Hard drive issue

I searched the forums and didn't really see anything that was like my problem. I had/have an internal hard drive that was installed into an external case and connected via usb. The power went out at my house while the device was turned on and plugged into the pc(circuit breaker popped 3 or 4 times in a row, each time after a reboot). The computer recognises the drive and assigns it a drive letter, it just shows the drive without a file format. In the device manager, the drive list the file format as blank(i.e. no file format is listed). I have tried the external case on other computers using different usb cables, as well as in multiple computers as an internal drive(secondary). In all cases, the computers recognize the drive but it shows it as unformatted.

I am at a loss as to what to do next short of reformatting the drive, which would be my last, last resort as files on it are not replaceable. It has roughly 230gb of info. I know I did the dumbest thing, not backing up the drive. :banghead

I have found some software that claims it can restore/repair the partition(which is a NTFS drive format). Has anyone had any luck with a particular piece of software? I'm running Windows 7 ultimate.

 

Try Testdisk. That is a good free utility to repair partitions.

Once you have got your data back have a look at Cobian, which is a free backup solution.

 

TestDisk is probably the most powerful but is a bit confusing for first time user if you aren't comfortable with text based interface.

Partition Wizard has worked for me. This is a guide http://www.partitionwizard.com/help/partition-recovery.html to partition recovery. If you try it when you get the the list of partitions it finds you want to tick all the boxes. After clicking Finish you may have to hit the Apply button in the main window which the guide does not show.

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If one software doesn't work you can still try the other as long as you don't format.

 

Data recovery from a difficult situation (for example a failing hard drive or badly corrupted disk file system) is best done with the ailing hard drive attached directly to a computer's motherboard, rather than attached via USB connection. The USB connection is susceptible to data corruption and limits "readability".

Connect the ailing hard drive directly to the motherboard of a desktop PC ("internal" secondary) and try the following suggestions. The first suggestion is to try booting from a Linux CD or flashdrive to see whether or not you can see and access your files, and simply copy them to an external USB hard drive or flashdrive. This may not be possible: If that is the case, then the second suggestion is to attempt data recovery using TestDisk, again run from a bootable Linux CD or flashdrive. (From your description of the situation, I suspect that you will need to use the second suggestion, namely TestDisk.) I suggest you recover your important files before attempting to repair the partition/mbr information.

(Note: Instructions were written for the situation where the ailing hard drive is the one containing the operating system, where the computer is no longer bootable and the files need to be recovered. Hence the "working computer" and the "ailing computer" references.)

Suggestion 1: Use a LIVE Linux operating system run from a bootable CD or flashdrive to access and copy/retrieve files on the hard drive to a USB-connected flashdrive or external hard drive.

There are many options, but here are detailed instructions for one method ...

Download GETxPUD.exe to the desktop of your working computer

• Run GETxPUD.exe
• A new folder will appear on the desktop.
• Open the GETxPUD folder and click on get&burn.bat
• The program will download xpud_0.9.2.iso, and when finished will open BurnCDCC ready to burn the image.
  Please be patient: This could take awhile - download file size 63MB.
• Click on Start and follow the prompts to burn the image to a CD.

You will use this CD to boot the ailing computer from.

Backup your important files to an external media using xPUD:

• Connect your external hard drive or flashdrive.
• Boot the ailing computer to the xPUD CD.
  A Welcome to xPUD screen will appear.
• Click on File.
• Expand the mnt icon on the left (click on the little arrow beside the icon).
  • sda1, sda2 etc. ...usually correspond to your HDD partitions if a SATA hard drive.
  • hda1, hda2 etc. ... usually correspond to your HDD partitions if an IDE/ATA hard drive.
  • sda1, sdb1, sdc1 is likely to correspond to a USB flashdrive, external USB hard drive etc.
• Copy your important files to an external hard drive or flashdrive.
  • Open your hard drive partition and navigate to the files/folders that you wish to copy.
  • Select multiple files/folders by holding down the <CTRL> key and selecting them all.
  • Use right-click > Copy
  • Navigate to your external media, and in the right-side window pane, use right-click > Paste.

To shut down the computer:

• Home > Power off

Success? If the partition and your files are not visible from Linux, try Suggestion 2.

==============

Suggestion 2: Using TestDisk, run from a bootable Linux CD or flashdrive, find and retrieve your files to a USB-connected flashdrive or external hard drive.

There are many options, but here are detailed instructions for one method ...

