Hello everyone,
I've been to the end of the internet and back. And then I decided to ask a question using this tool, testdisk, which has been a life saver over, oh, some 8 years or more.
Anyway, this time, the data is very delicate and I must proceed with EXTREME caution.
Here's the situation: I have a 3TB hd formatted in ext4 that has refused to show up in the BIOS. However, connected to an external enclosure, it will show up sometimes. Other times, after a few restart the light blinks on the enclosure for a while and then it shows up. As is presently the case with the machine booted off a Linux boot disk, on which, unfortunately, testdisk was not complied with. However, it seems to give me the option to install it, when I tried using testdisk. I have not done so yet.
However, the HD has shown up on the desktop, after so many tries. All the folders are there, but they are empty. Clicking on a folder named, morpheus for example, reveals nothing within it. I know it should not be empty because I put files in it. This is the case for all the folders.
I have never had this case before and don't now know how to proceed. And that's why I'm turning to the you guys, looking for help. I've left the machine on, and the HD, so I don't spend another week trying to get it to show up on a desktop, any desktop.
Thanks a lot in advance.
folders present files missing on ext4
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When asking for technical support:
- Search for posts on the same topic before posting a new question.
- Give clear, specific information in the title of your post.
- Include as many details as you can, MOST POSTS WILL GET ONLY ONE OR TWO ANSWERS.
- Post a follow up with a "Thank you" or "This worked!"
- When you learn something, use that knowledge to HELP ANOTHER USER LATER.
Before posting, please read https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf
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cgrenier
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Re: folders present files missing on ext4
This problem can occur if the power supply is weak/old.
Another possibility is bad sectors. In this case, you should clone the disk to a new empty one using ddrescue, read https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf for more details.
Another possibility is bad sectors. In this case, you should clone the disk to a new empty one using ddrescue, read https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf for more details.
Re: folders present files missing on ext4
Thanks a lot for your kind response, and most especially for the .pdf you provided. It looks very, very useful to solve this and other problems in the future.
I think the bad sector possibility is the issue. But when you say power supply, do you mean the PSU of the external enclosure? That enclosure powers another disk; same model number, etc, without an issue.
Please let me know if there's a trick in getting the OS to again see the drive. It went missing yesterday after I had to shut down the machine and restarted. I fear if the OS cannot see the HD, then I cannot do ddrescue as I need the /dev/sd(x) to use that command. So, any tricks at all to get the OS to see/recognize the HD so that I can image the HD to another would be great.
And if we go with the theory of bad sectors; can I assume now that some amount of data loss has occurred?
Thanks a lot!
I think the bad sector possibility is the issue. But when you say power supply, do you mean the PSU of the external enclosure? That enclosure powers another disk; same model number, etc, without an issue.
Please let me know if there's a trick in getting the OS to again see the drive. It went missing yesterday after I had to shut down the machine and restarted. I fear if the OS cannot see the HD, then I cannot do ddrescue as I need the /dev/sd(x) to use that command. So, any tricks at all to get the OS to see/recognize the HD so that I can image the HD to another would be great.
And if we go with the theory of bad sectors; can I assume now that some amount of data loss has occurred?
Thanks a lot!