Ext HD is RAW, Testdisk shows files - what now - Help!!

How to use TestDisk to recover lost partition
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attfiecz
Posts: 3
Joined: 11 May 2013, 05:27

Ext HD is RAW, Testdisk shows files - what now - Help!!

#1 Post by attfiecz »

Hi there,

i have searched the boards for my answer but i'm stuck so it's yet another topic i am afraid.

Simple story, a 2TB external HD decided it was going to be in RAW format.
I found this software and it has found all my files, i can even copy them on to my laptop!
But my question is this...
Can i just turn it back into an NTFS drive?

i've fiddled a bit and here are some screen grabs.
if someone could let me know what i need to do i'd be forever thankful.
I could copy the files off, format the drive and copy them back on of course.
But that would take forever and i also don't have a drive large enough to copy it all onto.
can i just switch it back?

i found one message that said;
"boot sector status OK
"backup boot sector status ok
"sectors are identical
"a valid NTFS sector must be present in order to access any data"

i guess i'm missing one of those :)

here are some screen grabs.
these show that files are there, what happened when i tried to repair the boot sector and when i tried repair MFT

thanks!
file list.JPG
file list.JPG (80.84 KiB) Viewed 2112 times
dump.JPG
dump.JPG (93.68 KiB) Viewed 2112 times
repair MFT.JPG
repair MFT.JPG (26.55 KiB) Viewed 2112 times
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attfiecz
Posts: 3
Joined: 11 May 2013, 05:27

Re: Ext HD is RAW, Testdisk shows files - what now - Help!!

#2 Post by attfiecz »

I've since found this here http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Advanced ... MFT_Repair which does seem to suggest i'm done for.

Repair An NTFS MFT

The MFT (Master File Table) is sometimes corrupted. If Microsoft's Checkdisk (chkdsk) failed to repair the MFT, run TestDisk. In the Advanced menu, select your NTFS partition, choose Boot, then Repair MFT. TestDisk will compare the MFT and MFT mirror (its backup). If the MFT is damaged, it will try to repair the MFT using the backup. If the MFT backup is damaged, it will use the main MFT.

If both MFT and MFTMirr are damaged and thus cannot be repaired using TestDisk, you might want to try commercial software like Zero Assumption Recovery, GetDataBack for NTFS or Restorer 2000.
Last edited by attfiecz on 13 May 2013, 11:34, edited 1 time in total.
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attfiecz
Posts: 3
Joined: 11 May 2013, 05:27

Re: Ext HD is RAW, Testdisk shows files - what now - Help!!

#3 Post by attfiecz »

I now have a registered version of EaseUs which has confirmed that all 5000+ folders are there and the songs intact.
So i just need to know how to turn it back into an NTFS drive.
I'm amazed there isn't just some simple mechanism to do sO

Thanks in advance to anyone reading this that might know how to fix it for me :)
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