't it?

Part of the problem in getting your situation straightened out is that
you've used Disk Compression.  As previously noted, Disk Compression
usually causes more troubles than it solves, and should not be used in
the future.  (I learned this the hard way myself.)

Another difficulty in getting this straightened out is that you're
attempting to use Western Digital utilities to fix a Samsung disk. 
Western Digital utilities are designed for Western Digital drives, and
while they occasionally work for other brands, they most often don't,
instead pretending that you have no drive installed at all.

To get you on the right track, I searched for [ Samsung hard drive
utilities ], and was rewarded with a utilities page specifically for
Samsung HDDs:

Hard Disk Drive Support
http://www.samsungelectronics.com/hdd/support/utilities/utilities_index.html

Before you begin, make sure you have a Win95 Boot Disk and your Win95
CD or floppies.  If there is any data you need to save, back it up
onto floppy or online storage now.

Next, download the program offered on the following page, label the
disk clearly and set it aside:

ClearHDD
http://www.samsungelectronics.com/hdd/support/utilities/utilities_03.html

This is Samsung's equivalent of Western Digital's disk formatting
tool.  You might need this, so hang on to it!

Since you'd like to try to salvage some of what's on your drive, I
recommend that you begin with the Self Diagnostic Program.  Please
note, there is no guarantee that you will be able to save what you
have, but it never hurts to try first:

Self Diagnostic Program for Older Models
http://www.samsungelectronics.com/hdd/support/utilities/utilities_02.html

There is a link to an .EXE file at the top of the page.  Save that
file to a floppy, then restart your computer in DOS mode.  At the C:\>
prompt, enter A:\ to change to the floppy drive.  At the A:\> prompt,
enter "SHDIAG", then follow the prompts.

Run *all* of the tests.  If the program asks you if it should fix
errors, select "Yes" and proceed.  If it successfully corrects the
errors, you're all set!

If the errors cannot be fixed, the program will recommend a low level
format.  This will wipe out your drive, to allow a fresh start -
you'll need the ClearHDD program I pointed you to earlier.

Once you've run the ClearHDD program, run the Diagnostic Program once
more to ensure that the errors have been corrected.  If there are
*still* errors present, I'm afraid your drive is done for.  You'll
need to replace the drive.

If the drive is clear, you're ready to proceed with re-installing
Win95.  Shut your computer down, insert your boot disk into your A:\
drive, turn it on...and follow the prompts.

Please note:  If you do not have a Win95 Boot Disk, please leave a
Request for Clarification for me *before* you wipe out your drive.  I
can provide you with .ZIP file that you can unzip to a floppy disk to
create a Boot Disk.  The file also includes CDROM drivers to enable
you to start your computer with CDROM support (instead of having to
hunt for separate drivers to load through DOS).

I hope that you don't have to resort to wiping your hard drive out
entirely, and that the diagnostics solve the problem for you.

If you need clarification, please don't hesitate to ask.  I'll be glad
to offer further assistance.  Good luck!

--Missy

Search terms: [ Samsung hard drive utilities ]

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Request for Answer Clarification by kel347-ga on 23 Nov 2002 17:32 PST

hello missy .thanks for the clear and helpful answer.
the following may or may not be  the case after i run your answer
1..The hard Drive is not definitely Samsung (my daughter thinks it is
(thus the "?" in question.
2.. the startup in dos seems to not function and relosding win95 is a
worry cos it rejects the ID number as incorrect(coruption).hopefully
the samsung downloads will fix this. the msdos prompt from win95 works
fine but i kno this is not interoptrable.
ok ill give it a shot

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Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 23 Nov 2002 18:06 PST

Hi kel,

If the HD is *not* Samsung, the downloads may not work, and in fact
might cause you even more trouble.

Before proceeding any further, please turn off your computer, take
your cover off, slip the hard drive out of the bay and check the label
on top.  Write down *everything* on that label.

If it's Samsung, you're good to go.  If it's not, please post the
information here and let me see what else I can dig up for you.

--Missy

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Request for Answer Clarification by kel347-ga on 23 Nov 2002 18:58 PST

darn its mustang by micropolis model 4540a and the restart in dos
seems to be intermitently operationl such that it occasionallyy works
but rarely n  i cannot duplicate the conditions sunder which it will
load

computers can be such fun!!!!!!!!!!!

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Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 23 Nov 2002 19:34 PST

YIPES!

OK, don't do anything yet.  Let me see if I can find a specific
utility for Micropolis for you.  If I can't, you're probably not going
to be able to salvage any data and will have to start from scratch. 
I'll see if I can find instructions on the web to help make it easier
for you, as well.  Being that Win95 is an older operating system,
resources for it are scarce these days and might take a little time to
track down.

--Missy

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Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 23 Nov 2002 20:27 PST

Hi again,

I was afraid of this.

According to the June 1998 issue of the Houston Apple Barrel,
Micropolis (the folks that manufactured your hard drive) are no longer
in business.  I've been unable to find any Micropolis utilities
archived *anywhere* - not even at FrozzBozz (who usually has
everything).  The most recent mention of a Micropolis product review
I've been able to find is April 1997 - this does not bode well.  This
means that your HD is *at least* four years old.  HDs, like everything
else, wear out eventually.  Your current problems may be an indicator
that your drive is going to fail soon.

Before doing anything as drastic as replacing your drive just yet,
though, try re-formatting it and re-installing Win95.

First, download the following file and unzip it to a formatted floppy
disk:

http://www.inanis.net/home/bootdisk.zip

This is for a boot disk that includes generic CDROM drivers.

Next, read, print out, then exactly follow, the instructions on the
following page:

Fresh Start Install Procedure
http://www.shaunsplace.com/computers/freshstart.htm

Read them twice!  Then follow the instructions to the letter. 

Good luck!

--Missy

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Request for Answer Clarification by kel347-ga on 24 Nov 2002 02:26 PST

mission sucessfully completed.loading Win95 as i type.
a heartfelt thank you!

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Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 24 Nov 2002 06:37 PST

Hooray!

So glad everything worked out!

--M

on a 0 to 10 scale missi gets 15

if you want to take care of this problem with minimum hassle and don't
care about the data you have stored on the drive, I suggest running
fdisk, deleting all the partitions, create a new partition of full
size, and format the new partition. The fdisk utility is only
available in versions of windows 95/98/me. If this sounds like a good
solution to you, please let me know and I can step you through it as
an answer.