BleepingComputer.com: Hard drive keeps disappearing

This problem began occurring this Sunday and I have no idea how it came about. Last week I used MalwareBytes to remove Trojan.Vundo.H (I don't think that has any special connection with this) and then my comp was as fresh as ever. Now my E drive keeps randomly disappearing/appearing when I start/restart my computer.

The data on it is intact, as when it appears everything works fine on it. I have used System Restore thrice, first two times to Sunday and then I tried to do it to 9th April(as further back as I could go) but it said Sys Restore failed. Each time I restored my system the drive came back. The drive doesn't come back as frequently as when I restart or start the computer instead of using Sys Restore.
Apart from backing up my hard drive(obviously, and what are the best tools for that?), what am I supposed to do to curb this problem? Formatting is a last resort option, I'd like to know if there's anything else that can be done.

This post has been edited by SVXX: 13 April 2009 - 11:11 AM

As you mentioned, you should definitely back up all your data!

The next time is doesn't appear, right click "my computer" and go to "manage". Once the Window opens, go under the storage tab, and click disk managment. Also, the next time it doesn't show up, go to control panel, system, hardware tab, and click device manager. In device manager, go under disk drives. Does it show up there? Is there anything in an error state in device manager (usually shown with a yellow exclamation mark near it).

It's just disappeared again..
Well, I have two hard disks, one which I have partitioned to contain the C and D drives, and the other to wholly contain the E drive. In Device Manager and in Computer Management, only one disk is showing(only two drives). I can only backup the data if the drive comes back.
It could be that the hard disk is intact but Windows isn't detecting it. Any special reasons as to that?
Please reply ASAP.

Edit: I used Belarc System Advisor to find out my specifics. When I did so before(when the drive was showing), there were two disks, 0 and 1. 0 contains C and D while 1 contains E. But now only 0 is showing. I attached the file for your perusal.

This post has been edited by SVXX: 14 April 2009 - 01:28 AM

The manufacturers of hard drives usually have a tool that test the condition of the hard drive. However, if it's not showing up, I'm not sure one will work. What brand is the drive? You could alos run "chkdsk" to test your hard drives. If you could, try to run it while the drive is showing.

In your BIOS, is the drive showing?

Do you have another computer you could try the drive in? If it's still having problems, then you could almost guarantee a failing drive.