External HDD showing full but it is impossible

CKWD · 17 Jul 2015

7leagueboot, I too thank you for your last detailed post, things are very much clear on what you think now!

You have some right, as a WD Representative I have certain obligations, but my loyalty lies not only with WD, but also the customers, clients and users, having a problem with a WD product or storage device. My intentions are to help at maximum, and so I tried to give my help and my last opinion, which was genuine concern. But Jumanji is right, what you think in this case is most important, also considering the fact that you understand the situation.

My opinion still stands, with the intention for you to recover your whole data. But Jumanji is more than capable to talk you through the other option so I trust you will do fine.

Read his last post #50 (we've made some pages of posts here!..

) and confirm his point #2 and give out your opinion on what you want to do. :)

Best of luck!

CK_WD

7leagueboot · 17 Jul 2015

jumanji said:

2. You had run Datalifeguard Diagnostics. Initially I thought it had failed to scan - a communication problem

. But later you confirmed that it run the Short Test taking 20 minutes and passed. If it had found bad sectors it would have failed. Confirm this again and then we will go with TestDisk. Test Disk has to be handled carefully and so I wouldn't allow you to handle it on your own. Not if you hadn't used it anytime before and familiar with it.

I confirm Data Lifeguard successfully scanned the drive and gave it a pass. I remind you that Drive Manager also displays the drive as being in a healthy state (French for 'healthy' is 'sain'). Where I think the confusion lies is that you also asked me to run a Quick Scan using Mini-Tool's Partition Recovery Wizard and after several days still running you said it was getting us nowhere and told me to abandon it. I also downloaded the trial version of OnTrack's Easy Data Recovery which I attempted to scan the drive with to see if it located any data but the program merely crashed. I left it for 24 hours to see if it would recover but it didn't so I logged off and restarted the machine.

Once you confirm wait for my instructions. It is going to be done online and you will not do even one click without my telling you.

I wait for your confirmation. Are you in Paris?

I'm fine with that but I must tell you that I run a company and today I have 2 appointments that require me to leave the office so please be patient as it may take me some time to reply. Probably the best thing to do to save time would be to give me 3 or 4 instructions at the same time so I can move things forward faster.

Note: Look under C:/Windows. If SysWOW64 is present, uninstall the Windows 64 version of TestDisk ( you have to simply delete that TestDisk folder). Install only the Windows version. TestDisk Download - CGSecurity

You should use the Windows 64 version of TestDisk only if SysWOW64 is not present.

SysWOW64 is present so I will use the standard version of TestDisk. It doesn't have an installer though. It appears to be in portable format so that you only need to execute testdisk_win.exe for it to run.

dannalin001 · 17 Jul 2015

GokAy said:

I will PM our data recovery expert, be patient and don't attempt anything if your data is important. :)

I agree with you. That's the best thing to do in order to get back the important data.

7leagueboot · 17 Jul 2015

CKWD said:

as a WD Representative I have certain obligations, but my loyalty lies not only with WD, but also the customers, clients and users, having a problem with a WD product or storage device. My intentions are to help at maximum, and so I tried to give my help and my last opinion, which was genuine concern. But Jumanji is right, what you think in this case is most important, also considering the fact that you understand the situation.

CK, thank you for ALL your input. Believe it or not, I took on board everything you said very seriously. Proof of that is my phoning 2 of your partners to get a quote for the recovery. Please do not get the impression that my comments concerning your loyalty to WD's partners was a negative criticism. As an employer myself, I fully understand where you are coming from and appreciate the professional stance taken.

Let me just add that I intend making an image of the drive prior to attempting any data recovery. That way, if we fail in our attempts, at least the original drive will not have been damaged and Recovery Labs will still be able to do their thing. You see, I have taken on board everything I have been told here.

Have a great day CK, and thanks again for coming to my aid!

CKWD · 17 Jul 2015

I'm glad to hear that, 7leagueboot, thank you! :)

I'm happy if I was able to give insights helpful to you, and that you have decided to make the system image. It's best to be prepared with a spare copy of the drive to troubleshoot or send to recover from, if something happens to the first one.

I hope it doesn't come to that, and that you get your data back! :)

Just one last thing, if you decide to, and you actually can (depending on the warranty) here are some links to help you RMA the drive, if it's necessary.

WD Warranty check:
Support Answers

WD Warranty Policy:
Support Answers

Good luck! I'm leaving you in the safe hands of Jumanji.

CK_WD

7leagueboot · 17 Jul 2015

CKWD said:

here are some links to help you RMA the drive, if it's necessary.

Whoops! That's an expression I have never heard of. What does "RMA the drive" mean please CK?

CKWD · 17 Jul 2015

Hey, don't worry!

RMA means Return Merchandise Authorization. It is basically the procedure of returning a product not working properly to the manufacturer and receiving a recertified replacement. This can happen under certain conditions such as the product being still under warranty (first link) and the certain manufacturer's policy on the procedure (second link). :)

CK_WD

jumanji · 17 Jul 2015

7leagueboot said:

.......I'm fine with that but I must tell you that I run a company and today I have 2 appointments that require me to leave the office so please be patient as it may take me some time to reply. Probably the best thing to do to save time would be to give me 3 or 4 instructions at the same time so I can move things forward faster....

Before you hit on testdisk_win.exe (The generic Windows version and not the Windows 64bit version)
Reboot your PC. Plugin only your 1TB external drive to be recovered as also the formatted empty external drive to which you want to copy the data.

Unlock your 1TB external drive so that TestDisk can access it.

Now run testdisk_win.exe

First Screen -Highlight/Select (using the down arrow key) No log [ENTER]

Second Screen: You should see three disks. First one will be your System disk. Second and third will be your external disks. With down arrow key select your external disk to be recovered.( You should be able to identify it with the shown capacity) [ENTER]
Note: Select Disk and not the Drive

Third Screen: Select [Intel] Intel/PC partition (If not already highlighted.)[ENTER]

Fourth Screen: Select [Advanced] Filesystem Utils [ENTER]

Fifth Screen: should show the partition with [BOOT] highlighted [ENTER]

Post a screenshot of the sixth screen.

If I am not there online, to give further instructions press Q repeatedly till you get out of Test Disk. ( Every press of the Q Key will take you to the previous screen and finally out. You can also hit the X at top right to close the TestDisk Window in one click)

You can repeat the steps and proceed further on further instuctions.

Sample screenshot of the sixth screen:

External HDD showing full but it is impossible-17-07-2015-18-45-34.jpg

As you can see it will show the status of the NTFS Boot Sector. Our next action will depend upon the status.

Don't get tempted to try any other command therein like Rebuild BS, Repair MFT for the moment.

If you have any doubts while following these instructions, post a screenshot at that stage and Quit Test Disk.

7leagueboot · 17 Jul 2015

CKWD said:

Hey, don't worry!

RMA means Return Merchandise Authorization. It is basically the procedure of returning a product not working properly to the manufacturer and receiving a recertified replacement. This can happen under certain conditions such as the product being still under warranty (first link) and the certain manufacturer's policy on the procedure (second link). :)

CK_WD

Got you! Well I spoke to the supplier and he said he could organize a replacement if it is genuinely defective however, he agrees that the first thing to do is recover the data and, as it doesn't appear to be a mechanical fault, then try reformatting to NTFS.

7leagueboot · 17 Jul 2015

Hi jumanji,
I have been out all day so I will get around to this tomorrow.
Before I do, should I not first make an image of the WD drive?
I believe you and Nedly continually said that an image should be made prior to attempting anything, or is TestDisk 100% harmless?