Backup H/D Wiped Clean

craig2 · 12-17-2008, 02:39 PM

Can someone please help? Running XP Service pack 3
My backup 120gb Maxator IDE (2nd internal) hard drive has been wiped clean of all information and now wants me to format (no NTFS file system) it I've tried to get it going again with no success. I've have managed to get the computer to see the disk but it's saying it's clean and wants me to format it but if i do this i will lose everything !!! AAHH!!! I have tried a couple of data recovery programmes but they won't work because the hard drive has no file system .. HELP !!!

**raptor_pa** · 12-17-2008, 02:46 PM

Does the drive show as full capacity in disk management? R-Studio and GetDataBack will both do a scan for file headers and won't need the file system to recover data. You could try them. If the disk shows full capacity in disk management the try testdisk to rebuild the MBR and Partition table Sticky for use is here Have you "lost" a hard drive, partition or files in your computer?

craig2 · 12-17-2008, 03:28 PM

Thanks for your reply.
the drive shows nothing allocated. I ran R- studio and it found about 1mb of files but i had 100gb of files on the drive. The disk comes up as RAW as it wants me to format the drive but for fear of not been able to recover files i don't want to do that.

**linderman** · 12-17-2008, 03:37 PM

DONT format the drive & dont try to write to the drive

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...for-NTFS.shtml

craig2 · 12-17-2008, 03:47 PM

i'm using Get data back now and there is an I/O error coming up (error 55 in HD128 Reading LBA) ??

I've just had to restart my pc and now the Maxator disk is coming up as a Dynamic Disk (unreadable) instead of a basic and if i change it to basic is says all data will be lost is this the case ??

**raptor_pa** · 12-17-2008, 05:29 PM

Restart get data back, do not convert to basic disk. A basic disk can be upgraded to dynamic with no data loss, but to revert from dynamic to basic requires a full format - and data loss. It sounds to me like you are developing bad sectors rather quickly, could be heads dragging and scarring the platters. I would try one more pass with GetDataBack and if it fails, then it is time for a trip to a recovery specialist. This is probably not the local computer shop unless they do recoveries regularly. It's a little hard to diagnose precisely on line, but it is sure sounding like things are going south.

**linderman** · 12-17-2008, 07:03 PM

you wont find local shops capable of hard drive recovery ................. if getdataback fails on your next attempt ............. then you will have to evaluate how much your data is worth to you ?

$1000.00 is a sharp price for reputable recovery .......................

12-17-2008, 02:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
craig2 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Backup H/D Wiped Clean Can someone please help? Running XP Service pack 3 My backup 120gb Maxator IDE (2nd internal) hard drive has been wiped clean of all information and now wants me to format (no NTFS file system) it I've tried to get it going again with no success. I've have managed to get the computer to see the disk but it's saying it's clean and wants me to format it but if i do this i will lose everything !!! AAHH!!! I have tried a couple of data recovery programmes but they won't work because the hard drive has no file system .. HELP !!!

12-17-2008, 02:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,543 OS: XP	Re: Backup H/D Wiped Clean Does the drive show as full capacity in disk management? R-Studio and GetDataBack will both do a scan for file headers and won't need the file system to recover data. You could try them. If the disk shows full capacity in disk management the try testdisk to rebuild the MBR and Partition table Sticky for use is here Have you "lost" a hard drive, partition or files in your computer? __________________

12-17-2008, 03:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
craig2 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Re: Backup H/D Wiped Clean Thanks for your reply. the drive shows nothing allocated. I ran R- studio and it found about 1mb of files but i had 100gb of files on the drive. The disk comes up as RAW as it wants me to format the drive but for fear of not been able to recover files i don't want to do that.

12-17-2008, 03:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,402 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Backup H/D Wiped Clean DONT format the drive & dont try to write to the drive http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...for-NTFS.shtml __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

12-17-2008, 03:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
craig2 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Re: Backup H/D Wiped Clean i'm using Get data back now and there is an I/O error coming up (error 55 in HD128 Reading LBA) ?? I've just had to restart my pc and now the Maxator disk is coming up as a Dynamic Disk (unreadable) instead of a basic and if i change it to basic is says all data will be lost is this the case ?? Last edited by craig2; 12-17-2008 at 04:09 PM.

12-17-2008, 05:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,543 OS: XP	Re: Backup H/D Wiped Clean Restart get data back, do not convert to basic disk. A basic disk can be upgraded to dynamic with no data loss, but to revert from dynamic to basic requires a full format - and data loss. It sounds to me like you are developing bad sectors rather quickly, could be heads dragging and scarring the platters. I would try one more pass with GetDataBack and if it fails, then it is time for a trip to a recovery specialist. This is probably not the local computer shop unless they do recoveries regularly. It's a little hard to diagnose precisely on line, but it is sure sounding like things are going south. __________________

12-17-2008, 07:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,402 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Backup H/D Wiped Clean you wont find local shops capable of hard drive recovery ................. if getdataback fails on your next attempt ............. then you will have to evaluate how much your data is worth to you ? $1000.00 is a sharp price for reputable recovery ....................... __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial