Incorrect Disk Size

How to use TestDisk to recover lost partition
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er123
Posts: 2
Joined: 06 Jun 2012, 02:15

Incorrect Disk Size

#1 Post by er123 »

I am using test disk version 6.13 on a drive that has the partition information corrupted.
It is a 320GB drive with several partitions. Test disk reports it as 137GB and not to proceed if this is not correct. Windows thinks it is 127GB. I am running Windows 2000 SP4. The screen message seems to suggest that I need to instal LBA48 support.
How do I do that? Is it safe to proceed despite the warning?

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

Re: Incorrect Disk Size

#2 Post by Fiona »

Under W2k you need a registry patch.
Information here;
http://www.48bitlba.com/win2k.htm
In some cases (worst case scenario) users lost their data because it's possible that windows writes to the limit of 127 GB and starts writing at the beginning of the disk.
It will override your data.
They're not recoverable anymore.
So you should add 48bitLBA-Support as far as possible.
If your Disk is recognized and your data are not available, please let me know.
We can use TestDisk to diagnose it.

Fiona

er123
Posts: 2
Joined: 06 Jun 2012, 02:15

Re: Incorrect Disk Size

#3 Post by er123 »

Thanks Fiona,

I found how to change the registry entry - and magically windows and testdisk read the size correctly.
TestDisk told me that the "heads/cylinder" was wrong. With some trepidation I made the sugested change - and magically all the partitions could be read. Thanks to testdisk I have now fully repaired the disk. Truely wonderful - I feel a donation coming on.

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

Re: Incorrect Disk Size

#4 Post by Fiona »

Thanks for your feedback! :)
I'll set your topic as solved.

Fiona

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