Partition table type = None, well there should be!? Topic is solved

How to use TestDisk to recover lost partition
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davidngoliath
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Aug 2018, 16:36

Partition table type = None, well there should be!?

#1 Post by davidngoliath »

Firstly testdisk rocks! it's great, I've managed to get files off a failing HD, however I now want more, I'd like it to behave normally. I have a 150GB (XP) HD that I've used testdisk to get files off, so they are still ok on the disk, but I'm having difficulty with the partition thing. The drive had two partitions, the bootable one with XP and my files and the second one with the Recovery data (for XP) that I don't need.

When I start testdisk with my NTFS/XP HD attached via a USB caddy, it reports "Partition table type (auto): None" - so this time I selected Intel/PC and ran some tests. I'm looking through the help files for testdisk but not yet seen how to handle a non found partition table, also goes on to report "Bad relative sector." - I then did a search for the boot sector and got lost. Any help where to look in the docs would be great.

Here is my log file for the tests:

Drive K: - 153 GB / 143 GiB - CHS 18709 255 63, sector size=512 (the faulty parition)
Drive L: - 6136 MB / 5851 MiB - CHS 746 255 63, sector size=512 (I can get this one but don't need it)

Partition table type (auto): None
Drive K: - 153 GB / 143 GiB
Partition table type: Intel <<-I chose this where it usually report - none, as per two line above

Analyse Drive K: - 153 GB / 143 GiB - CHS 18709 255 63
Geometry from i386 MBR: head=116 sector=52
BAD_RS LBA=218129509 5918957
check_part_i386 1 type 72: no test
BAD_RS LBA=729050177 1083631
check_part_i386 2 type 74: no test
BAD_RS LBA=168653938 1838434
Current partition structure:
1 * Sys=72 13577 238 11 119521 238 60 1701990410

Bad relative sector.
2 * Sys=74 45381 70 3 79242 34 29 543974724

Bad relative sector.
3 * NetWare 3.11+ 10498 56 41 10498 56 40 0

Bad relative sector.
Only one partition must be bootable
Space conflict between the following two partitions
1 * Sys=72 13577 238 11 119521 238 60 1701990410
2 * Sys=74 45381 70 3 79242 34 29 543974724

search_part()
Drive K: - 153 GB / 143 GiB - CHS 18709 255 63

(I tried to use a backup partition table option)

Results
Can't open backup.log file: No such file or directory
interface_load

interface_write()

No partition found or selected for recovery
simulate write!

write_mbr_i386: starting...
write_all_log_i386: starting...
No extended partition

TestDisk exited normally.

-- 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 table type = None, well there should be!?

#2 Post by cgrenier »

It's useless to search partitions inside a partition.
What is the problem ? If you want to repair the filesystems, read "Repairing filesystem" from https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf

davidngoliath
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Aug 2018, 16:36

Re: Partition table type = None, well there should be!?

#3 Post by davidngoliath »

Thanks for your reply, the problem is, I can't read drive (K:) from windows (XP), it shows up as "Local Drive K:" and I can't do anything more with it (access it).

When I run testdisk, it reports "Partition table type (auto): None" - so I thought the partition table might be wrong. Plus the error report from testdisk suggested the two partitions were overlapping and why I ran the partition tests, my indicator was this:

Bad relative sector.
Only one partition must be bootable
Space conflict between the following two partitions

Indeed drive K: was bootable, L: was not hence it suggested the boundary was damaged.

I've looked at testdisk.pdf page 21. When this problem first arose I did run chkdsk /f it reported "File record segment # is unreadable" and would go on for hours (where # is a number incrementing from 4 onwards). I figured this was not the solution.

From this information from testdisk is why I thought it was a partition problem rather than a filesystem problem as I can get access to my files via testdisk.

My investigation continues.

davidngoliath
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Aug 2018, 16:36

Re: Partition table type = None, well there should be!?

#4 Post by davidngoliath »

I made some progress with the "It's useless to search partitions inside a partition." comment - without context this statement is meaningless. I now think the mystery is shown in my graphic. I missed the two lines that show the physical attached drives, the list below them are then paritions that are on the respective disk. So performing tests needs to be done on

Code: Select all

Disk /dev/sda
and

Code: Select all

Disk /dev/sdb
not on the C, D etc. as mentioned in the testdisk.pdf help file. It makes sense now :D

select_disk_partition.jpg
select_disk_partition.jpg (76.44 KiB) Viewed 4403 times
if that hasn't showed, try this link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1F5WN1 ... a-k2h4eCmP

In my example, sda is my system drive, with 3 paritions, C, D and F. My drive under test is sdb which has drive G and L.

When I run the test [Proceed] with the drive as shown highlighted, the partitions show up correctly. This has taken me to the next step in the fix. Gently as she goes.

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cgrenier
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Joined: 18 Feb 2012, 15:08
Location: Le Perreux Sur Marne, France
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Re: Partition table type = None, well there should be!?

#5 Post by cgrenier »

If chkdsk is very slow and shows read errors / unreadable data / ..., it may be due to bad sectors. The recommended action in this case is to clone the disk to a new empty one using ddrescue.
Another possibility is to run TestDisk, go in Advanced, Boot, List and copy your files somewhere else...

davidngoliath
Posts: 5
Joined: 26 Aug 2018, 16:36

Re: Partition table type = None, well there should be!?

#6 Post by davidngoliath »

In accordance with the rules - Post a follow up with a "Thank you" or "This worked!"

Indeed, thanks very much, I copied the files I wanted using TestDisk - panic over, donation sent, worth every penny.

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