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NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 12 Apr 2016, 01:25
by Beowulf6666
Hello,

I need a little bit of help and after pending a good 12 hours today trying to go through forums and google to try and fix this issue i have caved and decided to ask the smarter people for help.

I have a WD caviar black (less than 1.5 yo) external hdd.
This morning i woke up to find it saying its inaccessible. So after a bit of googling i found the TestDisk.

Firstly i tried these steps (with no results!!!!) mind you the results said both primary and backup boot sectors were bad

A. At the first window, select “No Log” and press the <Enter> key.
B. Select which drive to analyse, choose “Proceed” and <Enter>.
C. Select partition type – Intel if it’s a PC then <Enter>.
D. Select “Advanced” then <Enter>. The drive will be analysed.
E. Select the partition and choose "Type", then <Enter>.
F. Choose 07 (NTFS), press <Enter>.
G. Confirm by typing "07", press <Enter>.
H. Choose "Boot", <Enter>.
I. Select "Rebuild BS", <Enter>.
J. Choose "List". <Enter>.
K. Can you see your files? If so, choose "Write", <Enter>.

Type testdisk and press enter.
Choose No Log and hit enter
Make sure that your disk is highlighted
Choose Proceed and hit enter
Select Intel and hit enter
Select Advanced and hit enter
Make sure that the problematic partition is highlighted and
Select Boot and hit enter

Neither of the two actually worked....so i went back to the cgsecurity.org site where I tried to follow these steps here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step but after the analysis i am missing the "list" option to check my files...also...it shows it to be FAT16 and not NTFS.

Image

I left the testdisk window open at this stage...just in case you need me to take any further action (as it took me a few good hours to run the analyser)

Please help me.

I run Win7 ult (64 bit)
If you require any other details please let me know

Thanks

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 12 Apr 2016, 19:52
by cgrenier
If you select I:, you need to use partition type None.
It's better to select the corresponding PhysicalDrive, PC/Intel, Advanced, select the partition, Boot, RebuildBS, List.
If you can see your files, choose Write, confirm, Quit.

If it doesn't work, please copy/paste the testdisk.log file content.

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 12 Apr 2016, 19:56
by Beowulf6666
So from what i understood, after the analisys (where i am at now - visible in the pic) u want me to change the type to none first...then follow the steps u lined out in your second sentence?

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 12 Apr 2016, 22:05
by Beowulf6666
OK i did as u said...

here's the pic of what it looks like before i run the RebuildBS

Image


I will update again once the rebuild completes...as it takes a LONG LONG time at 2 TB

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 13 Apr 2016, 10:24
by CaptainWD
Beowulf6666 wrote:~snip~
Hey there beowulf6666,

Have you by any chance checked the health of the drive? What are the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status showing? I would run WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic and see if that WD Black drives passes both the quick and the extended tests.

I do hope the rebuild process is a success. Waiting for your post. :)

Captain_WD.

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 13 Apr 2016, 15:38
by Beowulf6666
ok,

after the Rebuid BS was run...it takes me back to the same screen with the same options as before i ran it. I have attached a pic so you can see for yourself

Image

The only thing i can see is the fact it says it needs to have a valid ntfs bs in order for the rebuild to work....maybe im wrong

CaptainWD i will try the data lifeguard now...will let you know what i got....meanwhile...i gotta find the logs for the stuff i did up to now with testdisk....although i am not sure where to look

i'll update asap

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 13 Apr 2016, 19:57
by Beowulf6666
ok...i ran the WD software...and i attached the results

Image

i still am unable to find the logs from TestDisk...i dont know where they might have been saved (if even created)

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 13 Apr 2016, 20:00
by Beowulf6666
ok i figured out why there is no log file...because i chose No Log to begin with...i'll run the process again with the log on

will update shortly

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 13 Apr 2016, 20:13
by Beowulf6666
ok so....with the log option turned on...

i get to the drive select screen (where i chose Drive I:) but i see there's a duplicate up top...donno if thats correct

Image



and then i get to the partition select screen....where i chose the 1.8 TB
if its not the correct partition...please let me know ... as u can see in the pic...i got 3 others....which i figured are set aside by default after it was formated for NTFS

Image


please let me know if these selections are correct before i proceed...as it takes 4 - 5 hours minimum to get through the 1.8 tb

Re: NTFS external HDD changed to FAT16

Posted: 14 Apr 2016, 08:37
by CaptainWD
Beowulf6666 wrote:~snip~
According to the tool the drive should be in good condition and safe to store your data. Please, erase the Serial Number from the ScreenShot as this information shouldn't be publicly available. Getting the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status is also a good idea to verify the health of the drive.

I'll leave the settings question to the guys with experience here.

Captain_WD.