Can you help me recover my files?
Posted: 18 Feb 2018, 17:22
Hello!
My WIndows 7 stopped being able to boot some days ago. I got a blue screen. Then it started System Recovery, but it said it couldn't help me.
I tried booting from a small Linux called Puppy, and I could still see all the files on my disk, so it seemed they were okay.
I was going to get a new harddrive, and ckean install Windows 7 or 10. But I was so upset about all the work which lay ahead of me, that I wanted to see if loading a Windows 7 installation disk could help me. I got my hands on one, and when it booted, it had the option "repair my computer." I was elated at the prospect of having it fixed in one easy step. But I couldn't get it to recognize my OS. I said to find some drivers for my harddisks, and I tried, but couldn't get it to work.
Bottom line: some time later, I wanted to get some files off my harddrive, but I couldn't see it anymore in Linux!
So I booted from a disk which had some recovery tools on, including a partion viewer, and It could see my disk, but said "Partition: unallocated. Filesystem: unallocated."!
I was shocked. But the recovery disk had a note, which said to run the prompt and run Testdisk. So I tried that. That's how I learned of the program.
But I am so scared to do anything wrong now. I just want to get as many files as possible off the harddrive and onto other media, before I dare try and edit anything in the settings. Is that possible? I saw under the "analyse" function, that there is a "copy" function. But I didn't know how to access any of my USB drives, so I don't know whether it works or not. I don't know my way around linux.
When I run Testdisk, and it says to select my media, I select the ST3000DM001, my Seagate 3 TB Barracuda. Then it says to "select the partition table type".
It has pre-selected "EFI GPT". But I don't know what that means.
All I know, is that when my friend once reinstalled Windows 7 on this machine before he gave it to me, he said he had made a mistake, which meant that I could only use 2000 GB of the 3000 GB on the drive. I don't know what that means. But I think it means he didn't select GPT and selected MBR instead - is that right?
I don't think he partitioned it to be 2000 GB. Rather, apparently it only used the 2000 GB of the 3000 GB partition. I don't know?
when I go with the EFI GPT option, it finds two partitions, I guess?
MS Data 2048 206847 204800 (system reserved)
MS Data 206848 4294967295 4294760448
And then it proceeds to slowly work itself through analysing the cylinders. It might take an hour at this speed. Should I let it continue, or does this mean it has found the original partitions?
When I choose "stop", I am able to press "p" to see files. I can see the directory structure of my lost disk, as well as the files. Most look like I remember them, but in my folders with lots of large video-files, many seem to have various numbers of duplicates of same date, name, attributes, but of size 0. What does this mean? Have they been damaged?
OKay, back to the partition table types. When I select Intel/PC, I get the following:
HPFS - NTFS 0 32 33 12 223 19 204800 (system reserved)
HPFS - NTFS 12 223 20 267349 89 4 429476044833
I don't know which is correct, the EFI GPT or the Intel/PC?
When I tried searching for my Seagate harddisk on Google, it said it had 4096 bytes per sector ("emulated 512"), 63 sectors/track, 16 heads, and 16383 cylinders. But when I entered those numbers into Testdisk, it came up with a very small size harddisk. Should I trust the numbers which Testdisk found on its own?
Does the fact that I can see all the directories and files mean that all the numbers Testdisk has used are correct?
What do you think I should do? I am petrified about doing anything. My "plan" is to buy a new harddrive, install Windows 7, and then install Testdisk for windows, and try to copy as many files as is possible from the damaged harddrive to the new one, or an external harddrive.
Is that what I should do? Should I use another tool than Testdisk for copying the files?
So sorry for rambling like this. So much has happened over the last days, I am just exhausted and totally confused.
I have backed up a lot of my things, because I have experienced harddrive problems before. But I haven't had the energy to back up everything, and I guess I am paying the price for that now. But it really is a lot to lose, if I can't get the files off this drive. It'll be like a year of my life, just gone!
