I think I need to reformat my pc since I can't find my mandriva 2010.2 cd/dvd, I only have here Mandriva 2008.
So how do i backup my files first? I have mounted a slave hard drive already but i can't access it, it says "an error occurred while accessing hard drive".. What should I do? I have an expansion drive but it is almost full so I can't use it.
Please help, anybody... Thanks in advance...

When you say mount, do you mean install into your machine or mount as in:
Did you partition the drive first, etc. Please provide some more info.

well, I opened the CPU and mounted it there.. yes is it already partitioned, i mean the slave drive..

How was it partitioned, in Linux? How many partitions? What is the device designation (/dev/sd?), etc? What fstype, etx2,3,4, etc? Providing a detailed description on exactly what you did will lead to a more accurate response.

it was already partitioned in windows (xp). I just took it from an unused unit.. i did not reformat it i just mounted it there directly..

Then it's almost certainly formatted in NTFS. While Linux will read from NTFS if ntfs-3g is installed, you will require the ntfsprogs to write to it.

If the info on the drive is expendable, try reformatting with a Linux native fstype, eg: ext4. If your GUI is up, you can use the GParted program, or fdisk from the command line. You must know the drive number for this. If IDE, is it in the primary or secondary channel? Is is SATA, what number drive? Be careful you don't re-partition your existing Linux drive.

If you're only interested in backing up your /home directory and it's on a separate partition, then you can re-install Mandriva using multiple partitions and keep your existing home partition intact.

For you, I would strongly recommend a backup first. But first what drive number is it? Drive 0 is /dev/sda, 1 is /dev/sdb etc.

What does:
return

if i just upgrade this will it help? If yes, could you give me a link to where I could just download the installer?

If the drive doesn't have files you need, you should reformat it with a native linux filesystem. That will allow you to preserve the ownership and permissions of the files. If the files are documents, and downloads, then the ownership isn't important. If you are backing up system files, the ownership is important.

Run "dmesg" to read the kernel messages. Did the kernel recognize the hard disk? Which device is it?
What was the error encountered?

The ntfs-3g package will install ntfs filesystem support. You also need the `fuse' kernel module. Is it loaded?
"lsmod | grep fuse"

If you could upgrade what? Mandriva 2008?
Try distrowatch.com for the links to Mandriva.

Please do not use Urgent/Please help or the like in your thread titles. It is considered rude to use this form. We do know that you are posting to request aid.

Maybe you should look at the following;
FYI: I suggest that you look at 'How to Ask Questions the Smart Way' so in the future your queries provide information that will aid us in diagnosis of the problem or query.



HTH!

@towheedm - Thanks a lot for the huge help you imparted me.
@onebuck - Sorry for being rude, I did not know I was acting like one.