Hi,
The other day I went back to my computer and all applications had stopped responding and it was moving very slowly until it completely froze. I held down the power button to force a shut down and then when I tried to power the computer back on it provided me with a can't boot error.
I've done a bit of testing and to my inexperienced eyes it doesn't look great.The drive was running out of space so I've bought a new one anyway to replace this one but if possible I would love to clone instead of starting completely from scratch so if this hard drive seems recoverable that would be fantastic.
I have run Testdisk analysis, quick scan and deeper scan and get a lot of results with a few of them being duplicates with slightly different sector values but still able to list files. I'm just wondering which ones would need to be selected if this drive is salvageable?
I have attached the Testdisk log (a large file) and also my CrystalDisk Analysis in the link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/i5nlwo5oycte ... dLd7a?dl=0
Hard drive crashed and now won't boot
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Before posting, please read https://www.cgsecurity.org/testdisk.pdf
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
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- Posts: 3025
- Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
- Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)
Re: Hard drive crashed and now won't boot
Your testdisk log is full of read errors. You should reinstall your operating system on a new disk.bwilliams94 wrote: 16 Dec 2020, 06:20 Hi,
The other day I went back to my computer and all applications had stopped responding and it was moving very slowly until it completely froze. I held down the power button to force a shut down and then when I tried to power the computer back on it provided me with a can't boot error.
I've done a bit of testing and to my inexperienced eyes it doesn't look great.The drive was running out of space so I've bought a new one anyway to replace this one but if possible I would love to clone instead of starting completely from scratch so if this hard drive seems recoverable that would be fantastic.
I have run Testdisk analysis, quick scan and deeper scan and get a lot of results with a few of them being duplicates with slightly different sector values but still able to list files. I'm just wondering which ones would need to be selected if this drive is salvageable?
I have attached the Testdisk log (a large file) and also my CrystalDisk Analysis in the link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/i5nlwo5oycte ... dLd7a?dl=0
Use the "p"-key to examine the partitions after the initial analysis already and try to recover personal data that might be on your disc.
Please upload your image of CrystalDiskInfo using the attachments tab below.
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- Posts: 3025
- Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
- Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)
Re: Hard drive crashed and now won't boot
Your testdisk log is full of read errors. You should reinstall your operating system on a new disk.
Use the "p"-key to examine the partitions after the initial analysis already and try to recover personal data that might be on your disc.
Please upload your image of CrystalDiskInfo using the attachments tab below.
Use the "p"-key to examine the partitions after the initial analysis already and try to recover personal data that might be on your disc.
Please upload your image of CrystalDiskInfo using the attachments tab below.
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- Posts: 2
- Joined: 16 Dec 2020, 05:33
Re: Hard drive crashed and now won't boot
Thanks Recuperation,
Sorry I didn't even see the attachments tab there but please see attached below.
Yes I'm definitely getting a new hard drive and will reinstall Windows. My main hope here was to essentially try and be able to clone my old C drive so I retain all of my software and settings. Do you think this is a possibility?
I know it probably a long shot but setting up from scratch is mammoth effort so I thought I'd ask those who know better what my chances were
There are two Partitions from 1161216 to 487327349 and from 1161216 to 488396799 that list my C drive files when I press the "p" key. So they seem to be duplicates but with slightly different sector lengths. One of them says "NTFS found using backup sector" while the other is just "NTFS".
There are also multiple [Boot] and [EFISECTOR] and a single [Recovery] that list files while all the other partitions discovered give a files damaged error.
Thanks for your help.
Sorry I didn't even see the attachments tab there but please see attached below.
Yes I'm definitely getting a new hard drive and will reinstall Windows. My main hope here was to essentially try and be able to clone my old C drive so I retain all of my software and settings. Do you think this is a possibility?
I know it probably a long shot but setting up from scratch is mammoth effort so I thought I'd ask those who know better what my chances were

There are two Partitions from 1161216 to 487327349 and from 1161216 to 488396799 that list my C drive files when I press the "p" key. So they seem to be duplicates but with slightly different sector lengths. One of them says "NTFS found using backup sector" while the other is just "NTFS".
There are also multiple [Boot] and [EFISECTOR] and a single [Recovery] that list files while all the other partitions discovered give a files damaged error.
Thanks for your help.
-
- Posts: 3025
- Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
- Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)
Re: Hard drive crashed and now won't boot
If your data does not reside in one of the mentioned readable partitions try Photorec at the expense of loosing metadata or any other commercial recovery software.