Partition lost, but still accessible?

How to use TestDisk to recover lost partition
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Author
CaptnQuirk
Posts: 2
Joined: 19 May 2016, 12:49

Partition lost, but still accessible?

#1 Post by CaptnQuirk »

Hi there,
I have the following problem: The NTFS partition on my external drive seems to have vanished, Windows complains about an "invalid parameter" when I try to access the drive and diskmgmt shows the drive with a "RAW" partition.
TestDisk also only shows garbage when I analyze the partition (called X:):

Code: Select all

Hard disk list
Disk /dev/sdd - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB - CHS 243201 255 63, sector size=512
Drive X: - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB - CHS 243200 255 63, sector size=512

Partition table type (auto): None
Drive X: - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB
Partition table type: Intel

Interface Advanced
Geometry from i386 MBR: head=106 sector=52
BAD_RS LBA=1380404564 216152
check_part_i386 1 type 0A: no test
BAD_RS LBA=1309281536 5870947
check_part_i386 2 type 69: no test
BAD_RS LBA=1735554131 4633953
check_part_i386 3 type 6D: no test
BAD_RS LBA=2978742282 5980572
check_part_i386 4 type 66: no test
 2 * Novell               81499   1 39 203112 174 43 1953723749
 1 * OS/2 Boot Manager    85926  53 36 200213  18 49 1836018464
 3 * Sys=6D               108033  63 18 229617 137 22 1953251627
 4 * Sys=66               185418  33 34 185421 145 15      55233
New options :
 Dump : No
 Align partition: Yes
 Expert mode : No

Interface Advanced
Geometry from i386 MBR: head=106 sector=52
BAD_RS LBA=1380404564 216152
check_part_i386 1 type 0A: no test
BAD_RS LBA=1309281536 5870947
check_part_i386 2 type 69: no test
BAD_RS LBA=1735554131 4633953
check_part_i386 3 type 6D: no test
BAD_RS LBA=2978742282 5980572
check_part_i386 4 type 66: no test
 2 * Novell               81499   1 39 203112 174 43 1953723749
 1 * OS/2 Boot Manager    85926  53 36 200213  18 49 1836018464
 3 * Sys=6D               108033  63 18 229617 137 22 1953251627
 4 * Sys=66               185418  33 34 185421 145 15      55233

Analyse Drive X: - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB - CHS 243200 255 63
Geometry from i386 MBR: head=106 sector=52
BAD_RS LBA=1380404564 216152
check_part_i386 1 type 0A: no test
BAD_RS LBA=1309281536 5870947
check_part_i386 2 type 69: no test
BAD_RS LBA=1735554131 4633953
check_part_i386 3 type 6D: no test
BAD_RS LBA=2978742282 5980572
check_part_i386 4 type 66: no test
Current partition structure:
 1 * OS/2 Boot Manager    85926  53 36 200213  18 49 1836018464

Warning: Bad starting sector (CHS and LBA don't match)
 2 * Novell               81499   1 39 203112 174 43 1953723749

Bad relative sector.
 3 * Sys=6D               108033  63 18 229617 137 22 1953251627

Bad relative sector.
 4 * Sys=66               185418  33 34 185421 145 15      55233

Bad relative sector.
Only one partition must be bootable
Space conflict between the following two partitions
 2 * Novell               81499   1 39 203112 174 43 1953723749
 1 * OS/2 Boot Manager    85926  53 36 200213  18 49 1836018464
Space conflict between the following two partitions
 1 * OS/2 Boot Manager    85926  53 36 200213  18 49 1836018464
 3 * Sys=6D               108033  63 18 229617 137 22 1953251627
Space conflict between the following two partitions
 3 * Sys=6D               108033  63 18 229617 137 22 1953251627
 4 * Sys=66               185418  33 34 185421 145 15      55233
Backup partition structure
partition_save

search_part()
Drive X: - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB - CHS 243200 255 63
BAD_RS LBA=993349475 2056351
check_part_i386 failed for partition type 0C
     FAT32 LBA            61833  36 63 118395 250 51  908682001
Search for partition aborted

