External HDD showing full but it is impossible

jumanji · 19 Jul 2015

OK, now we shall make an attempt to recover the faulty drive itself and see where we stand.

Go upto the screen you showed in Post #62.

Instead of List move to [MFT Repair] and press Enter

If it says MFT and MFT mirror matches perfectly, then quit TestDisk. We have nothing else to do with it.

Do the following:

Run check disk from command prompt.

Open Command prompt. Start > All programs > Accessories > Right click on Command Prompt and run as administrator

Type
CHKDSK K: /f /v /r /x Press enter. Note: Replace K: with the actual drive letter of the faulty external drive. Note the space before each /.

Allow check disk to complete. Reboot your computer. (Don't forget to unlock your WD external drive.)

See whether you can access the drive now and the files in good shape.

If you get any other message other than "MFT and MFT mirror matches perfectly" please post the screenshot and quit Test Disk. Again we will have nothing else to do with TestDisk. TestDisk cannot usually repair MFT.

In such a case the author of Test Disk himself recommends using the commercial software GetDataback or Zero Assumption Recovery.

In our dealings, we have found Getdataback works admirably and the OPs had had successful recovery.

You can download the demo version of Getdataback simple here https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm Run it and see whether it shows all your folders/files. You can also preview the files and satisfy your data is there and seen.. If everything is OK you have to buy the license to copy those data. GetDataback does not write anything to your drive. So you need not worry about trying it.

As far as Zero Assumption Recovery is concerned the module to recover Digital media data like jpgs is free.

If you do not want to buy any software, then you can try PhotoRec in TestDisk. Again PhotoRec does not write anything to your drive. So you can try it without any worries. The only limitation is that it can recover only file formats here File Formats Recovered By PhotoRec - CGSecurity
Further you will only get a bunch of renamed files without the folder structure whereas GetDataback if successful can recover all data with the original structure as it was there.

Now I am keeping my fingers crossed.

7leagueboot · 19 Jul 2015

MFT repair failed (see screenshot). I will now download GetDataBack but I will not run it until you have given me your next instruction. Should I still run CHKDSK?

jumanji · 19 Jul 2015

MFT and MFT mirror are bad. Check disk will not resolve the issue in this case.(It will, only if MFT and MFT mirror match perfectly.)

Your only hope now is Getdataback simple. Run it and scan. If your files are shown complete with the folder structure, open every folder and file , preview it and satisfy yourself that you will get everything intact before buying it.

As I said PhotoRec also can recover most file formats but you will lose the filenames/folder structure.It will also take a lot of time to scan and reconstruct the files abinitio. That will be the last resort.

7leagueboot · 19 Jul 2015

Well I may have wrecked everything. I was keen to move onwards and we had guests arriving so I couldn't wait for your reply. Hence I let ChKDSK do its thing (screenshot attached). It seems to indicate it made some corrections.

Anyway, I rebooted and am now waiting for GetDataBack to allow me to scan the drive. So far, it has identified the drive but is not allowing access. This is usual due to the drive being in RAW state. I will just have to be patient. Eventually, it will respond and then I can begin scanning the drive.

I would rather use GetDataBack than PhotoRec as I do not want to lose the filenames and folder structure. I will of course update you once I have more information.

7leagueboot · 19 Jul 2015

GetDataBack has listed all the folders however, The MyMusic folder is in grey rather than black like all the others. If I try opening this folder and all its subdirectories, everything appears to be there. So what does the grey mean?

Also, while scanning, it kept on throwing up reading errors so I eventually checked the option to ignore all. I fear I am probably not going to recover any more than I did with TestDisk although when I opened the Images folder, all subdirectories were displayed whereas TestDisk only managed to find folders down to the letter 'L'.

jumanji · 19 Jul 2015

I can't say much details about using GetDataback. You may refer to the help file, How-to-Guides and documentation on their website. You may also talk to their tech support for any queries. As a prospective customer, they should be more than willing to address your queries.

Whatever, preview and if you are satisfied go ahead. Otherwise try PhotoRec . In any case you have only these two options. More than what I have done so far, I may not be able to do better.:)

7leagueboot · 20 Jul 2015

I am in contact with Runtime support. I will let you know how this develops.

7leagueboot · 20 Jul 2015

8 hours ago they replied asking me if I could open the greyed-out MyMusic folder to which I replied affirmatively. I'm still waiting for their reply.

jumanji, why do you say that GetDataBack and PhotoRec are my only options?
Yesterday you talked about Zero Assumption Recovery so what happened to that?

7leagueboot · 21 Jul 2015

Still no reply from Runtime support, jumanji. I think I probably need to try something else.