# Hard Drive can't initialize in disk management.



## Stuts22

So let me start off by telling you how my problem started. I had formatted a hard drive using an external SATA to USB adapter, Western Digital 320Gb SATA, to exFat32 in Windows 7 on my desktop computer. I then put the hard drive in my laptop, booted it up, and proceeded to install Ubuntu using an install disc. After the partitioning phase of installation, while Ubuntu was installing itself, my computer shut off due to a wonky power cord/battery problem. This is where the problem hit me.

I rebooted thinking I would need to start installation again, but when it got to the partitioning phase my hard drive did not show up. I then took the hard drive out of my laptop and externally connected it to my desktop. It would not show up in 'My Computer' or 'Disk Management', but would show up in 'Device Management'.

After searching on the web for days still yielding no advancement I hit a bit of luck. I went into device management, then properties for the hard drive, and tried to update the driver. It responded by saying the driver was up to date, however my hard drive now showed up in disk management as 'Disk 2'.

Now starts a whole new problem. In disk management, on the left hand side of where it say 'Disk 2' on top of the icon of a hard drive is a red down arrow. Under 'Disk 2' it is labeled 'Unkown' and 'Not Initialized'. When I try to initialize the disk I get an 'Incorrect function' error. This is where I'm stuck.

Any help/suggestions at all would be appreciated. Even a sigh of relief from someone else going through this problem would be nice so I know it's not just the universe hating me.


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## johnb35

So you saying the machine abruptly shut off?  First thing I would do is check the hard drive for errors as this is what usually happens when the power gets cut off quickly while its on.


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## Stuts22

Yes, it abruptly shut off. How would I go about checking the disk for errors? I honestly don't have much knowledge of computer hardware. I'm just a 20 year old geek trying to get Ubuntu installed to learn Ruby.


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## johnb35

You will need to download western digitals drive diagnostic program and burn it to a cd and then boot to the cd and run the extended test.

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=613&sid=30&lang=en

Download the iso for cd dos version and then use burning software that can write iso images to cd.


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## Stuts22

Cool cool. I'll do that right now and let you know. Thanks for the speedy response by the way.


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## Stuts22

Okay I ran the extended test, and "Test found bad sectors that may be repairable." Then when trying to repair it gave me "Error was detected while repairing bad sectors." I take it I have a new paper weight. Or is there still hope?


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## Stuts22

Okay so idiot I am, I installed the wrong diagnostic tool. Now I have created the disc you referred to, ran it at boot, and it said there were no problems when windows restarted. However nothing is fixed. Any new ideas?


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## johnb35

So what test did you run that it said it had bad sectors?


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## Stuts22

I downloaded and installed the Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows:

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=613&sid=3&lang=en

I ran the quick test and it passed, but then when I ran the extended test on the disk it failed and gave me the above mentioned errors.


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## johnb35

You need to rely on the extended test as it thoroughly tests the drive.  It's bad, you need to replace it.  I hardly ever run the quick test anymore.   And technically, you shouldn't be using the windows version, its always best to download and run the dos cd version.


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## Stuts22

Hey at least I'm up a new paper weight! Plus I no longer need the hard drive. I transferred a bunch of files off of one of my other hard drives and just decided to use that, figuring the one you were helping me was a lost cause.

Thank you for all of your help though. It was very much appreciated and you saved quite a few of the remaining hair follicles I haven't pulled out yet. =)


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