Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

Using TestDisk to repair the filesystem
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Author
Cormy1
Posts: 9
Joined: 20 Feb 2021, 01:58

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#11 Post by Cormy1 »

Is there no way to return to the Deep Search results after pressing Q to look at the new partition structure you're going to write?
One misclick of a Q input and you're set back hours and have to start the search all over again if you're not happy after reviewing the new partition structure.
If I could navigate between partitions with just the arrows and P I could avoid accidentally pressing Q.
It seems there's no way to "resume" such a scan, even if you have a log.

Almost all of the partitions marked [EFISECTOR] have EFI directories in them with BOOTx64.EFI
All the [Boot] partitions contain System Volume Information directories, as if they were valid partitions

Should I be running Photorec before writing the new partition table with TestDisk?

Thank you for your help

recuperation
Posts: 2718
Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#12 Post by recuperation »

Cormy1 wrote: 26 Feb 2021, 15:54 Is there no way to return to the Deep Search results after pressing Q to look at the new partition structure you're going to write?
One misclick of a Q input and you're set back hours and have to start the search all over again if you're not happy after reviewing the new partition structure.
If I could navigate between partitions with just the arrows and P I could avoid accidentally pressing Q.
It seems there's no way to "resume" such a scan, even if you have a log.
I don't know.
Almost all of the partitions marked [EFISECTOR] have EFI directories in them with BOOTx64.EFI
I guess there is just one partition in a system based on UEFI. Writing them all is pretty useless.
All the [Boot] partitions contain System Volume Information directories, as if they were valid partitions
The term "as if they were" suggests that you did not check the content. I doubt you had a couple of partitions labeled "boot".
Should I be running Photorec before writing the new partition table with TestDisk?
I can't tell you because you did not tell anything about the outcome of your data search.
It does not make sense to me with your description above but at least you will avoid running deep search again.

Cormy1
Posts: 9
Joined: 20 Feb 2021, 01:58

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#13 Post by Cormy1 »

? I have told you everything about the outcome of my search.
I posted the results of Analyze, Deep Search aswell as a pastebin link to the complete log.
You can see 7 [Boot] partitions and 12 [EFISECTOR] partitions. I checked the contents of the Boot partitions, there is only a "System Volume Information" directory in them, nothing else.
They also only exist between my "valid" partitions and would ruin my partition structure if I chose to keep them.
Cormy1 wrote: 25 Feb 2021, 06:33
Total Partitions after Deep Search finished:

Code: Select all

 D MS Data                     2048    1026047    1024000 [ESP]
 D MS Data                     2054    1026053    1024000 [NO NAME]
 D MS Data                  1288192 1926456815 1925168624
 D Mac HFS                  6324452  530612709  524288258
 D Mac HFS                 21270206  344231871  322961666
 D MS Data                155869424  155872303       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                157772592  157775471       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                158920496  158923375       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                159411376  159414255       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D Mac HFS                159729754  692812928  533083175
 D MS Data                167011616  167014495       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                180093475  180099648       6174
 D MS Data                180099648  180105821       6174 [Boot]
 D MS Data                186969083  186975256       6174
 D MS Data                186975256  186981429       6174 [Boot]
 D MS Data                187183547  187189720       6174
 D MS Data                187189720  187195893       6174 [Boot]
 D Mac HFS                192216740  716504997  524288258
 D MS Data                225779896  225782775       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                240935808  240938687       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                240938688  240941567       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D Mac HFS                337468804  861757061  524288258
 D MS Data                378454235  378460408       6174
 D MS Data                378460408  378466581       6174 [Boot]
 D MS Data                412239931  412246104       6174
 D MS Data                412246104  412252277       6174
 D MS Data                412351512  412354391       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                478540096  478542975       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                572653843  572660016       6174
 D MS Data                572660016  572666189       6174 [Boot]
 D Mac HFS                692812925 1225896099  533083175
 D MS Data                985947219  985953392       6174
 D MS Data                985947283  985953456       6174
 D MS Data                985953392  985959565       6174
 D MS Data                985953456  985959629       6174
 D MS Data                986369504  986372383       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data                997534552  997537431       2880 [EFISECTOR]
 D MS Data               1004875579 1004881752       6174
 D MS Data               1004881752 1004887925       6174
 D MS Data               1901553665 1927538688   25985024
 D MS Data               1925376001 1926457344    1081344
 D MS Data               1926457344 1927538687    1081344
 D MS Data               1926759579 1926765752       6174
 D MS Data               1926765752 1926771925       6174 [Boot]
 D MS Data               1926867331 1926873504       6174
 D MS Data               1926873504 1926879677       6174 [Boot]
 D MS Data               1927538687 1928620030    1081344
 D MS Data               1927538688 1953523711   25985024

recuperation
Posts: 2718
Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#14 Post by recuperation »

Cormy1 wrote: 26 Feb 2021, 18:33 ? I have told you everything about the outcome of my search.
I posted the results of Analyze, Deep Search aswell as a pastebin link to the complete log.
You can see 7 [Boot] partitions and 12 [EFISECTOR] partitions. I checked the contents of the Boot partitions, there is only a "System Volume Information" directory in them, nothing else.
You did not tell anything about the other partitions.

Cormy1
Posts: 9
Joined: 20 Feb 2021, 01:58

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#15 Post by Cormy1 »

Which partitions? You want to know about every single one?
There are 48 partitions shown after the Deep Search.
Only 4 of them create a valid partition structure.

That is:

Code: Select all

 D MS Data                     2048    1026047    1024000 [ESP]
 D MS Data                  1288192 1926456815 1925168624
 D MS Data               1926457344 1927538687    1081344
 D MS Data               1927538688 1953523711   25985024
The first one contains the EFI boot manager files; the second contains the Windows and User files; the third contains a recovery partition; and the fourth contains a system image.
As I mentioned before, most of the [EFISECTOR] partitions only contain BOOTx64.EFI
Many of the [Boot] partitions contain a "System Volume Information" directory.
There are two partitions that contain the corrupt partial files with incorrect names and extensions.

Code: Select all

D MS Data                412351512  412354391       2880 [EFISECTOR]
D MS Data                997534552  997537431       2880 [EFISECTOR]
All others are damaged/unsupported/unidentified partitions whose files cannot be listed. As you can see by their size, most of those are likely duplicates.

I copied the partitions and their file lists here:
https://pastebin.com/y5TK9AVi

That should be pretty much all the information without sharing the whole log, though I had already posted that too. The log is just messier.
Cormy1 wrote: 25 Feb 2021, 06:33 Full log: https://pastebin.com/KBt9Wufb

recuperation
Posts: 2718
Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#16 Post by recuperation »

After documenting that there is no interesting piece of information in the long list of partitions there is no need to write the partition table.

Cormy1
Posts: 9
Joined: 20 Feb 2021, 01:58

Re: Unbootable Windows Installation - Dell Laptop

#17 Post by Cormy1 »

I want to fix the partition table so that I can boot into this drive and not have to go through the hassles of re-installing from scratch again.

When I tried the online Photorec file checker, it was able to identify multiple files with correct extensions from the incorrectly defined files in the 2 [EFISECTOR] partitions I mentioned, so I know I can recover some of them.

So I guess I will copy those files to another drive and run Photorec on them.
Then I will write the new partition structure to my drive and get rid of all those corrupt/duplicate partitions.

Unless Photorec can see hidden/corrupt/missing partitions like Testdisk and I can tell it to scan in those locations, or if I could specify a sector range.
Otherwise I won't be able to locate those files at all.

Locked