Very long scan time

[drhoads]

I have a 300 GB Maxtor external HDD that Vista is reporting as a RAW volume. The drive worked perfectly until the file system glitch. I have started the scan but it is taking a VERY long time. It gets up to about 64% within a few hours, but then the disk atctivity / seeks per second goes to 0, with only an occasional blip of activity. I left it running and went on a 3 day business trip. The recovery was at 67% when I left and was at 74% when I returned, and had been running for over 83 hours.

As suggested in another post, I'm reporting the problem and wondering if there is anything I can do to speed it up. It never appears to crash, as the elapsed time indicator is still moving. Please help.

[Alexey V. Gubin]

I presume the device is connected via USB? If possible, remove the drive from the USB enclosure and connect it directly to the appropriate (desktop) computer, then retry the scan.

[drhoads]

Alexey - Thanks for the reply. The drive does have a USB interface. I'm a about a 5 on the 1-10 computer geek scale. I can install hard drives, cards, etc., but I've not attempted before what you are suggesting. To clarify, I should take the external HDD out of the case and plug it directly into my desktop via an internal SATA connection? Correct? Any other last minute advice before I try this? I appreciate your help.

[Alexey V. Gubin]

I should take the external HDD out of the case and plug it directly into my desktop via an internal SATA connection? Correct?

Yes. This eliminates a possibility that the USB->SATA converter in the enclosure either developed a problem itself, or aggravates whatever problem the drive might have.