Download GETxPUD.exe to the desktop of your working computer

• Run GETxPUD.exe
• A new folder will appear on the desktop.
• Open the GETxPUD folder and click on get&burn.bat
• The program will download xpud_0.9.2.iso, and when finished will open BurnCDCC ready to burn the image.
  Please be patient: This could take awhile - download file size 63MB.
• Click on Start and follow the prompts to burn the image to a CD.

You will use this CD to boot the ailing computer from.
-----------

Preparation:

• Still on your working computer, download and extract TestDisk to a USB flashdrive:
  • Download xPUDtestdisk.exe and save it to the USB device
  • Double click xPUDtestdisk.exe to extract the contents to your USB device
  • Remove the USB and insert it in the ailing computer.
• Connect to the ailing computer, an external HDD large enough to accommodate your retrieved files.

---------

Using xPUD and TestDisk:

Step 1: Lets run TestDisk to check what we can see in the way of files in partitions:

• Insert the flashdrive with TestDisk in the ailing computer.
• Boot the ailing computer to the xPUD CD.
  • A Welcome to xPUD screen will appear.
• Click on File.
• Expand the mnt icon on the left (click on the little arrow beside the icon).
  • sda1, sda2 etc. ...usually correspond to your HDD partitions if a SATA hard drive.
  • hda1, hda2 etc. ... usually correspond to your HDD partitions if an IDE/ATA hard drive.
  • sda1, sdb1, sdc1 is likely to correspond to your USB flashdrive with TestDisk on it, external USB hard drive etc.
    Note the designation of your external HDD that you intend to save files to: You will need to know this later.
• Click on the folder that represents your USB flashdrive (sdb1 ?)
  • You should see the TestDisk folder showing in the right-pane.
• Click on Tool at the top and choose Open Terminal.
• Type testdisk/testdisk_static and press the <ENTER> key.
  • The TestDisk command window will open.
• Choose [Create] and press <ENTER>
  • TestDisk will now detect all local hard drives.
• Use the arrow (up and down) keys to highlight the disk called /dev/sda if it represents your primary hard drive and press <ENTER>
  • (If your not sure then note everything you see and post it for my review.)
• Select [Intel] and press <ENTER>
• Select [Analyse], and press <ENTER>
• Select [Quick Search] and press <ENTER>
• Press Y.
  • 
    You will see your partitions listed.
    
    (If you do not see all your partitions listed, then press <ENTER> to go to [Deeper Search] and press <ENTER> again to begin the search for more partitions. Please be patient while the search completes: It will take some time.

This is the starting point from which you can investigate the content of each of the partitions listed.


Step 2: Let's look in your <PARTITION> (substitute your own partition name) partition ...

• Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the <PARTITION> partition.
• Press P to list the contents of that partition.
• Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select a folder to explore, from among the list of files and folders.
• Press the right-arrow key to open that folder and see the contents listed.
  • Use the left-arrow/right-arrow keys to move up and down respectively through the folder tree.
    Doing this, you should be able to navigate the contents of the partition and see all files in all folders.

Success?


Step 3: Now, let's retrieve your files from the <PARTITION> folder ...

At the root of your <PARTITION> partition, use the Up/Down arrow keys to select a file or folder to copy.

• • Note: If you select a folder, the entire contents will be copied!
    I have chosen to start at the root of the partition, but if there is nothing there that you wish to copy, simply navigate to whatever file or folder that you wish to retrieve, and select (highlight) it.
• Press C to copy the item.
• Now choose a location to save the item.
  • By default, I think you will find that the flashdrive on which you have TestDisk will be selected. You need to navigate to the external HDD you wish to save your items.
    
    Navigation could be tricky: Try the following ...
  • Press the left-arrow key, and you will see a list of your hard drives.
    • (In my case, the flashdrive with TestDisk is sdc1, and my external HDD is sdd1.)
  • Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the hard drive on which you wish to save your items.
    • (If you wish to use a folder on that hard drive, use the right-arrow key to navigate into that partition.)
• When you are sure that you have the correct destination entered, type Y.
  • Be patient: If there is a lot of data to be copied, it may take some time.
• With any luck you will see the message "Copy done!".

Success?
--------------

If you wish to get out of TestDisk and close the Terminal ....

• Press Q repeatedly until TestDisk closes.
• Close the Terminal Window.

 

You could try to run Spinrite on the HD to recover any data from it. I have accidentally formatted drives in the past, and was able to recover most of my data by using spinrite.

 

You could even use this utility

http://www.piriform.com/recuva

http://www.guidingtech.com/2154/recover-deleted-files-recuva/

watching the video which describe ' how to use it ' , welcome !! :wave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhAbVVHH7PQ