Hard Drive Management Gone Haywire

Injust said:

Thanks for the input, Brink.
I believe that no Linux distros would be able to view my files, as the filesystem has been corrupted and is no longer NTFS, but RAW. However, I will try and report back.

Thanks.

Brink, I cannot see ANY of my original files with Peppermint. Only the files on the live USB

SIW2 said:

Have a look with a Linux. distro.

I would use gparted bootable to create a small partiton just a gb or two at the end of the drive ( on the right as you see the diskmap).

Then see if partition recovery function on PW or partition assistant or similar - paragon has one on the boot disk, I expect. You may need to try a couple as they are not the same.

I have tried TestDisk, and Slartybart will probably get back to me, but he hasn't been online for a week now.
I've done Surface Test and Partition Recovery with PW bootable, the drive's OK and it can't recover my partition.
I would probably not make a partition, because it might disturb the partition table that I want to recover.
Paragon does NOT have a partition recovery tool on its boot disc, sadly.

What else can anybody suggest? I have some pretty important files there, and losing them is a not an option.

Then you should not have ignored the help we were giving you a week ago and gone off to wildly run commands which ruined your OS, never having backed up your files.

I had asked for help with using TestDisk which you thought had found your partition after PW couldn't, but it was not successful in several attempts. I don't know what you thought he was going to do to help you then.

Injust said:

Ok, so I messed around a bit, and completely screwed up mah system :P
I ran some variation of this command: bootsect /nt60 sys force, and now, when I boot, it gives me the message "No bootable device, insert boot device and press any key to continue."
Also, I realized that the filesystem was changed to RAW :P And I can't see any of mah files

gregrocker said:

Then you should not have ignored the help we were giving you a week ago and gone off to wildly run commands which ruined your OS, never having backed up your files.

I had asked for help with using TestDisk which you thought had found your partition after PW couldn't, but it was not successful in several attempts. I don't know what you thought he was going to do to help you then.

Injust said:

Ok, so I messed around a bit, and completely screwed up mah system :P
I ran some variation of this command: bootsect /nt60 sys force, and now, when I boot, it gives me the message "No bootable device, insert boot device and press any key to continue."
Also, I realized that the filesystem was changed to RAW :P And I can't see any of mah files

Ok
TestDisk DID detect my partition that I wanted, by in the results list, it's not there. I don't know why.
Slartybart also wanted me to use the "Load" function, but it was supposed to load a backup that wasn't there. The "Load" function actually changes from the partition that's selected and highlighted, but because my partition's not on the final screen, it can't be "Loaded", even if I DID have a backup.

What could be done to reverse what I did to the boot files?

If the disk is RAW it normally means whatever is on it has been ruined if it cannot be recovered by Partition Wizard Partition Recovery Wizard - Video Help or similar.

There are several other methods to try this so maybe SIW2 can help you find another when he revisits the thread.

You can also still try running data recovery like Recuva - Features

I have run Recuva from a Windows Repair Disc, but it cannot scan the disk because it "cannot determine the filesystem type".

What Windows Repair disk has Recuva? You'd need a boot disk like Hirens or Ultimate Boot Disk, which we do not support here. But there are plenty of options on one.

gregrocker said:

What Windows Repair disk has Recuva? You'd need a boot disk like Hirens or Ultimate Boot Disk, which we do not support here. But there are plenty of options on one.

Oh, LOL.
I just used it on the Windows Recovery Environment and copied the file over.
But still, I doubt that it'll work.