Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!!

Sig32 · 04-12-2009, 07:24 PM

Ok, I hope this is the right forum for this (mod please move if it isn't). I have a partition on a slave drive that decided to turn from FAT32 to RAW. Needless to say I could not access any of my data from this partition. I am far from being experienced in computers, but I do a lot of searching and asking and get by.

After reading I tried to run chkdsk and it recognized the partition as being FAT32 but it could not read it. After some more searching and reading I came across dskprobe and I went through the steps to read the backup boot sector and re-write it in hopes of gaining access to my data once again.

Problem I have is that when I click read I get, "Disk Probe Error (cyclic redundancy check)" I click OK and then I get "Error reading sectors operation failed". I click OK and then a WinNT Sector Editor window pops up asking if I want to send an error report.

I was really hoping this would work as it turns out that this partition has my Quicken data backups (over 7 years worth) from my business. I desperately need to get this data. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong or if there is something else that I can try? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

**raptor_pa** · 04-12-2009, 08:10 PM

OK it is possible there is a bad sector in the partition table where that partition is described, seems to be what it sounds like. In this case probably best to go for the recovery. Try r-studio or getdataback demos - scan the disk and see if you can find the files you need. After those are safe we'll look at what we can do to recover the partition. You will need another disk to recover the data to, but first thing is let's get the data safe. Also you probably want to implement a good automated backup plan at least for those quicken files that allows you to archive on a media that doesn't run everyday.

Sig32 · 04-13-2009, 04:18 AM

Thanks for the reply. I am searching for the programs now and will update once I use them. I don't know if it is related or not, but I had a 500 gig WD backup drive that started this whole thing. It shows all my partitions, but when I click on them it gives me an "I/O error". The next day I noticed 2 partitions on my desktop slave drives had turned into RAW. I was able to get one back with chkdsk, but its this partition that is giving me trouble.

Sig32 · 04-15-2009, 06:32 PM

Raptor thanks for the help. I ran the program and it found like 67 directories and 1220 files. There were only 3 folders that showed files I recognize (luckily one was my quicken backups) but all of the others were "restore points" and something else. Sorry I can't remember what it was. The computer locked up and I had to reboot. It seems that everytime I reboot chkdsk starts running and finds bad sectors on different partions. Is it safe to say that my slave drive is toast? Its an old IDE drive so I don't need to save it now that I know my files are retrievable.

**raptor_pa** · 04-15-2009, 06:44 PM

Probably is a pretty safe bet... get the files off ASAP if it is finding bads, otherwise they could end up in the files you need.....

Sig32 · 04-16-2009, 04:33 AM

Will do thanks for the advice. Few questions (now that I have someone that knows what they're talking about). I leave my computer on all of the time. It only gets turned off when I leave town, but other than that its on always. Could this have caused the problems I have or do HDD's just tend to die with age?

Also, I was always paranoid about getting some type of virus or spyware on my backup HDD since I leave my computer on all of the time. As a result I would just plug it in when I went to do a backup (it was a USB connection). Was my fear warranted, could I get something on my backup drive if I leave it plugged in all of the time? Is plugging and unplugging it a bad thing, could that have led to the I/O errors that I got?

Sorry for all of the questions.

**raptor_pa** · 04-16-2009, 05:18 AM

Heat is the issue for machines running all the time. I'm sure it shortens the life of components a bit, but I think there is less stress on the drives particularly. My desk top and my fiancees desktop are always on unless we are heading out of town, like you. My laptop is always on except for my morning and afternoon commutes, so it's off about 1.5 hours a day - on all day on weekends. Drives are like anything else electro mechanical, they fail, I've had drives fail in a year, and I have drives here thet are 8- 9 years old...

External drives are a different story, in the small enclosures without ventilation fans they tend to get hotter, and seem to fail quicker from that heat so in my book anyway you are doing everything right.. BTW our machines at work are on 24/7, I worked as admin in a postsecondary school that the machines were on 24/5. So no I don't think you are doing anything wrong.. HDDs just give up eventually. The virus in your backups is always a possibility, some malware looks for all drives, others just works on the C drive.

Sig32 · 04-17-2009, 04:39 AM

Thanks again for all of the help, you are a life saver. I will continue with my practices of disconnecting my backup drive and just leaving the computer on. One last question regarding the backup drive. With my new backup drive I decided to go with an eSata connection vs the USB. I noticed that I have to boot the computer with backup drive connected for the computer to see it. If I disconnect it (once booted) and then reconnect it the computer doesn't see it like it used to with the USB connection. Is this normal with an eSata connection or is there something I am doing wrong?

