Solved External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW

[WinDozeUser]

Did the backups of the MBR look ok? They were not 512kb

Rescanned and selected the partitions of the drive, gave three partitions drive letters and pressed apply.

Got this error:

 

[jumanji]

"Before I physically change anything...The backup of sector 0 & sector 63 will enable me to restore to pre-altered state??"

Yes for sure. That is what I do when I run my experiments on my Trial HDD. If only you had saved all the sectors shown in Bootice when you click on the partition button, today by simply restoring the backups you could have restored the drive back without going through all this rigmoral. Especially if it is a partition loss that had turned the drive RAW, just restoring sector 0, would have recovered the whole disk.

"Make sure those are backed up. By default it is saved in the bootice folder. File size: 512 bytes"
This does not appear to be the case..."

You mean those are not 512 bytes file size? Watch the following screenshots.





It is simply the 512 bytes in each sector.

Shall take a break again to continue later.. Shutting down my desktop . No power.

 

[jumanji]

I think I missed your post # 21.

1. Now post a screenshot of Windows Disk Management.

2. Post a screenshot of sector 0. Let me see whether the partition tables have been written into it.

Below your sector 0.



The 16 bytes highlighted pertains to your 32GB partition. The next 48 byte fields are empty showing partition loss. If Partition Wizard had written the partition tables pertaining to the other 3 partitions these would have been filled up (3x16 bytes).

I have to check what is the configuration error.

You can go to sleep and do it tomorrow morning. No need to burn the midnight oil. Only thing is it may take time. PW shows that all your data is there in all the three partitions. If we are unable to restore the drive for any reason we shall get into data recovery mode and copy all data.

 

[jumanji]

"The Invalid Config File error could be caused by the following 2 factors:
1. Partition Wizard is attacked by Virus.
2. It is a pirated version.
If you are using a legal version, reinstalling the program should fix the issue."

Just a copy/paste for you decide on it.

I would advise that you uninstall the pro version, install Free ver 9.1 - my post #3 - and repeat partition recovery. Let us go with a known devil known to work. But this after you post the screenshots asked in my post #23 and after checking whether or not the partition tables have been written into sector 0 ..

If we still get a config error then I shall crack my head. I have since the beginning noticed some discrepancies in the way Windows projected your drive and PW projected your drive. Windows-RAW PW - NTFS TestDisk - FAT32. Reason why I wanted sector 63 screenshot. It shows the partition is NTFS ( You can see it in the ASCII panel on the right side)

 

[WinDozeUser]

I did try PW 9.1 earlier, but the dialog boxes (after pressing "Partition Recovery") were so small and unable to be expanded... couldn't see the partitions so that I could check the boxes. Bizzare behavior in this free version, not sure why. This computer is a fresh install that has really not been used until now and the pirates version is out of the question. I will uninstall both ver 9.1 and 10.2 and reinstall 10. I'm a bit busy this morning, so do not stay up on my account.

My only Q for now is: do the backups look OK. They are not 512kb


We might just go with the recovery process even if it takes me a long time. I don't believe the drive is "slipping into oblivion" but rather has just been corrupted by USB inadvertent disconnects.

 

[jumanji]

.......My only Q for now is: do the backups look OK. They are not 512kb.....

In post #22 I have shown you how to check the file size. You may check the file properties. You can also hover the mouse over the file and the baloon popup will show the file size. It can't be anything other than 512 bytes. So don't worry about it. Everything should be OK with the backups structurily..

It is not a question of whether your OS is a fresh install or not. If you did not buy a licence for the PW Pro version and activate it with that licence key, it will not do the Partition Recovery. Pirated versions with Key also may not work.

Usually if you have an older version and then install a new version that installation process will automatically uninstall the old version and install the new version. I do not know how you managed to have both versions installed. Uninstall both and then install only version 9.1 and check..This version has been used by many on Windows 10 and they have not reported any problems. See Hard drive to RAW and unknown disk Solved - Windows 10 Forums where 9.1 was used. There is a screenshot also.

