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GParted warns "Can't have a partition outside the disk".

Posted: 17 Jun 2013, 17:43
by AndyII
First, let me say that I know I'm in a TestDisk forum. I mention GParted as just another tool to get information so that I can use TestDisk properly. I'm trying to fix my partitions using TestDisk.

I'm having an issue with a 2TB Seagate Expansion drive where it suddenly went to a raw format. I've tried several different things and one of them was to boot up with the Ultimate Boot CD and try to see the files with one of those programs. However, most of them don't even see an external drive.

GParted will see both internal disks and the external but is giving me mixed results that I don't quite understand. On one of the internal disks and the external disk, it gives me this warning: "Warning: Can't have a partition outside the disk!" The internal disk is working perfectly, but GParted shows the space as unallocated. The external disk requires a little more description.

Several softwares reported that the external disk has 243201 cylinders, yet TestDisk was showing it as 243202. GParted was showing this disk as having an NTFS File System and an error flag in the Partition column. For the other disks, TestDisk reported the same numbers as the other softwares did so I made an assumption that the geometry was incorrect. I changed the geometry to 243201 cylinders and now GParted is showing the File System as unallocated and gives the same warning mentioned above.

I have yet to have any software be able to see the files except for PhotoRec, but that doesn't help me since I need to see filenames. I haven't been able to list them in any partition that TestDisk finds. Other software recovery programs can still see the disk since it has a drive letter, but error when trying to view the contents.

_______________________________________________ /dev/sda _____________ /dev/sdd
Disk Geometry (CHS in TestDisk) ____ 19929 255 63 _________ 243201 255 63
Testdisk's Size in sectors: ______________320175387 _____________ 3907040067
GParted's Total Sectors: _______________ 320173056 _____________ 3907029164
===============================================================
Difference in sectors: _________________________ 2331 ____________________10903

An interesting observations: First, when I was going back and forth in TestDisk menus to get the above information, the number of cylinders increased by one for each of the above disks. Second, in both of the above disks, the Boot and Backup Boot Sectors are NOT identical.

How can I fix these and accomplish finding my lost data on one disk and not losing any data on the other disk?