Run testdisk off s DVD ISO, Where Does the Log Go?

[oldefoxx]

I got off ubuntu becuse it was not helping and maybe making the problem worse. Then i tried SparkyLinux Repair CD which included Teskdisk, and this and your forum gave some idea of what to try next.

But SparkyLinux seems to have a problem in that after some time running, the screen goes black and it won't respond to the keyboard, so I finally have to kill power and start over. This happened 5 times in one day, and I was not always in the same process or at the same point when it happened.

Now in my case, my whole drive is suspect because of excessive outdated superblocks, which only gparted and texkdisk can seem to make sense of. There may be other problems as well, but one thing at a time. I don't see any way to send the log file to and external stick or HDD drive is connected by USB

SparkyLinux Repair is a minimal ISO, no means to mount, unmount, or display partitions from the GUI, so is probably not my best choice. I'm trying to sort that out as well. It could be it is doing everything in RAM and may not even rely on a swap partition, which could be a reason for locking up. I see no install option with it, and was copying all the loop9 folders to my USB stick to see if I could then use grub to make it bootable, and it as over 3GB done (calling external links as well is my guess), when it locked up the last time. There is something not right there, but they offer no bug report link either.

But I want that log, even if running from a LiveCD. Only I get no option in this regard. So now I have brought the matter to your attention.

Now I am pretty sure that old superblocks are just being skipped over in normal read and write process, but should be written over enough to keep them from coming up as superblocks at some point. Maybe instead of marking all partitions initially as D to delete them, it might be better to assemble a cast of a few that match up well together, fit with
partitioning rules, and can show a green P for each as taken as a group. Go from being negative to thinking positive in my book. If it could then treat with the evident contents in a similar fashion, that would deepen the confidence level of the user. It could be a simple tree or go GUI, I don't care, just as long as I see folders and contents and can work my way down the list. Questions related to folders or stars that seem flawed could be marked with something like "*" or "?", and I could then determine what to skip over rather than to try and copy out.

One tool does not have to do it all, but it would be nice if it did. gparted calls on gpart for data rescue, and maybe you know what might work best once testdisk is through. You certainly know more than I do. I can't fully evaluate what I propose here, as this is your area of expertise. But we do need help, more than most people realize.

Right now, deleting a partition or starting a new partition table is like a fisherman casting out his line and cutting the string rather than reel it in, or a fishing trawler casting its net and cutting the ropes that hold it rather than bring it back aboard. Just because the fisherman can leave and the boat sails home does not mean the job was done right.
Leaving trailing superblocks is evidence that the job was done poorly, and those lines and nets will be there to cause problems in the future.

[cgrenier]

testdisk creates the log file in the current working directory. If it failed to create it, it prompts the user to choose the destination directory.
You may want to ask the SparkyLinux author for more information about its distribution.