Using Ubuntu to read dead hard drive

[sbr2011]

sudo fdisk -l

is that a number one or the letter L ?? I really don't know what I am doing. I typed in the #1.

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -1
fdisk: invalid option -- '1'

Usage:
fdisk [options] <disk> change partition table
fdisk [options] -l <disk> list partition table(s)
fdisk -s <partition> give partition size(s) in blocks

Options:
-b <size> sector size (512, 1024, 2048 or 4096)
-c switch off DOS-compatible mode
-h print help
-u <size> give sizes in sectors instead of cylinders
-v print version
-C <number> specify the number of cylinders
-H <number> specify the number of heads
-S <number> specify the number of sectors per track

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

[Zephilinox]

Obviously if

sudo fdisk -1

doesn't work, then try the other options which are i or L (hint: it's L, lowercase, and don't forget the sudo)

[sbr2011]

What am I trying to get it to do exactly? I really know nothing about commands. Everyone has abandoned this thread!

[CharlesA]

You are just trying to list which disks are in your computer.

the -l is a lower case L

The output should look something like this:

charles@Lucid:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 21.5 GB, 21474836480 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2610 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00014f09

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1        2497    20051968   83  Linux
/dev/sda2            2497        2611      916481    5  Extended
/dev/sda5            2497        2611      916480   82  Linux swap / Solaris

[racie]

What am I trying to get it to do exactly? I really know nothing about commands. Everyone has abandoned this thread!

The command fdisk -l (yes, that is a lower case L, not a one... I see that no one has told you that. ) shows all of the partitions of all devices connected to your PC.

*edit* Oops, the above poster beat me to it.

[sbr2011]

when I type in sudo fdisk -l it does almost nothing, like this.

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l
 ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

When I type in something "invalid" I get this.

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -1
fdisk: invalid option -- '1'

Usage:
fdisk [options] <disk>    change partition table
fdisk [options] -l <disk> list partition table(s)
fdisk -s <partition>      give partition size(s) in blocks

Options:
-b <size>                 sector size (512, 1024, 2048 or 4096)
-c                        switch off DOS-compatible mode
-h                        print help
-u <size>                 give sizes in sectors instead of cylinders
-v                        print version
-C <number>               specify the number of cylinders
-H <number>               specify the number of heads
-S <number>               specify the number of sectors per track

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

Sigh. This is not looking good. I've tried l,i,j, & k.

I don't think that my drive is unplugged because I haven't messed with it, but I will check.

[bigpayne69]

Alright look, I know you are new to Ubuntu, but to you know how to use your computer's BIOS?

[bigpayne69]

since you are having problems seeing you hard drive, first go into your BIOS, drive menu. verify whether or not your BIOS even sees the drive. If it displays the drive info, your problem is software. If it says unknown, then you have a hardware problem.

[CharlesA]

I have a feeling the drive ate it, if it's not a laptop, you can try putting it in another machine and seeing if it is seen.

[sbr2011]

I don't know if I can put my HD in this PC I'm typing on now because it's older, it might be IDE. It also might be some kind of battery issue. I don't think I can post an outside link but I was reading a thread where a guy was going around and around with the same PC I have (Dell Inspiron) that could boot from a CD but was not reading SATA hard disks that he knew worked b/c they worked in other machines.

I am not all that familiar with BIOS settings, or what to set them to. How do I know if the BIOS is reading the drive?
Does it mean my HD is installed/recognized in BIOS if I get the error message

No boot device available
SATA 0: installed
SATA 1: installed
SATA 4: none
SATA 5: none