04-12-2009, 07:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
Sig32 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 13 OS: XP	Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Ok, I hope this is the right forum for this (mod please move if it isn't). I have a partition on a slave drive that decided to turn from FAT32 to RAW. Needless to say I could not access any of my data from this partition. I am far from being experienced in computers, but I do a lot of searching and asking and get by. After reading I tried to run chkdsk and it recognized the partition as being FAT32 but it could not read it. After some more searching and reading I came across dskprobe and I went through the steps to read the backup boot sector and re-write it in hopes of gaining access to my data once again. Problem I have is that when I click read I get, "Disk Probe Error (cyclic redundancy check)" I click OK and then I get "Error reading sectors operation failed". I click OK and then a WinNT Sector Editor window pops up asking if I want to send an error report. I was really hoping this would work as it turns out that this partition has my Quicken data backups (over 7 years worth) from my business. I desperately need to get this data. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong or if there is something else that I can try? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

04-12-2009, 08:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,826 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! OK it is possible there is a bad sector in the partition table where that partition is described, seems to be what it sounds like. In this case probably best to go for the recovery. Try r-studio or getdataback demos - scan the disk and see if you can find the files you need. After those are safe we'll look at what we can do to recover the partition. You will need another disk to recover the data to, but first thing is let's get the data safe. Also you probably want to implement a good automated backup plan at least for those quicken files that allows you to archive on a media that doesn't run everyday. __________________

04-13-2009, 04:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
Sig32 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 13 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Thanks for the reply. I am searching for the programs now and will update once I use them. I don't know if it is related or not, but I had a 500 gig WD backup drive that started this whole thing. It shows all my partitions, but when I click on them it gives me an "I/O error". The next day I noticed 2 partitions on my desktop slave drives had turned into RAW. I was able to get one back with chkdsk, but its this partition that is giving me trouble.

04-15-2009, 06:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
Sig32 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 13 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Raptor thanks for the help. I ran the program and it found like 67 directories and 1220 files. There were only 3 folders that showed files I recognize (luckily one was my quicken backups) but all of the others were "restore points" and something else. Sorry I can't remember what it was. The computer locked up and I had to reboot. It seems that everytime I reboot chkdsk starts running and finds bad sectors on different partions. Is it safe to say that my slave drive is toast? Its an old IDE drive so I don't need to save it now that I know my files are retrievable.

04-15-2009, 06:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,826 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Probably is a pretty safe bet... get the files off ASAP if it is finding bads, otherwise they could end up in the files you need..... __________________

04-16-2009, 04:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
Sig32 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 13 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Will do thanks for the advice. Few questions (now that I have someone that knows what they're talking about). I leave my computer on all of the time. It only gets turned off when I leave town, but other than that its on always. Could this have caused the problems I have or do HDD's just tend to die with age? Also, I was always paranoid about getting some type of virus or spyware on my backup HDD since I leave my computer on all of the time. As a result I would just plug it in when I went to do a backup (it was a USB connection). Was my fear warranted, could I get something on my backup drive if I leave it plugged in all of the time? Is plugging and unplugging it a bad thing, could that have led to the I/O errors that I got? Sorry for all of the questions.

04-16-2009, 05:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,826 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Heat is the issue for machines running all the time. I'm sure it shortens the life of components a bit, but I think there is less stress on the drives particularly. My desk top and my fiancees desktop are always on unless we are heading out of town, like you. My laptop is always on except for my morning and afternoon commutes, so it's off about 1.5 hours a day - on all day on weekends. Drives are like anything else electro mechanical, they fail, I've had drives fail in a year, and I have drives here thet are 8- 9 years old... External drives are a different story, in the small enclosures without ventilation fans they tend to get hotter, and seem to fail quicker from that heat so in my book anyway you are doing everything right.. BTW our machines at work are on 24/7, I worked as admin in a postsecondary school that the machines were on 24/5. So no I don't think you are doing anything wrong.. HDDs just give up eventually. The virus in your backups is always a possibility, some malware looks for all drives, others just works on the C drive. __________________

04-17-2009, 04:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
Sig32 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 13 OS: XP	Re: Partition Turned into RAW, Please Help!! Thanks again for all of the help, you are a life saver. I will continue with my practices of disconnecting my backup drive and just leaving the computer on. One last question regarding the backup drive. With my new backup drive I decided to go with an eSata connection vs the USB. I noticed that I have to boot the computer with backup drive connected for the computer to see it. If I disconnect it (once booted) and then reconnect it the computer doesn't see it like it used to with the USB connection. Is this normal with an eSata connection or is there something I am doing wrong?