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Used Testdisk, now my media is missing!

Posted: 19 Sep 2012, 23:12
by eyeofnewt
So I tried using Testdisk and got really confused by the options. Anyway, I tried the write, and then advanced >> boot/repair options. However, when I restarted windows I got a No Operating System found message. I tried booting SystemRescue CD with Testdisk but now only my DVD-RW drive is found in the main menu. What do I do?!

Re: Used Testdisk, now my media is missing!

Posted: 20 Sep 2012, 19:05
by dragonfly41
I'm just another user of testdisk.

If you are seeing the error message "operating system not found" this is the same error I've been seeing with a failed disk from my laptop (which was dual boot windows + ubuntu).

First boot up again and go to the BIOS Setup (hit F2 when booting up ?) to see if the hard drive is even recognised by the BIOS. If not then you have a faulty disk.

Testdisk developer suggests cloning your disk content to another disk .. and then apply testdisk to try to recover data from the clone. But you may not have the luxury of another drive of same size. At some stage you will need to have another drive as a backup so perhaps now is the time to buy one.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Damaged_Hard_Disk

I've been able to recover files by using ubuntu live CD as my operating system (boot up from CD) and placing the dodgy drive in an external USB connected enclosure (SATA or PATA depending on your laptop). I can then run testdisk in ubuntu.

Either SATA or PATA should be shown on the hard drive.

If (by using another laptop) you can download the ubuntu (linux) live CD and burn onto CD you can boot up and "try" not "install" and then use testdisk in ubuntu to inspect your dodgy drive.

...

[p.s.]

While you are downloading ubuntu and burning onto CD I suggest that you also download and burn bootable boot-repair-disk.

http://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair-cd/home/Home/

This can correct booting errors and inspect your file system.

Re: Used Testdisk, now my media is missing!

Posted: 20 Sep 2012, 21:55
by eyeofnewt
dragonfly41 wrote:I'm just another user of testdisk.

If you are seeing the error message "operating system not found" this is the same error I've been seeing with a failed disk from my laptop (which was dual boot windows + ubuntu).

First boot up again and go to the BIOS Setup (hit F2 when booting up ?) to see if the hard drive is even recognised by the BIOS. If not then you have a faulty disk.
Hey there, thanks for your reply. The HD was not found in BIOS either--it looks like it's a goner. I took it to a PC repair specialist and they said it wouldn't be cost effective to restore, repair or even try and backup the data ($180). I could get an entry level laptop for that amount.

Since I'm primarily a Mac user and just used this old laptop to author DVDs I sell I'll probably just buy a new machine. Its a shame I lost all the files I spent hours making on TMPGEnc Authoring Works, but I know to save to Dropbox in the future.

Cheers.