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Advice needed to repair

Posted: 12 Jun 2016, 16:38
by palk
Hi,

After an error during a linux installation (I chose "use LVM" by error instead of doing the partitioning manually), my laptop was no longer able to boot windows 10.

I have launched tesdisk (it is the first time I am using it) from the linux live cd (running on a usb key). After a detailled analysis, it gives me the following list:

Partition Start End Size in sectors additional information
MS Data 2048 534527 532480 [SYSTEM] FAT32
MS Data 2054 534533 532480 [NO NAME] FAT32
MS Data 79600 80319 720 [NO NAME] FAT12
MS Data 138160 138879 720 [NO NAME] FAT12
MS Data 567296 311558143 310990848 [OS] NTFS found using backup sector
MS Data 567296 780388351 779821056 [OS] NTFS
Linux LVM 1550336 1953523711 1951973376 LVM2
MS Data 8735275 8741448 6174 NTFS found using backup sector
MS Data 8741448 8747621 6174 [Boot] NTFS
MS Data 8741467 8747640 6174 NTFS found using backup sector
MS Data 8747640 8753813 6174 [Boot] NTFS
MS Data 8747659 8753832 6174 NTFS found using backup sector

1) It seems that all partitions appear twice. Any idea why and how I can fix it?
2) Should I trust the NTFS or NTFS found using backup sector ?
3) what steps should I take from here to repair my system?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.

Re: Advice needed to repair

Posted: 12 Jun 2016, 17:32
by cgrenier
If possible, use Testdisk 7.1-WIP instead of an older version
For each partition, use 'p' to list its content.
If you want to recover the partition, use the arrow keys to switch the partition to P(rimary).
It's usually better to choose the normal partition than the partition found using its backup boot sector.

Re: Advice needed to repair

Posted: 12 Jun 2016, 17:48
by palk
Thanks for the answer cgrenier.

I have recovered some partitions : SYSTEM, OS, RECOVERY and DATA.
But there is one that I can't because it tells me the structure is bad. Here is what I have:
Partition Start End Size in sectors
MS Data 2048 534527 532480 [SYSTEM]
MS Data 567296 780388351 779821056 [OS]
MS Data 779366401 780388352 1021952
MS Data 780388352 781410303 1021952 [RECOVERY]
MS Data 781410304 1953523711 1172113408 [DATA]

The partition that has no name (for which I also have the "NTFS found using backup sector" information) is the one for which it reports a bad structure. Is it a duplicate of the RECOVERY partition or is it a logical partition that I need to somehow repair?

PS: I am using this Testdisk version because it is the one available from mint sources.

Re: Advice needed to repair

Posted: 12 Jun 2016, 19:23
by palk
I tried with the 7.1 WIP version you suggested. I'm in the same situation than with the older version (I didn't performed the detailled analysis, though):

* I have the same unnamed partition that is defective.
* Once I write the 4 other partitions and then I reboot, still cannot boot to windows.

Two other questions:
1) I chose a partition table type of EFI GPT because it was the detected type, but I saw several other post where people go with the Intel type. Did I chose the correct type?
2) I found that there are deleted files on the SYSTEM, OS and DATA partitions, but the recovery partition is good. Does the boot process not work because some files are missing or because I am missing some steps? I saw that I may have to rebuild the boot sector, but status is "sectors are identical" on all partitions. Should I attempt to rebuild it anyway?

Re: Advice needed to repair

Posted: 13 Jun 2016, 20:34
by palk
Does anyone has an answer to my two previous questions?

On my side, I can see two other problems:
* some files were deleted. I could undelete them for DATA partition, but it does not work for OS one (I have messages about ntfs_mst_post_read with index buffer being different than what is expected). It seems to indicate that there is a kind of corruption on the partition, but I do not know how to fix it. Any direction would be most welcome. ;)
* when I look at the SYSTEM partition (where EFI is installed), I can see there is a problem with the boot sector:
Extrapolated boot sector and current boot sector are different. Warning: extrapolated boot sector have incorrect value.
But if I try to rebuild BS, it tells me that "cluster 69367, directory / found" and there is a list of 2 directories and 3 files listed below.
I aborted to avoid additional damages. Here again, I need explanations and directions to understand what I am suppose to do to make it work. :)

Thanks in advance,