NTFS Corrupt WIN7 Stalled Files Recovery Failure

Using TestDisk to repair the filesystem
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Author
xpmule
Posts: 10
Joined: 08 Jul 2012, 07:21

NTFS Corrupt WIN7 Stalled Files Recovery Failure

#1 Post by xpmule »

Hello people i am back after a long absence..
I am curious if TestDisk can help me recover some files.
I have used it before to fix partitions.

First off what happened is i knocked my PC over again and right away it had problems.
I run "Hard Disk Sentinel" 24/7 so when i rebooted it up it showed at least 27 weak / bad sectors.
And a smart failure Read Error message.. so i KNOW it is damaged.
It's a rather common WD 1TB Black Drive (the main one i have has windows 7 on it)
the second one is the one giving me problems.

So, other than trying to run chdsk on it to fix errors i have not done anything to it.
Sometimes it will show up in the bios / windows and other times not at all.
When i see it i can sometimes get files off it and other times it simply stalls permanently reading making funny noises.
I think i hit a corrupt file trying to be read in that case.
I have been trying on & off for a couple months and i hope to get as many files as i can off it.
It has nothing on it but video files and in each folder a jpeg i don;t care about and occasionally a txt file i don't need.

The big problem is chkdsk has told me before after LONG scans it found & fixed errors.
Then when i try and copy a file off it the OS freezes up on me with the file reading stalling forever..
I end up having to cut the power basically..

The last thing i tried which had worked well for me before is using Paragon Hard Disk Manager / Volume Explorer to export a single file to the good drive.. once again i got the usual stalling problem.

So why am i here ?
To ask you all is there a way i can get the file system to flag and not show the bad files ?
That why i don't end up trying to extract it locking up the system again ?
I have thousands of files so i would have to put up with a locked system and rebooting cutting the power thousands of times to do a full recovery.
I also only have a few hundred gigs space on my 1st Black drive and the bad one is 1TB full s i can not simply let it copy all.

I don't even care about the corrupt files.. i just want them to not show up in Explorer etc.
Best i can tell ALL my old files are still visible when i fire it up (most times / sometimes the drive don't show at all)

See what i mean ?
I just KNOW there is files recoverable and have gotten some smaller ones off already so i know i can salvage something.
But so far all i am really doing is hitting a corrupt file then having it stall permanently.

What i need is something that can go through and TRY and read the file and if it does not respond right away then skip to the next one.
So far what ever i try doesn't do that and it just keeps trying.. forever !

I have no interest in saving corrupt videos so if i see it stall reading then i don't even want to see it listed.
I just want to pretend that file does not exist and carry on trying to get at a good file.

So can TestDisk help me out here you all think ? and any quick advice on what to hit ion the TestDisk menu if i can ?

Obviously if i do any repair actions it's taking days on end.
The first few attempts at CHKDSK etc would sit there for an entire day or over night never getting close to finishing.
I forgot the error code from smart but it mentioned "Read Error" / "smart failure"

I consider the drive as garbage now just hoping to salvage what i can off it.

I went on Youtube and seen guys talking about the importance of screw torque when taking them apart.
Then i marked the screw with a pen and unscrewed it and looked at it and i seen no damage at all inside or outside.
In other words with just the 1 platter visible i seen no scratches and the head is parking on it properly every time.
There was no debri in the drive or anything either.. it works the exact same putting the cover back on too now. (made no difference)

Any thoughts about the stall on reading (to copy) problem guys ?

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