Results
   L FAT32 LBA            61833  36 63 118395 250 51  908682001
SIGHUP detected! TestDisk has been killed.
However, when I select the physical drive instead, TestDisk finds the partition and I can access the files:

Code: Select all

Disk /dev/sdd - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB
Partition table type: Intel

Analyse Disk /dev/sdd - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB - CHS 243201 255 63
Geometry from i386 MBR: head=255 sector=63
NTFS at 0/1/2
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=255 nbr=2
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=8 nbr=1
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=16 nbr=1
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=32 nbr=1
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=64 nbr=1
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=128 nbr=1
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=240 nbr=1
get_geometry_from_list_part_aux head=255 nbr=2
Current partition structure:
 1 E extended LBA             0   1  1 243200 254 63 3907024002
No partition is bootable
 5 L HPFS - NTFS              0   1  2 243200 254 63 3907024001

search_part()
Disk /dev/sdd - 2000 GB / 1863 GiB - CHS 243201 255 63
NTFS at 0/1/2
filesystem size           3907024001
sectors_per_cluster       8
mft_lcn                   786432
mftmirr_lcn               2
clusters_per_mft_record   -10
clusters_per_index_record 1
     HPFS - NTFS              0   1  2 243200 254 63 3907024001
     NTFS, blocksize=4096, 2000 GB / 1863 GiB
file_pread(7,2,buffer,3907031040(243201/110/46)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,1,buffer,3907031040(243201/110/46)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029184(243201/81/17)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029312(243201/83/19)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029440(243201/85/21)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029568(243201/87/23)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029696(243201/89/25)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029824(243201/91/27)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907029952(243201/93/29)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030080(243201/95/31)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030208(243201/97/33)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030336(243201/99/35)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030464(243201/101/37)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030592(243201/103/39)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030720(243201/105/41)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030848(243201/107/43)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907030976(243201/109/45)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,1,buffer,3907031039(243201/110/45)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,1,buffer,3907031040(243201/110/46)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,14,buffer,3907031041(243201/110/47)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,3,buffer,3907031055(243201/110/61)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,3,buffer,3907031102(243201/111/45)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,8,buffer,3907031118(243201/111/61)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,11,buffer,3907031165(243201/112/45)) lseek err Invalid argument
file_pread(7,2,buffer,3907033087(243201/143/14)) lseek err Invalid argument

Results
   L HPFS - NTFS              0   1  2 243200 254 63 3907024001
     NTFS, blocksize=4096, 2000 GB / 1863 GiB
NTFS Volume is dirty.


dir_partition inode=5
   L HPFS - NTFS              0   1  2 243200 254 63 3907024001
     NTFS, blocksize=4096, 2000 GB / 1863 GiB
Directory /
       5 dr-xr-xr-x     0      0         0 12-May-2016 12:54 .
       5 dr-xr-xr-x     0      0         0 12-May-2016 12:54 ..
.... files ....
add_ext_part_i386: max
add_ext_part_i386: min

interface_write()
 1 E extended LBA             0   1  1 243200 254 63 3907024002
 5 L HPFS - NTFS              0   1  2 243200 254 63 3907024001
write!

write_mbr_i386: starting...
write_all_log_i386: starting...
write_all_log_i386: CHS: 0/1/1,lba=63
You will have to reboot for the change to take effect.
But even after writing the partition table, nothing changes and X: is still inaccessible. So how do I make the volume label reflect the partition information that's ostensibly still on the drive?

Thanks

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cgrenier
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Posts: 5432
Joined: 18 Feb 2012, 15:08
Location: Le Perreux Sur Marne, France
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Re: Partition lost, but still accessible?

#2 Post by cgrenier »

Run "cmd" (right click run as administrator) and "chkdsk /f X:".
Please tell me if it solve the problem.

CaptnQuirk
Posts: 2
Joined: 19 May 2016, 12:49

Re: Partition lost, but still accessible?

#3 Post by CaptnQuirk »

Because I already saw "chkdsk /f" completely destroy an external HDD once, I'm a bit hesitant doing this now... I'd hoped there'd be something else to try before that, but if that's my best shot, then I'll try it after I've backed up the essential files from the HDD.
Thanks though, I'll let you know how it goes.

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