So I'm having issues with my old Transcend 320 GB external hard drive. It gives me the "You need to format..." error when I plug it in (Windows 7). I ran TestDisk and it shows the one partition on it and even lists all the files. But when I try to copy the files to a different location it gives the "Can't open filesystem..." error. When I do a deeper search it gives the "Hard disk appears too small..." and the "Can't recover the following partition..." messages (see attached image).
I ran CHKDSK and it showed no errors until stage 4/5 where it's stuck at 12% for over an hour (but the number of processed files is still counting. I don't know how to log everything I did in TestDisk, I only have one log of only a few steps. Please help! Thank you! :smile:
4 of 5 and 5 of 5 is where most of the errors are usually and those can take many hours to complete so I hope you left it running. Obviously if it stalls same place at 48 hours then you know for sure the drive is "toast" but normally when the drive cannot complete you get a message that tells you that eventually so be patient.
You are doing the right thing by running checkdisk as it is about the only thing you can do. If it never clears up and you want to get files and data off either free Recuva or much better but paid Getdataback should do it for you.
Unfortunately Windows came up with a warning that I'm running low on memory. I found out CHKDSK in Windows 7 uses all available RAM, which I didn't know at the time. It crashed and I didn't run it again. However, while waiting for a reply here, I tinkered with the disk a bit and managed to access it from Windows Explorer and even copy some files to a new external HDD. I'm still copying files and have yet to encounter an error. I assume it's bound to happen though, so is there anything I can do in TestDisk? I used it several years ago to recover files after the same thing happened to one of my drives but I've completely forgotten the steps I had taken! I'm totally lost this time around. I have a feeling this disk can be salvaged successfully. Thanks for your reply!
I would use GetDataback to recover files personally if you have a problem later but for now just keep going. If your efforts fail later then I would try Recuva or GetDataBack and then after you get off what you need try running checkdisk again.
Thanks. What do you suggest I do in TestDisk after recovering? I encountered problems as predicted, I'll do my best to salvage those files as well but if it fails I won't regret it too much.
IMHO it is a good idea to assess the physical state of the HDD before potentially thrashing it to death with software tools. In particular I would not allow CHKDSK to write to your drive if it has numerous bad sectors, as this will risk exacerbating the problem.
Look for reallocated, pending or uncorrectable sectors.
I would then clone your drive, sector by sector, using a tool that understands how to work with bad sectors. Then run data recovery software against the clone.
TestDisk displays partition information using an archaic (and IMO annoying) CHS format whereas DMDE's Partition window displays it in LBA format. DMDE also has many single-click fixes.
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