External HDD switched from NTFS to RAW
Posted: 15 Apr 2012, 06:30
I've been searching the forum and cannot find anything that seems to match the problem I'm having. I don't have a log file yet because the analysis is still running. It took 2 hours to finish 1%, so I should have a log file in just under 9 days. That's why I'm writing now. If this seems familiar, I'd like to skip the analysis and get right to the fix.
My External 200GB Hard Drive lost all its files but kept all the folders in the root directory. The folders all appear to be empty except to two files in the root directory of the drive. This is on a Windows Vista machine.
SYMPTOMS from Windows perspective:
Windows Explorer sees all folders in root directory but they are empty except two folders which have 1 folder in each of them that are also empty.
I can enter all folders mentioned above.
Disk Properties shows 101GB used and 84.8GB available.
Disk Properties shows File System: NTFS
Disk Management shows File System as NTFS, Healthy, and Active Primary
SYMPTOMS from Command Line perspective:
Can go to H: Drive
Directory listing from the root directory shows all the folders that Windows found.
Dir /x shows the long names and the short names
Cannot Change Directory to any folders that are listed. “The system cannot find the file specified.”
ATTEMPTS and RESULTS:
sfc /scannow completed and found no errors.
chkdsk will not run on a disk in RAW format. This is what told me it was in RAW format. Nothing else did.
TestDisk 6.13 on initial analysis gets Partition: Read Error
Deeper Scan shows read errors (where X = digits that keep changing):
Drive H: - 200 GB / 186 GiB – CHS xxxxxxxxx 1 1
Analyse cylinder XXXXXXX/XXXXXXXXX: 00%
Read error at XXXXXXX/X/X (lba=XXXXXXX)
Stopped Deeper Scan because it didn’t appear to be doing anything. When I realized what the numbers meant, I realized I hadn't made it to 1% yet. That's when restarted it. Two hours later I hit 1%.
If this drive is toasted, I have no reason to wait 9 days. It might be quicker if I can copy the data to another drive and reformat this one. If I can repair the drive without the analysis, that would be fine too.
I've searched the forum, but can't find a situation where some information is there and most is missing. For everyone else, the errors are pretty straight forward. Either they are prompted to reformat or everything is just gone. My drive seems a little half and half.
Has anyone seen this before?
My External 200GB Hard Drive lost all its files but kept all the folders in the root directory. The folders all appear to be empty except to two files in the root directory of the drive. This is on a Windows Vista machine.
SYMPTOMS from Windows perspective:
Windows Explorer sees all folders in root directory but they are empty except two folders which have 1 folder in each of them that are also empty.
I can enter all folders mentioned above.
Disk Properties shows 101GB used and 84.8GB available.
Disk Properties shows File System: NTFS
Disk Management shows File System as NTFS, Healthy, and Active Primary
SYMPTOMS from Command Line perspective:
Can go to H: Drive
Directory listing from the root directory shows all the folders that Windows found.
Dir /x shows the long names and the short names
Cannot Change Directory to any folders that are listed. “The system cannot find the file specified.”
ATTEMPTS and RESULTS:
sfc /scannow completed and found no errors.
chkdsk will not run on a disk in RAW format. This is what told me it was in RAW format. Nothing else did.
TestDisk 6.13 on initial analysis gets Partition: Read Error
Deeper Scan shows read errors (where X = digits that keep changing):
Drive H: - 200 GB / 186 GiB – CHS xxxxxxxxx 1 1
Analyse cylinder XXXXXXX/XXXXXXXXX: 00%
Read error at XXXXXXX/X/X (lba=XXXXXXX)
Stopped Deeper Scan because it didn’t appear to be doing anything. When I realized what the numbers meant, I realized I hadn't made it to 1% yet. That's when restarted it. Two hours later I hit 1%.
If this drive is toasted, I have no reason to wait 9 days. It might be quicker if I can copy the data to another drive and reformat this one. If I can repair the drive without the analysis, that would be fine too.
I've searched the forum, but can't find a situation where some information is there and most is missing. For everyone else, the errors are pretty straight forward. Either they are prompted to reformat or everything is just gone. My drive seems a little half and half.
Has anyone seen this before?