Linux reformatted RAID 1 (2 disks) on ext3 / ext4

How to use TestDisk to recover lost partition
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rivacordex
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Feb 2015, 19:22

Linux reformatted RAID 1 (2 disks) on ext3 / ext4

#1 Post by rivacordex »

1. I've accidentally re-formatted a RAID 1 volume which was either originally ext3 or ext4 on a Linux-based NAS which is currently ext4 filesystem after the reformat (with some files).

2. I'm currently cloning the disk so that I can work on it safely and with a backup. Is there any way, at this stage, where using TestDisk, will allow me to retrieve my data (data recovery is good enough, I do not expect a full recovery at this stage)

Based on my understanding, this might not be possible as the primary SuperBlock may have already been destroyed, and may not be possible to recover.

I'm pulling at the end of my wits and am at your mercy, and would be extremely delighted and more than happy to reward monetarily should I be able to get my data back.

Thanks!

rivacordex
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Feb 2015, 19:22

Re: Linux reformatted RAID 1 (2 disks) on ext3 / ext4

#2 Post by rivacordex »

Perform the "Deeper Search" for the time being to search for partitions which may have been missed.

rivacordex
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Feb 2015, 19:22

Re: Linux reformatted RAID 1 (2 disks) on ext3 / ext4

#3 Post by rivacordex »

Results with Quick Search
Partition Start End Size in sectors
Linux 0 0 41 65 252 35 1060096
Linux 33 232 8 99 229 2 1060096
Linux Raid 0 0 41 65 254 37 1060224 [md9]
Linux Swap 66 0 7 131 254 19 1060240
Linux 132 0 5 243137 252 3 3903891200

Results from Deeper Search
Partition Start End Size in sectors Extra Info
Linux 0 0 41 65 252 35 1060096
Linux Raid 0 0 41 65 254 37 1060224 [md9]
Linux 33 232 8 99 241 14 1060864
Linux Swap 66 0 7 131 254 19 1060240
Linux 132 0 5 243137 252 3 3903891200
Linux Raid 132 0 5 243137 254 5 3903891328
Linux 243138 0 7 243186 210 40 784384

Extra Info for Deeper Search results:
Partition Start End Size in sectors Extra Info
Linux 0 0 41 65 252 35 1060096 ext3 blocksize =4096 Sparse superblock Recover, 401MB/383MiB
Linux Raid 0 0 41 65 254 37 1060224 [md9] md 0.90.0 L.Endian Raid 1: deices 0(8,1)*1(8,17)2(8,33), 542MB/517MiB
Linux 33 232 8 99 241 14 1060864 ext3 blocksize=4096, Large file Sparse superblock Recover, 543MB/518MiB
Linux Swap 66 0 7 131 254 19 1060240 SWAP2 version 1, pagesize-4096, 542MB/517MiB
Linux 132 0 5 243137 252 3 3903891200 ext4 blocksize=4096 Sparse superblock Recover,542MB/517MiB
Linux Raid 132 0 5 243137 254 5 3903891328 [md0] md 0.90.0 L.Endian Raid 1: devices 0(8,3)*1(8,19) ,1998GB/1861GiB
Linux 243138 0 7 243186 210 40 784384 ext3 blocksize=4096 Sparse superblock Recover,401MB/383MiB

rivacordex
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Feb 2015, 19:22

Re: Linux reformatted RAID 1 (2 disks) on ext3 / ext4

#4 Post by rivacordex »

Any advise or ideas?

I believe, like it or not, I need to find my 2TB formatted file.

Based on what I'm looking at, I believe, what I would need to find is a Linux partitioned with ext3 with 2GB capacity. However, it seems that I don't see any other 2GB ext3 Linux partition, other than the current 2GB ext4 Linux partition.

Definitely, don't see anything in the "undelete" category. Based on my understanding, will need to find the partition before being able to work on anything off it.

Any help please?

The result obtained was previously from the cloned disk, and I'm now re-running the Deeper Search on the original disk which was reformatted, however from Quick search, it appears that the result is identical so far.

rivacordex
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Feb 2015, 19:22

Re: Linux reformatted RAID 1 (2 disks) on ext3 / ext4

#5 Post by rivacordex »

After a few days (weeks) of looking to this thing.

The answer to this issue is: reformatted disk using ext4 (over previous ext3) is not recoverable. That's the moral of the story.

:cry:

Quote: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions ... the-previo

The reason is ext4 on time of format destroys completely all inodes and even file system journal so volume only contains file data; usually it is fragmented. Ext4 uses special tree structure to store map of file fragments and this tree is stored in inodes that are wiped with zeros.

It’s recommended to continue using PhotoRec and other similar free utilities in attempt to get some data back; no commercial software will help you more in this case.

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