xp home lost 2nd HD letter

Hello~All,
I've had this problem for months, trying to figure out to fix it!!
A friend helped me install a 2nd HD to use for Ubuntu and backups. Obviously, he didn't know much about linux since it left me with a " "brick" "
for a computer!!!
I finally deleted the partition and that restored the Grub/MBR and I could boot into windows on C drive...
Before all the linux adventures, I always had access to that 2nd HD, It had the letter F assigned, I could see all my backups and files...Since I've lost that drive letter, windows on C can't see the 2nd HD - doesn't exist....
I see it just fine in partition magic 8, but I can't figure out how to assign a letter to it....PM says to partition - advanced - assign letter in box....that works fine for C drive, but NOT for the linux drive!!?
I have xp home NOT pro,,,,not any of the utilities in disk mgmt,,,mapping doesn't seem to help..
Is this a bios thing? I hate to mess around there and corrupt stuff!!!!
Conversely - while in the 2nd HD using ubuntu - I can see and use my windows files just fine....It's just the opposite, I want...
Thanks for any help/suggestions.
John in Dallas.

 

If you go to Start -> Run and then type in devmgmt.msc and press OK - this will bring up device manager.

Click on the + beside Disk drives.

Does the Drive show up there or if it does show up - does it have a ! with a yellow sign around it ?

 

It sounds like your drive is formated to Linux ext3 or ext4 file system, which windows cannot "see ".
In this case your best bet would be to move all important files to another drive using a Linux Live CD and then delete the partitions and create new partitions formatted to NTFS

 

reply to 2nd HD letter lost

Hello~All,

I was afraid that was the answer!!! Windows can't see the drive since ubuntu was installed!
Nothing is wrong in device-mgr....It's there and healthy, also in computer mgmt. and disk mgmt.
If I do convert the HD to ntfs, won't that render ubuntu moot - it won't run?
I can't remember if linux can function in ntfs? It must - since I can use and see all my files in windows on C drive???
Thanks for clearing up the issue.
John in Dallas.

 

When I installed Ubuntu (dual boot) I kept the NTFS format and it worked fine. You may be able to change the file system type without erasing the data on the drive with Gparted [live cd], but best to be safe and back-up everything prior to making partition changes.