You did not post the current Windows Disk Management and the current sector 0 after you ran the Recovery Wizard. Please post the screenshots - at your own convenience but I need to see it to proceed further.

You can take your own time to do things. No need to be in a hurry. If you manage to write the partition tables in Sector 0 then things are going to be much easier. So do not lose patience.

 

[WinDozeUser]

My bad. Your post #22 had the info I needed. Each of the sectors(LBA0, LBA63, & Unallocated) were 512kb from the Win Properties dialog.

PW seemed to run just fine after uninstall and reinstall.

Results:

Computer Mgt:


Partition Wizard Pro 10.2.2


Any suggestions on how to proceed from here? I plan to make a backup of these newly recovered files, perform a chkdsk /f on each partition and maybe format the Drive for reuse. Will likely work on backing up the files from each partition and wait for suggestions from you. It is probably safe to merge the 32GB & 472GB partitions, but will wait for that as well.

 

[jumanji]

1. Are you able to access the files in the Music, ebooks and MY-DATA partitions? If you are able to access the files , then you may copy those files to another drive if you so desire. I don't mind and in fact recommend it.

2. You haven't posted the present sector 0 bootice screenshot after partition recovery. Post it. I need to see it.

3. I have already been planning to merge the 32GB and 472.3GB but for that we need to do some more work with Partition Wizard , then view sector 0 map again and do a surgery to sector 0 with bootice. We shall do that after you back up the data as in 1.

I would again emphasize that there is no need to hurry up. Do things at your own pace and time. I shall catch you. But furnish all the data that I require. You seem to be missing on it. ( Item 2 above)

 

[WinDozeUser]

1. Are you able to access the files in the Music, ebooks and MY-DATA partitions? If you are able to access the files , then you may copy those files to another drive if you so desire. I don't mind and in fact recommend it.

2. You haven't posted the present sector 0 bootice screenshot after partition recovery. Post it. I need to see it.

3. I have already been planning to merge the 32GB and 472.3GB but for that we need to do some more work with Partition Wizard , then view sector 0 map again and do a surgery to sector 0 with bootice. We shall do that after you back up the data as in 1.

I would again emphasize that there is no need to hurry up. Do things at your own pace and time. I shall catch you. But furnish all the data that I require. You seem to be missing on it. ( Item 2 above)

BootIce - Post-Op

Boot-Ice Overview


LBA0


LBA63 - Software_Zone


EBR_MUSIC


MUSIC


EBR ebooks


ebooks


EBR My-Data


My-Data


Unassigned Space

 

[jumanji]

"1. Are you able to access the files in the Music, ebooks and MY-DATA partitions? If you are able to access the files , then you may copy those files to another drive if you so desire. I don't mind and in fact recommend it"

You haven't answered. This info is necessary to proceed further. ( I would believe that you are able to do it but still I need a confirmation. In case you are unable to copy and make a backup then we need to resort to other means to get the data out)

When you have finished the backup let me know. Till you reply, I shall do nothing and relax

 

[WinDozeUser]

Kick back and relax. I am downloading the files, thus far, with not issues. I will likely be done sometime later tomorrow(my time)

 

[jumanji]

After you have finished backing up all the data in the Music, ebooks and MY-DATA partitions:

We shall a) make the 32GB + 472.3GB unallaocated into one single partition, b) make the Music, ebooks and MY-DATA partitions Primary ( no need for those to be logical volumes in the extended partition) and then examine how the drive looks in Windows Disk Management.

Process:

Safely Remove all external HDDs and Flash drives from your PC.

Reboot your PC for a clean start and plug in only the problem drive.

1. Launch Partition Wizard and right click on the 32GB partition and click on "Extend" in the menu. Take Free Space from: 472.3GB Unallocated. How much space do you want to take? : Move the slider to the right end (maximum size) and Click on "OK"

2. Right click on the Music Partition and in the Menu click on "Set Partition as Primary"

3 and 4: Repeat the same for the ebooks and MY-DATA partitions

Now 4 operations are pending. Click on APPLY in the top Menu Bar and keep twiddling your fingers till it executes all pending operations.

