Hard Drive gone!!!

gregrocker · 20 Nov 2013

You must APPLY the Partition Wizard change as shown in the video? Did you? This is critical since if it will apply your data should be seen from Win7.

If as Jumanji posits you initiated the UEFI install to GPT disk, the question becomes how this was done with no evidence of a UEFI mobo, and since it shows 200gb of content on the HD the data may still be there and hopefully not scrambled. Do you remember some type of install starting after booting the installer in UEFI mode, rather than running it from Win7 which is how a Repair Install is actually done?

I am at MVP Global Summit in Seattle and just asked a SevenForums pioneer John Corrona what should be the priority here and he said that since obviously things are being messed with without knowing what's going on exactly, data recovery should become the priority before things get messed up worse. He said that the recovery that will work best with NTFS in this case is GetDataBack. So if PW will not assign a drive letter to access data, I would scan with that tool to see if it finds the data next.

mdieckmeyer · 20 Nov 2013

1. "You must APPLY the Partition Wizard change as shown in the video? Did you?" Yes. The letter didn't stick after a reboot.

2. "Do you remember some type of install starting after booting the installer in UEFI mode, rather than running it from Windows 7 which is how a Repair Install is actually done?" I honestly don't recall anything unusual. I did the Repair install from my Win7 CD. Can't give you a definite answer, sorry.

I'll try scanning with GetDataBack and post results.

Thank you for your help.

Marty

mdieckmeyer · 20 Nov 2013

I stated GetDataBack and it shows the 2nd partition as a Mac OS X. Is this normal??? See image.

mdieckmeyer · 20 Nov 2013

Ok, I got all the data back with GetDataBack!!! Woo Hoo!!

So I guess I can reformat the HDD as an NTFS and reuse it, correct?

gregrocker · 20 Nov 2013

I would wipe the HD withDiskpart Clean Command or Partition Wizard Wipe Disk - Video Help, then Create and Format new Logical data partition(s) using Partition Wizard Create Partition - Video Help.

TVeblen · 20 Nov 2013

Your solution is to recover all your data off that disk, then reformat it as a MBR disk, then copy all of your data back.

By design, Windows machines may have a mix of MBR and GPT disks, but Windows must boot from the GPT disk when you have such a mix.

I am guessing that startup repair 'solved' a problem by ignoring Disk 3.

An alternative solution might be to reformat Disk 1 (with the C: drive on it) as GPT and then reinstall Windows and all your programs on it. I've never tried this personally, sounds like too much work, and I can't say it will definitely work.

If you know someone who has a PC with Windows installed on a GPT disk - probably has a very new PC with an UEFI bios - then you could connect your Disk 3 to that and I bet everything will show up fine so you can recover your data.

TVeblen · 20 Nov 2013

One other question: when you built this computer, and first installed Windows 7, did you have all 4 drives connected at the time? Or did you have only Disk 1 connected?

jumanji · 20 Nov 2013

mdieckmeyer said:

Ok, I got all the data back with GetDataBack!!! Woo Hoo!!

So I guess I can reformat the HDD as an NTFS and reuse it, correct?

Just curious to know whether you purchased the USD 80 license to copy all data to another hard drive - for the trial version will only show the files but will not copy.

If you had indeed purchased the USD 80 license, then you must be a rich guy.:)

You could have tried PhotoRec which is free and if successful, you could have saved $80.

Anyway all is well that ends well.

mdieckmeyer · 24 Nov 2013

TVeblen said:

One other question: when you built this computer, and first installed Windows 7, did you have all 4 drives connected at the time? Or did you have only Disk 1 connected?

I did

mdieckmeyer · 24 Nov 2013

jumanji said:

mdieckmeyer said:

Ok, I got all the data back with GetDataBack!!! Woo Hoo!!

So I guess I can reformat the HDD as an NTFS and reuse it, correct?

Just curious to know whether you purchased the USD 80 license to copy all data to another hard drive - for the trial version will only show the files but will not copy.

If you had indeed purchased the USD 80 license, then you must be a rich guy.:)

$80 is not being rich! It's a deal, especially when the data is worth $1,000's!

Thanks for all your help.

SOLVED!