No partition visible on SSD - has no endmark 0xaa55
Posted: 13 Mar 2013, 23:19
Hi all,
I have a Lenovo T61p that had an SSD drive install on it and Windows7 64 bit. It was working fit for months, but earlier this week it wouldn't boot up, saying that 'no operating system was found'. I've since tried many things, but to no avail. Any tips or hints are greatly appreciated. Here's a rough summary of what I've tried:
-W7 boot CD, when I go to system recovery options, it doesn't list an operating system
-- startup repair: just runs for hours and gets nowhere
-- System restore: can't find any to restore from
-- Windows memory diagnostic tool: gives me an error and says it can't run (I forget the specific error, could run it again to check if it's important).
-- Command prompt: loads to the C drive and lists the folders present. I can navigate through a limited amount (no access to user folders, probably because I had a password on it)
-Partition Wizard bood CD
-- it listed the entire drive as unallocated, and after a 14Hr deep scan, couldn't find anything
-Power Data Recovery boot CD
-- Lost partition recovery: after a quick scan and deep scan, it lists no partitions
-TestDisk, via PartedMagic on the ultimate boot CD
-- first it asks if it's bigger than 137GB, but it's a 128GB drive
-- Analyse: it lists no partitions, and says "partition sector doesn't have the endmark 0xaa55", after a quick and deeper scan, it still lists nothing
-- Advanced: it says no partition available, and lists no options
I've tried to search for posts with similar issues but had no luck.
Is it time for me to try the MBR code? Or is there something else I can try?
Thank you all in advance!
Eli
I have a Lenovo T61p that had an SSD drive install on it and Windows7 64 bit. It was working fit for months, but earlier this week it wouldn't boot up, saying that 'no operating system was found'. I've since tried many things, but to no avail. Any tips or hints are greatly appreciated. Here's a rough summary of what I've tried:
-W7 boot CD, when I go to system recovery options, it doesn't list an operating system
-- startup repair: just runs for hours and gets nowhere
-- System restore: can't find any to restore from
-- Windows memory diagnostic tool: gives me an error and says it can't run (I forget the specific error, could run it again to check if it's important).
-- Command prompt: loads to the C drive and lists the folders present. I can navigate through a limited amount (no access to user folders, probably because I had a password on it)
-Partition Wizard bood CD
-- it listed the entire drive as unallocated, and after a 14Hr deep scan, couldn't find anything
-Power Data Recovery boot CD
-- Lost partition recovery: after a quick scan and deep scan, it lists no partitions
-TestDisk, via PartedMagic on the ultimate boot CD
-- first it asks if it's bigger than 137GB, but it's a 128GB drive
-- Analyse: it lists no partitions, and says "partition sector doesn't have the endmark 0xaa55", after a quick and deeper scan, it still lists nothing
-- Advanced: it says no partition available, and lists no options
I've tried to search for posts with similar issues but had no luck.
Is it time for me to try the MBR code? Or is there something else I can try?
Thank you all in advance!
Eli