External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW

WinDozeUser · 03 Dec 2017

I have a:
Seagate BarraCuda Green ST1500DL003 1.5TB
5900 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

It was formatted as NTFS and partitioned. One partition does not show up at all, a second one shows up as Unallocated with no drive letter, and a third partition shows up as having a drive letter, but with the RAW file system/not NTFS. Below is a "Computer Management" view:

DISK 2 is the drive in question...

Attachment 401901

Some posts here on this topic mentioned possible ways to recover these partitions.
I have Partition Wizard 10.2 with Partition Recovery options. So I opened it up and started a quick scan.
The image below is what I remember the Drive partitions to be except the "Unallocated 472.3GB" Drive should be labeled SOFTWARE.

Attachment 401902

Should I select "Apply" to start this recovery??? Don't want to mess this up. Or should I run the advanced scan first?

Thanks

Wanted to check here before I run this software for a fix.

Megahertz07 · 04 Dec 2017

Don't use external links to post images. Use the paper clip on the top right menu.

Don't try to fix it.
First post an full image of Disk management Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image - Windows 7 Help Forums

jumanji · 04 Dec 2017

I shall await for a proper Windows Disk Management screenshot.

How to post a proper screen capture image of your Disk Management screen

Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image - Windows 7 Help Forums

Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums

Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums - Windows 7 Help Forums

Next uninstall Partition Wizard Free 10.2. Partition Recovery is not free from ver 10.0 and above. Download and install version 9.1 from MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 10.2.2 Download for Windows / Old Versions / FileHorse.com

Run it and post a screenshot of how your problem drive looks in it - the very first screen when you launch it.(Please remove all other external drives and flash drives. Have only the problem drive plugged in when you take the above screenshots)

Do not attempt any data recovery on your own.You will be doing so at your own risk.

WinDozeUser · 04 Dec 2017

Disregard the previous img posts. I am moving this operation to my fastest computer.
The Partition Wizard version I have is 1.2.2 Pro, so it has no restrictions.
Will post pics as soon as I do a scan.

WinDozeUser · 04 Dec 2017

Computer Management(Windows)(Disk 6 is the drive in question)

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-01-computermgt.jpg

Here are some images from PW scans...

Partition Wizard - Overview (Disk 3 is the Drive in question)

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-02-pw-overview.jpg

Partition Wizard - Simple Scan - full disk

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-03-partrec_qs.jpg

Things look pretty good here. The "Unallocated" space(472.3GB) should be the partition labeled SOFTWARE.

Partition Wizard - Full Scan - full disk
coming shortly...well not exactly!

In progress(Full Scan)

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-04a-partrec_fs.jpg

The Lost/Deleted listing occurs a lot in FULL SCAN Mode as I was scanning last night. Each Lost/Delete listing seems to be the same...Label/Used Size/Size - Boot/2.45MB/3.01MB

Q: Do I really need a full scan? @ current rate the FULL SCAN may take up to 20hrs to complete.

Q: Would making a image of this disk insure no data loss prior to making any "fixes?" (Backup software like Acronis True Image) In other words, If the attempt to rebuild partition info fails, restoring an image to the drive could be restored to pre fix state. Or will the MBR be messed up after restore?

Appreciate the help Megahertz07 & jumanji

jumanji · 04 Dec 2017

Edit: You can quit full scan. No use of it.

"It was formatted as NTFS and partitioned. One partition does not show up at all, a second one shows up as Unallocated with no drive letter, and a third partition shows up as having a drive letter, but with the RAW file system/not NTFS. Below is a "Computer Management" view:"

Your above description in the first post does not match fully with the screenshot of Windows Disk Management. Never mind.

1. In the PW searched partitions list where you have put a tick mark, double click on each partition and see whether it shows all your files ( It is clearly mentioned there. and if you aren't a "junior Windows user" you shouldn't have clearly missed it :) )

2. At the moment I don't think you need to image your whole drive. If at all I would take an image of sector 0 MBR + Partition tables) and keep it. If during fixing it up we botch it,we can restore it from the backup. Again if you aren't a "junior Windows user" you shouldn't have clearly missed it :) ) Don't take it seriously. Just pulling your legs :).

3. Quick Scan did not find the volume boot record of your 472.3 GB Software partition and that is why it remains unallocated. I would rather try to find out if it is really missing or corrupted and if so what is the status of the backup boot sector, using TestDisk for Windows. If you are going to jump at it and download TestDisk, download the stable version 7.0 and not the beta 7.1. If you are going to experiment with it, go ahead and do but do not give any write command to write the partition table.

4. Already bedtime for me. So wait till my tom morning to give further instructions.

jumanji · 04 Dec 2017

OK, go with my post #8 here error on new Samsung 850 EVO NAND SSD Solved - Windows 7 Help Forums and post the screen #5. I shall see it tom morning.

WinDozeUser · 04 Dec 2017

OK, here are some images of TestDisk 7.0

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-01-testdisk-disk-size.jpg

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-02-testdisk-disk-size.jpg

Performed a QuickSearch

External USB HDD changed from NTFS to RAW-03-testdisk-scan-results.jpg

Had the above errors and decided not to "Continue"
The computer is idle with TestDisk still at the previous screen. I now consider myself a novice when it comes to MBR repair!! Waiting for reply before proceeding.

FYI:
Had run a "Surface Test" with Partition Wizard yesterday which revealed 3000+ errors, but did not fix them.
...in case this is of value.

testdisk.log

jumanji · 04 Dec 2017

You can close TestDisk anytime by clicking on the X in the top right of Title bar. Close it now.

Are you following the exact sequence as in my post error on new Samsung 850 EVO NAND SSD Solved - Windows 7 Help Forums

Please run TestDisk again, take a screenshot of each and every screen as you proceed and post it in sequence ( Take the screenshot before you hit enter on each screen). Otherwise I won't be able to determine whether you are on the right course - given your screenshots vary from what I expect.

WinDozeUser · 04 Dec 2017

jumanji said:

You can close TestDisk anytime by clicking on the X in the top right of Title bar. Close it now.

Are you following the exact sequence as in my post error on new Samsung 850 EVO NAND SSD Solved - Windows 7 Help Forums

Please run TestDisk again, take a screenshot of each and every screen as you proceed and post it in sequence. Otherwise I won't be able to determine whether you are on the right course.

Working on it right now...