Harddisk appears as local disk

Page 20 of 20 FirstFirst ... 10181920

  1. Posts : 2,171
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #191

    Slartybart said:
    The suspense is killing me =:>
    You've got that right!

    Slartybart said:
    re: thee representations of the drive. I think Testdisk could have cleaned that up as well, but saving the data was of foremost importance. The drive should be replaced, I'm sure Seagate will do the right thing.
    To be honest, that's where I thought Windows might have been interfering; I didn't think Testdisk would clear that up, instead I thought there was some Windows cleanup required (in addition to the cleanup the drive itself may have needed).

    Slartybart said:
    re: USB boot. stoleaway's cousin is the only one who can answer that. The two screens are clearly Windows, so I think they are before and after snaps-I don't think they were captured as part of the USB boot, run test disk process - could be wrong though.
    I don't know. I've used Testdisk/Photorec under Win and Linux, but just don't recall what all of the differences were in the output. Maybe jumanji does and can comment on that. I've never used it under DOS and was rather surprised at the output (jumanji's screenshot).

    Slartybart said:
    stoleaway is working more hours on the job and is probably taking a well deserved rest after this marathon thread.
    Let's hope he gets a break and gets the opportunity to respond. In the meantime, I think it's appropriate to use the thread to do some analysis (compare thoughts at least) as it's relevant to the topic (and may even be useful for anyone stumbling across it).

    Slartybart said:
    If I didn't say it before, thanks everyone..
    Ditto on that, for sure!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #192

    Hi Slartybart and F5ing,

    Check this reference » How To Fix: External Disk Drive Suddenly Became RAW which wb303 has provided here: Hard Drive Wants Me To Format It But There Is Data On It ( I have already repped him for sharing that link.))

    The learned author therein has actually tried TestDisk in a real recovery situation and definitely it throws more light.

    The points to note:

    1. ANALYZE may show what looks like incorrect partition data. ( The author seems to know why but does not explain perhaps not to confuse and only maintain focus on the objective of data recovery. ( I have no clue of what it could be.:) It may have something to do what is on the hard drive - a virtual drive ?????)

    2. Irrespective, Close your eyes to that and do a QUICKSEARCH.

    3. If the partition that comes up shows only some files that are not of relevance, [Q] [ENTER] to go back and do a DEEPER SEARCH. That brings the real Partition Structure. ( Check and Recover Files if you want)

    4. After confirming that you have the right partition data, go back and then WRITE the partition table.

    5. If a boot sector repair is prompted BACKUP BS - if it is indicated OK in the window or REBUILD BS.
    Last edited by jumanji; 15 Nov 2012 at 03:57.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 2,171
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #193

    Great find jumanji!

    There's a critical point mentioned in the page that was linked to in that thread, that I don't think gets mentioned often enough when messing with hard drives:

    Before proceeding beyond this point, you need to be aware of the risks involved. If the problem with the drive is not simply a logical error but is a manifestation of physical damage then the more you use it and try to repair, the worse the damage may become.
    That's a problem when folks recommend a chkdsk run without being aware of how healthy the drive is. At a minimum I always do a quick check (check SMART at least) on drive health before doing anything.

    I've recovered data from a few hard drives, and I've always ended up doing the Deeper Search. I'm not positive, but I think what may be happening is that during the Deeper Search it's actually going to the partition file tables and file data, and then reconciling the info it finds there with what it found in the MBR/PBR. Again, I'm not really sure why, but that's what I've always had to do to get the data recovered.

    Seems like every time I've used Testdisk on a drive where the data's been scrambled, erroneous partition data is often displayed until a Deeper Search has been run. Depressing at first, until the Deeper Search finishes and shows the correct info.

    By the way, for what it's worth, I support your comment (in the other thread) about running it from alternate media (live linux CD/pendrive). For one thing, just to ensure that the running OS isn't interfering. Always good to take a look at the problematic drive from two perspectives anyway.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 6,458
    x64 (6.3.9600) Win8.1 Pro & soon dual boot x64 (6.1.7601) Win7_SP1 HomePrem
       #194

    Testdisk has a few layers to it. I was going to try and get to the next layer when stoleaway announced SUCCESS using it off-line (USB boot). This is what I meant when I said we'll deviate from the illustrated guide - the intent was to get to the BS screen (unfortunately, I categorized it as boot manager - should have said boot sector). It sounds as though a full fledge SF tutorial is needed for this powerful tool. The Testdisk site has loads of examples and documentation to draw upon.

    So how was this resolved?

