external hard disk which is not displaying data stored in it

@sheena bansal



TestDisk: For most part you will be following the TestDisk procedure mentioned here UPDATED How To Fix: External Disk Drive Suddenly Became RAW Unknown Kadath

Download TestDisk the stable version 7.0 for Windows from here TestDisk Download - CGSecurity ( Scroll down in the page and you will see 7.0.) Extract the testdisk-7.0.win.zip to the root of your system drive C:. You will run testdisk_win.exe in the extracted testdisk-7.0 folder.

On your 1TB disk create a folder named Recovery. This will be your destination to copy the files.

Plugin your faulty 2TB disk ( Source Disk) and also the 1TB disk ( Destination Disk)

Run testdisk_win.exe by clicking/double clicking on it.

[Within the TestDisk Window you will be navigating ( selecting by moving the Highlight) with up/down, left/right arrow keys. Read the contents in each window. Anytime a different Window appears stop, post the screenshot, ask for clarification. You can at anytime close TestDisk by clicking on the X at top right in the title bar]

Screen 1: Move the highlight to [No Log]and press Enter Key. We do not need the log.

Screen 2: This screen will show the System disk, the 1TB destination disk and 2TB faulty disk. Move the highlight to your faulty 2TB disk. ( Select only disk and not the drives shown below the disks) Please note the drive letter of your 1TB destination disk ( you will require it later to navigate to the Recovery folder in that disk to copy the files) and press Enter key.

Screen 3: Highlight [Intel] if not already highlighted and press Enter.

Screen 4: This screen in your case may or may not show the partition structure . [Quick Search] may be highlighted. Press Enter

Screen 5: Type y if it asks if the disk was made in Vista/Win7 and press Enter

Screen 6: You will see the search scanning your disk.

Screen 7: Will appear on completion of the search. Does it show any partition/s found? Highlight it and then press P ( Shift+P, Capital ) to list the folders.

If the files and folders are shown you can copy those to your destination disk. If your destination drive letter is I: your destination to copy will be Directory I: \Recovery. ( Replace I: with the drive letter of the destination disk you noted in screen 2)

Give the copy command.

Copying files listed by TestDisk during Recovery: Post #28 here My external hard drive suddenly became unllocated: - Page 3 - Windows 7 Help Forums ( screenshot 5 onwards)

Hi All,
Greets,
Sir/Madam,
Sorry for the delay, i was just waiting where i can do something!
1) So Partition Wizard really did not do anything. It still shows an anamalous partition starting at sector 0 and the real partition starting at sector 2048. I really did not want to do that for I know for sure that sector 0 which is the heart of any HDD has gone bad but Vineet Garg said why not try and I said OK .
Rightly, partition recovery wizard did not do anything. I emphasised on running it & am a little disappointed with the software. Sir, please go your way, your experience is unmatched.
2) Sir, your cloning idea is great ! Will i get some time to work with ? I want to use Macrium Reflect Free. It is unmatched! Though i use it regularly to make & restore system images, but cloning is a little different thing. The fact is when we make clone of a disk or partition by drag & drop in macrium , only its healthy sectors are copied as you said ! Here i have to see how an unallocated drive/partition (drive: here) is cloned by drag & drop!
Besides, while it is cloned the way, no harm will be done to the disk's present status. So, we can use a number of good cloning utilities, one after other, but would somebody like to advise other cloning utilities which is as good as macrium !
One more thing to add is while cloning any partition/drive, only the space occupied is needed on the other drive. But here the things are little different, So one should make sure the effective storage of the new drive is at least as big as the original's effective storage capacity! I would go for 3 TB ! If the original drive can't be repaired (i don't know !), mam has to go for new drive anyway !
3) When she was working with the partition wizard recovery, there was a warning box saying to switch to High Performance Plan instead of a power saving or even balanced power plan! So, before doing anything, switch to High Performance Plan in power options. ( One thing is to mention that its possible that switching to High Performance Plan triggers the cooling fans a bit early.) ( It's advised to save laptop from the heat by using a good laptop bed )
4)would it not be better to pay to some Data recovery service
Mam you can buy data recovery services irrespective of buying a new disk or not, even good independent services are there. Today, the things are so advanced that one can't imagine but make sure that the services are good !
5) how to make sure such an issue never occurs with other external drives?
Follow good practices for eg. never go for defragmentation or wiping of the external disks, handle with care, save from heat, dust, other infected devices!,etc. Of course make 200 gb sized partitions on such big external drives! So, if something happens to a particular area/sector, you lose/work with only that ! This way i faced only one problem i.e. when i connect the drive to my laptop, my antivirus starts scanning them all in different/individual instances as multiple drives are on scan ! ( I don't scan external hard drives as they are dedicated to the laptops & laptops have Kaspersky Antivirus on them )
6) which brand to go for if I decide to buy a 3 TB HD
Mam, I have no idea about that but i have seagate . But when i came to know that the WD belongs to SanDisk, suddenly its respect was raised in my mind. But everything is made by out sourcing now ! You can make sure one which is made in Japan,Germany and not only by a company of Japan, Germany,etc.!
Thats for now ! let me know!

Thanks & Regards. ...

Hi All,
Sir(s),
@jumanji: I am sorry to admit that the matter is beyond my understanding & reach. So, i give up here ! All the best to you & sheena !

( Go for the high performance power plan for this particular troubleshooting.
Power Plan - Select - Windows 7 Help Forums
The missing device PCI has to be taken into account once the troubleshooting completes )

Thanks & Regards. ...