[SOLVED] Save files found within unallocated partition?

RadTech7 · 08-17-2008, 10:52 AM

My HDDs:
Drive #1 C: 35Gb has OS on it
Drive #2 G: 15 Gb (empty partition) F: 100 Gb (F is now unallocated)

All of my data and important files are still located on F:!! This happened when I tried merging partitions with partition magic and had also forgot that I had deselected bootwithgui, so I have no idea what pm was doing while it was performing this merge. (how brilliant was that?) I eventually just pressed my "enter" key and my computer booted up only recognizing C: & G:

I have verified that the files are intact with a file recovery utility, unfortunately it can only copy these files to a new area. I have an uninstalled raid card, with only one of the new drives in my possession so far. It's an ATA-133 PCI adaptor for a RAID 1 setup, the new HDDs around 320 Gb each.

Can I create a new partition using disk management with the unallocated area and label this partition without formatting it and find my files? Or do I have to wait for my second RAID drive to arrive and copy my files to it? I start school in 3 weeks and I'm not sure when the second drive is going to arrive.

Thanks for any help in advance

~~wiseleo~~ · 08-17-2008, 01:36 PM

No.

Do not write to the same drive from which you recover data. That is one of the core principles of data recovery.

Yes, you can connect one of your drives meant for the RAID 1 to the RAID card right now. It should allow you to simply add another drive to convert it into a mirror later on.

Whenever you use software like Partition Magic, please heed its warnings about backups. I will now tell you how to make a sector-level backup.

Your recommended approach would be to get a sector-level backup of your drive #1 onto your 300GB drive. You can connect the 300GB drive either using a USB enclosure or internally, up to you. Create a data NTFS partition on that 300GB drive, clone the disk into an image stored on that partition, open the cloned disk image using a data recovery tool, and recover your data onto that partition.

That would be the safest way to ensure that you can recover your data in case of a mistake.

If you have a high tolerance for risk, there are shortcuts, such as running testdisk with no backup to fix the partition table. If anything goes wrong, you may lose data. My tolerance for risk is zero, so I don't recommend saving time at the expense of your data.

The details about my process are in the post mentioned in my signature.

RadTech7 · 08-22-2008, 12:59 PM

Thanks Wiseleo !!

Took me awhile to respond here, but everything turned out great, just working on getting my new RAID setup going so this doesn't happen again! Thanks alot!!

**Deleted090308** · 08-22-2008, 01:13 PM

Good news.

Could have been solved much easier, though.

08-17-2008, 10:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
RadTech7 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 19 OS: winxp home ed. sp2	[SOLVED] Save files found within unallocated partition? My HDDs: Drive #1 C: 35Gb has OS on it Drive #2 G: 15 Gb (empty partition) F: 100 Gb (F is now unallocated) All of my data and important files are still located on F:!! This happened when I tried merging partitions with partition magic and had also forgot that I had deselected bootwithgui, so I have no idea what pm was doing while it was performing this merge. (how brilliant was that?) I eventually just pressed my "enter" key and my computer booted up only recognizing C: & G: I have verified that the files are intact with a file recovery utility, unfortunately it can only copy these files to a new area. I have an uninstalled raid card, with only one of the new drives in my possession so far. It's an ATA-133 PCI adaptor for a RAID 1 setup, the new HDDs around 320 Gb each. Can I create a new partition using disk management with the unallocated area and label this partition without formatting it and find my files? Or do I have to wait for my second RAID drive to arrive and copy my files to it? I start school in 3 weeks and I'm not sure when the second drive is going to arrive. Thanks for any help in advance

08-17-2008, 01:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~wiseleo~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 461 OS: Win 2003 SP2 My System	Re: Save files found within unallocated partition? No. Do not write to the same drive from which you recover data. That is one of the core principles of data recovery. Yes, you can connect one of your drives meant for the RAID 1 to the RAID card right now. It should allow you to simply add another drive to convert it into a mirror later on. Whenever you use software like Partition Magic, please heed its warnings about backups. I will now tell you how to make a sector-level backup. Your recommended approach would be to get a sector-level backup of your drive #1 onto your 300GB drive. You can connect the 300GB drive either using a USB enclosure or internally, up to you. Create a data NTFS partition on that 300GB drive, clone the disk into an image stored on that partition, open the cloned disk image using a data recovery tool, and recover your data onto that partition. That would be the safest way to ensure that you can recover your data in case of a mistake. If you have a high tolerance for risk, there are shortcuts, such as running testdisk with no backup to fix the partition table. If anything goes wrong, you may lose data. My tolerance for risk is zero, so I don't recommend saving time at the expense of your data. The details about my process are in the post mentioned in my signature.

08-22-2008, 12:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
RadTech7 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 19 OS: winxp home ed. sp2	Re: Save files found within unallocated partition? Thanks Wiseleo !! Took me awhile to respond here, but everything turned out great, just working on getting my new RAID setup going so this doesn't happen again! Thanks alot!!

08-22-2008, 01:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: Save files found within unallocated partition? Good news. Could have been solved much easier, though.