Problem after partition's extension

How to use TestDisk to recover lost partition
Forum rules
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
Locked
Message
Author
AnoukGR
Posts: 3
Joined: 14 Apr 2012, 17:01

Problem after partition's extension

#1 Post by AnoukGR »

I have an NTFS external drive (100GB) that was separated in two partitions. I moved all my files in the first partition, then deleted the second and made an extension to the first one through Win7. After this the disk is dead! When i plug it in windows it appears in My Computer and in devices, but can not access disk management. The computer freezes! With TestDisk I can find the disk only through Ultimate Boot CD, but this doesn't let me restore my files in my internal hard drives. When i use TestDisk through windows it stucks in "Please wait... and freezes. The disk is spinning but nothing happens with the program. When i unplug the disk suddenly it appears in disk selection but ofcourse i can't access it. I want my files back! Any suggestion? :(

Thank u!

User avatar
Fiona
Posts: 2835
Joined: 18 Feb 2012, 17:19
Location: Ludwigsburg/Stuttgart - Germany

Re: Problem after partition's extension

#2 Post by Fiona »

You can test a linux based Live CD like Knoppix or Ubuntu.
Ultimate Boot CD is DOS based.
If you try to copy data, it would be only possible to copy data to a FAT32 drive and it doesn't support long file names.
File size of Fat32 is limited to 4 GB.

Fiona

AnoukGR
Posts: 3
Joined: 14 Apr 2012, 17:01

Re: Problem after partition's extension

#3 Post by AnoukGR »

I used Testdisk with knoppix. I found the partition and selected "write", after this i reboot again in knoppix or in windows in order to complete the task? (I tried both, i don't know if i did the whole job right!)

Then with GParted i found again the partition but it adviced me to run chkdsk /f through windows in order to repair the file system. The problem is that i can't access the disk through windows, it only appears but nothing more.

Any suggestions?
Thank you!!

User avatar
Fiona
Posts: 2835
Joined: 18 Feb 2012, 17:19
Location: Ludwigsburg/Stuttgart - Germany

Re: Problem after partition's extension

#4 Post by Fiona »

Please avoid chkdsk.
It's intended to have a try to repair a file system, but not to recover data.
You can increase damage!
Under Knoppix, did you use testdisk as root?
You should open a terminal and write sudo.
Then start Testdisk in your terminal.

But I've no idea why you'd like to write any partition?
Did you see anything wrong in your partition table?
Would it be possible that your boot sector or file system might be damaged?

AnoukGR
Posts: 3
Joined: 14 Apr 2012, 17:01

Re: Problem after partition's extension

#5 Post by AnoukGR »

I initially used PhotoRec with Parted Magic in Ultimate Boot CD and tried to recover my files, but it was taking a lot of time and files were renamed.

I finally discovered my files with Testdisk, through advanced filesystem utilities! As Fiona said the partition was ok, so i listed my files and copied them directly to my internal hard disk as they were stored originally! I copied at least all my important files, but i had problem with some of them because the disk had read error at a point and was stopping.

Now i have to format the disk in order to use it again in Windows. Is it better to make it Fat32 or Ntfs?

Thank you for your help and your great software!! I hope my english wasn't too bad! :)

Locked