Huff! Now Partition Wizard will show 4 full Primary partitions. You can right click on the first partition and explore. Whatever you see there is what you will get finally.

( Remember this will write four new partition tables in sector 0 and four new volume boot records at the start sector of each partition and therefore the screenshots you put in your post #29 are no longer valid )

Close Partition Wizard and reboot your PC after safely removing the external drive.

After booting, plug in your external drive again and view the external drive in Windows Disk Management . Is the first partition still showing as RAW? Then

Run check disk from command prompt.

Open Command prompt. Start > All programs > Accessories > Command Prompt

Type
CHKDSK K: /f /v /r /x Press enter. Note: Replace K: with the actual drive letter of the RAW partition.Also note before every switch/option there is a space.

Allow check disk to complete. ( You should not abort checkdisk midway for any reason.)

After checkdisk completes does that partition show as NTFS and accessible? You only have to tell

 

[WinDozeUser]

Jumanji,

I have completed your homework assignment! All seem good. There are four Primary partitions, SOFTWARE_ZONE, ebooks, Music, and MY-Data. They are all accessible in windows explorer.

Q: Should I do a chkdsk on these individual partitions to insure they are error-free?

Q: When utilizing a HDD or SSD as a storage device only, such as this drive, is it always best to use Primary drives?

Q: When you assign a Drive letter to physical partitions, does it cause problems when attaching to a computer that already has that drive letter assigned? Seems like I did have some issues with this as I had the "ebooks" drive as E: and my computers can often have their drives or devices already assigned to E:



And thanks for you great help with this issue.

 

[jumanji]

Q: Should I do a chkdsk on these individual partitions to insure they are error-free?

Not necessary. If errors are found Windows itself will ask you/run checkdisk. However there is no bar if you want to run checkdisk for peace of mind. Go to Drive Properties > Tools > Check now. Easy way. Sufficient.



Q: When utilizing a HDD or SSD as a storage device only, such as this drive, is it always best to use Primary drives?

It is immaterial whether a particular MBR disk ( be it HDD or SSD) is a system disk or data disk. Sector 0 in which the partition tables reside has only 64 bytes space assigned to it. Each partition table is 16 byte in length. So only four partition tables (4x16 bytes) can be accomodated. So an MBR disk can only have four partitions and these four are known as Primary partitions. If you do not want more than four partitions, then keep them so. This is how the MBR structure was designed and defined in the first place. See my post #7 here Disk Mgmt ask to initialize a drive that isn't there. - Windows 7 Help Forums

When the need for more partitions arose with increasing hard drive capacity, then the fourth primary partition was made into an extended partition into which logical partitions can be defined. The number of logical drives one can have in a disk is only limited by the number of alphabets (drive letters) left.

If all this sounds greek and latin it is sufficient for one to know that on an MBR drive can have four primary partitions or three primary and 20 or so logical partitions.

Q: When you assign a Drive letter to physical partitions, does it cause problems when attaching to a computer that already has that drive letter assigned? Seems like I did have some issues with this as I had the "ebooks" drive as E: and my computers can often have their drives or devices already assigned to E:

Drive letters on a PC are assigned dynamically ( they do not get written into the drive ) When you plug in a drive into the PC, the next available letter in that Windows PC is assigned. It may not always be the same letter in every PC. When you unplug the drive, Windows releases that drive letter and it will be available for any other drive that you may plug in. If and when you think/face any drive letter issue,seek help here.

If your principal problem is resolved , then mark this thread as solved. It can help others facing similar issue.

NOTE: You may now delete all the previous screenshots taken / saved with bootice. Save the current partition structure instead.

I feel like dancing.

Enjoy.

 

[WinDozeUser]

Ha! Great video. Your lucky I'm not a member of kkk or I would be made right now. I love the video & really dislike out president. But we will oust him by 2020 so lets hold our breaths until then. Then we can make friends with our neighbors once again.

Your explanation of drive partitioning may be informative, but it's far from Greek or Latin.

Thanks once again.
Brian