    1. Update Windows to SP1
      -> resolve SP1 update issues

    2. Test other components
      1. try drive in other USB ports
      2. try another USB cable
      3. try drive on another machine
      4. remove ghost devices using device manager


    3. Testdisk - following jumanji's illustrated guide
      ->a number of attempts were not successful
      ->could not get to the advanced screen (fix boot sector)
      ->boot from USB drive, run Testdisk outside of windows
      ----->this seems to be the key to this situation
      ----->note that Testdisk 6.14 was used


      A backup of the data was created and the drive was RMA'd to Seagate. No further action was taken to resolve the way the drive was represented in Testdisk. The Testdisk site does provide some examples for different scenarios and I think if the drive was out of warranty, the tool could have resolved that as well. Since the data was recovered and the drive was still under warranty, there was no need to pursue it further.


      This thread should be marked solved.


    That's about it in a nutshell
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 21,004
    Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
       #195

    So Bill I have just read through that guide and forgive my ignorance is this better than DISKPART for showing up any drives because I have always been able to find drives normally hidden using that feature.

    The only other thing I can think of is does it go on to repair the disk? I am not real sure on that point.

    If this is as good or better than DP then it is a wonder Microsoft have not cottoned onto it by now.

    One last thing it mentions putting it (Testdisk) on your C: drive could this also be run from a stick if the machine you were trying to fix was log jammed I'm thinking of say booting from it?
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 51
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600 Multiprocessor Free
    Thread Starter
       #196

    sorry all for the late reply! was busy with my cousin's wedding, work, tests and all ><

    hmm my cousin said that he tried booting from a USB? and then he plugged in my ext harddisk again and even though it takes a while for it to load (I think about 10 mins or so?) then something will pop up? like when you plug it in and they will ask you to scan/ repair the harddisk or something? then my cousins said he clicked that and waited and all is done.

    once again, really thankful to you guys who helped & am sorry for the late reply!
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 6,458
    x64 (6.3.9600) Win8.1 Pro & soon dual boot x64 (6.1.7601) Win7_SP1 HomePrem
       #197

    Congratulations to your cousin on their wedding.

    Glad you posted what worked for you, although it sounds s though Testdisk wasn't part of the solution. If I understand correctly
    the machine was booted normally
    the ext HD was plugged in
    eventually the system responded with a recommendation to scan the disk
    the scan was launched (normally with only the fix errors box checked - not sure in your case though)
    waited until the scan finished
    drive was usable

    Funny thing, this actually coincides with something I've been experiencing with my WD ext HD.
    My symptoms were the drives were unwritable... I could read them fine, at accepted speeds.
    USB 2.0 drive on USB 3.0 port

    If I rescanned the drive in Disk management, it might report the status as read-only but not always. Regardless, I could not write to the disk.

    For a while I would just open an elevated command prompt and launch Diskpart to clear the read-only bit, even though he read-only bit wasn't set on the volume or the disk - clearing it still resolved the issue.... for a while.

    After I installed new drives on my new machine (unrelated), I decided to revisit the ext HD issue (thanks in part to helping you with the issue you had with your ext HD)

    I moved the data to my main drive and cleaned all the ext HD.
    the drive was re-partitioned and before I moved the data back to it, I wanted to experiment / test the drive. Quite an interesting number of revelations.

    At one point Disk Management told me that one of the NTFS parts was a FAT32 - ok.... delete it and recreate it.
    At another point the 1st part grew 1 MB (100 +1), but Computer reported 1 less MB (100 -1).
    For each drive created, Diskpart reported 1 MB unallocated (free) - this is just an observation, I believe the "new" NTFS filesystem introduced in Vista has a 1 MB buffer.
    No matter how I configured the parts, (all primary, 3 primary, 1 extended) the readonly problem persisted.
    I changed the disk policy from quick removal to better performance (write-behind) and finally back to quick removal. Again, nothing seemed to resolve the readonly issue.

    I chkdsk'd I defrag'd I formatted, and answered yes each time the system asked me to check the disk before use.

    Only once did the system warn me about the dirty bit being set. This, I believe, is the crux of the matter. Something isn't finishing normally and leaving a write as incomplete. I have two suspicions - 1) Indexing, and 2) Libraries -Explorer and or Media Player.

    If that is the case, there's isn't much I can do to resolve it - other than using the work arounds (diskpart clear readonly and chkdsk)

    I also noticed that if I tick the "fix filesystem errors" on chkdsk, the drive I'm checking is reported Local Disk (hey.... isn't that how you opened this thread in the first place?). If I follow that with a chkdsk with no boxes ticked, the volume name appears back in Computer. More importantly...... the drive is writeable (it might take two scans)

    chkdsk - fix filesystem errors - ticked, followed by
    chkdsk - no boxes - ticked (until I can write to the drive)

    For now the drive is working far better than it has in the past few years.....and I have an easy workaround.

    Sooooo, my friend, you are welcome and I have to thank you as well.


    Bill
    .
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 51
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600 Multiprocessor Free
    Thread Starter
       #198

    thanks alot, really ^^
      My Computer


 
Page 20 of 20 FirstFirst ... 10181920

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 14:14.
Find Us