Thank you,
Isak Lytting
My WIndows 7 stopped being able to boot some days ago. I got a blue screen. Then it started System Recovery, but it said it couldn't help me.
I tried booting from a small Linux called Puppy, and I could still see all the files on my disk, so it seemed they were okay.
I was going to get a new harddrive, and ckean install Windows 7 or 10. But I was so upset about all the work which lay ahead of me, that I wanted to see if loading a Windows 7 installation disk could help me. I got my hands on one, and when it booted, it had the option "repair my computer." I was elated at the prospect of having it fixed in one easy step. But I couldn't get it to recognize my OS. I said to find some drivers for my harddisks, and I tried, but couldn't get it to work.
Bottom line: some time later, I wanted to get some files off my harddrive, but I couldn't see it anymore in Linux!
So I booted from a disk which had some recovery tools on, including a partion viewer, and It could see my disk, but said "Partition: unallocated. Filesystem: unallocated."!
I was shocked. But the recovery disk had a note, which said to run the prompt and run Testdisk. So I tried that. That's how I learned of the program.
But I am so scared to do anything wrong now. I just want to get as many files as possible off the harddrive and onto other media, before I dare try and edit anything in the settings. Is that possible? I saw under the "analyse" function, that there is a "copy" function. But I didn't know how to access any of my USB drives, so I don't know whether it works or not. I don't know my way around linux.
When I run Testdisk, and it says to select my media, I select the ST3000DM001, my Seagate 3 TB Barracuda. Then it says to "select the partition table type".
It has pre-selected "EFI GPT". But I don't know what that means.
All I know, is that when my friend once reinstalled Windows 7 on this machine before he gave it to me, he said he had made a mistake, which meant that I could only use 2000 GB of the 3000 GB on the drive. I don't know what that means. But I think it means he didn't select GPT and selected MBR instead - is that right?
I don't think he partitioned it to be 2000 GB. Rather, apparently it only used the 2000 GB of the 3000 GB partition. I don't know?
when I go with the EFI GPT option, it finds two partitions, I guess?
MS Data 2048 206847 204800 (system reserved)
MS Data 206848 4294967295 4294760448
And then it proceeds to slowly work itself through analysing the cylinders. It might take an hour at this speed. Should I let it continue, or does this mean it has found the original partitions?
When I choose "stop", I am able to press "p" to see files. I can see the directory structure of my lost disk, as well as the files. Most look like I remember them, but in my folders with lots of large video-files, many seem to have various numbers of duplicates of same date, name, attributes, but of size 0. What does this mean? Have they been damaged?
OKay, back to the partition table types. When I select Intel/PC, I get the following:
HPFS - NTFS 0 32 33 12 223 19 204800 (system reserved)
HPFS - NTFS 12 223 20 267349 89 4 429476044833
I don't know which is correct, the EFI GPT or the Intel/PC?
When I tried searching for my Seagate harddisk on Google, it said it had 4096 bytes per sector ("emulated 512"), 63 sectors/track, 16 heads, and 16383 cylinders. But when I entered those numbers into Testdisk, it came up with a very small size harddisk. Should I trust the numbers which Testdisk found on its own?
Does the fact that I can see all the directories and files mean that all the numbers Testdisk has used are correct?
What do you think I should do? I am petrified about doing anything. My "plan" is to buy a new harddrive, install Windows 7, and then install Testdisk for windows, and try to copy as many files as is possible from the damaged harddrive to the new one, or an external harddrive.
Is that what I should do? Should I use another tool than Testdisk for copying the files?
So sorry for rambling like this. So much has happened over the last days, I am just exhausted and totally confused.
I have backed up a lot of my things, because I have experienced harddrive problems before. But I haven't had the energy to back up everything, and I guess I am paying the price for that now. But it really is a lot to lose, if I can't get the files off this drive. It'll be like a year of my life, just gone!
Thank you,
Isak Lytting