Question

Restoring a Lost Partition on a IDE Hard Drive

Asked by: LeeGolding

Hi all,

For some strange reason the NTFS primary partition that was on my Western Digital 80Gb IDE drive has dissapeared. The drive is a IDE slave and now shows in Windows 2000 disk manager as having no partitions! Very strange.

Is there a way to get the partition back from the hard drive thus keeping the current file system intact? Its NTFS so I've got high hopes! :)

Nothing else has been written to the drive since the problem so the data should be totally intact. It just appears that the drive has lost its single primary partition thats all.

Thanks as always,

Lee.

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Asked On
2003-08-26 at 15:20:09ID20720840
Tags

partition

,

lost

,

2000

,

restoring

Topic

Windows 2000 Operating System

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
4

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Answers

 

by: CrazyOnePosted on 2003-08-26 at 15:21:39ID: 9228218

Well start with getting your data back first.

Take look at these.

FREE TOOLS

PC INSPECTOR
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm
File Recovery is a data recovery program that supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. The current version 3.x replaces the previous version 2.x, which is now over 6 years old.

Restoration
http://hccweb1.bai.ne.jp/~hcj58401/REST2514.EXE
For 9x/NT/2K/XP. Restore deleted files that are no longer in the Recycle Bin!

Tool to check and undelete partition
Works with the following partitions:
- FAT12 FAT16 FAT32
- Linux
- Linux SWAP (version 1 and 2)
- NTFS (Windows NT)
- BeFS (BeOS)
- UFS (BSD)
- Netware
- RaiserFS
http://www.cgsecurity.org//testdisk.html
-------------------------------

NOT FREE

EasyRecovery DataRecovery is a simple, yet powerful tool that recovers data that is lost, inaccessible or deleted. It's the ultimate do-it-yourself solution for nearly all causes of data loss (except physical hardware or system problems) where your hard drive and system are fully functional.
http://www.ontrack.com/easyrecoverydatarecovery/

File Rescue 2.5
Web:http://www.file-rescue.com/

GetDataBack for FAT
GetDataBack will help you retrieve your files if the hard drive's partition table, boot record, FAT, or root directory have been damaged by a virus, formatting, fdisk or power failure. GetDataBack can even recover your data when the drive is no longer recognized by Windows.

GetDataBack for NTFS
Recover your files when the data is no longer accessible due to formatting, fdisk, virus attack, power or software failure. Get everything back even when the drive's partition table, boot record, Master File Table or root directory is lost or corrupt.
Hard Drives
Partitions
Floppy Drives
Drive Images
Zip/Jaz Drives
http://www.runtime.org/

Norton Utilities/SystemWorks
The Norton Protected Recycle Bin helps you recover deleted and overwritten files.
The UnErase wizard helps you retrieve files you've accidentally deleted.
http://www.symantec.com/nu/nu_9x/features.html

For NTFS
http://www.restorer2000.com/r2k.htm

Data Recovery
http://www.dtidata.com/
Fast File Undelete
http://www.dtidata.com/products_ff_undelete.asp

Undelete
http://www.quantumsoft.co.uk/undelete.stm

File Recover 2000
http://www.filerecover.com/

R-Tools
http://www.r-tt.com/

File Restore
If you've deleted your data and you want to get it back, you need FileRestore.
FileRestore is a simple, easy-to-use tool for recovering files that have been lost or deleted from your Windows system. Designed for Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, and 9x
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/filerestore.asp

Disk Commander
In virtually any situation where you need to recover lost data from a Windows system, Disk Commander is the solution. Disk Commander performs a wide range of data recovery operations.
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/diskcommander.asp

DFSee
http://www.dfsee.com/
As a tool to 'UNDELETE' files that have been accidentaly deleted.
This feature is implemented for HPFS and NTFS only.

MRECOVER
http://kristenonline.com/lain/cih/mrecintro.htm

Emergency Undelete
I believe this is free
For Win2000 and NT may work on XP
http://www.c2000.com/software/#win2000

Back2Life
http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/57588.html

Hard Drive Mechanic
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/6.html
It's true. Even if you just re-formatted your entire hard drive, you can still get all of your data back because, unlike what most people believe, formatting does NOT erase your files! With Hard Drive Mechanic's Unformat Feature, you can restore all of your valuable data in about 10 minutes!
demo version:
http://www.highergroundsoftware.com/downloads2.htm

Filerecovery for Windows
http://www.lc-tech.com/filerecovery.asp
Filerecovery for Windows® is a safe and affordable do-it-yourself data recovery solution that is designed to recover deleted files from all types of media such as Hard Drives, Floppy Drives, SmartMedia, CompactFlash, Memory Sticks, and other types of removable media.

Undelete
http://www.executive.com/consumer/undelete/undelete.asp
You know how upsetting it is to accidentally delete a file that you need—it takes just a moment to lose hours of work. Undelete file-recovery utility captures ALL deleted files including those that typically bypass the Recycle Bin. You can even recover files you purged from our Recovery Bin. With our Emergency Undelete feature, you can recover files deleted prior to Undelete being installed on your system (provided they have not been written over). Buy Undelete and you'll never again be at the mercy of lost data.

Fast File Recovery
http://savemyfiles.com/fastfile.htm
A definite must for the PC guru! It will allow the user to perform all data recovery tasks associated with disks which are not physically damaged.
 

File Scavenge
http://www.quetek.com/prod01.htm
File Scavenge is the most comprehensive, award-winning file undelete and data recovery for NTFS volumes on Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Active UNERASER
http://www.uneraser.com/undelete.htm
Active UNERASER is a compact and powerful undelete utility that can recover deleted files and folders on FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS systems. It can even restore files from deleted and re-formatted partitions.

Undelete 3.0
http://www.pcconnection.com/scripts/productdetail.asp?product_id=309884
Undelete 3.0 restores accidentally deleted files within seconds from anywhere on your system. Version 3.0 includes new SecureDelete, full Windows XP support and expanded search options.

FinalData Data Recovery
http://www1.finaldata.com/
FinalData Data Recovery Solution will recover files that have been lost by   quick formatting, FDISK, FAT damage, MBR damage or directory   destruction. It recovers data from FAT12/16/32, NTFS, and EXT2, EXT3.

BadCopy Pro
http://www.jufsoft.com/badcopy/
BadCopy Pro is a leading data recovery tool for floppy disk, CD-ROM, CD-R/W and other storage media. It can effectively recover and rescue corrupted or lost data from damaged, unreadable or defective disks. Various damage situations and all file types are supported.

Directory Snoop
http://www.briggsoft.com/dsnoop.htm
Directory Snoop is a low-level forensic utility that can recover erased files in an emergency, wipe sensitive data, and search for hidden data at the cluster level. Step through your File Allocation Table (FAT) and map individual clusters back to the file that owns them. Purge orphaned (and possibly sensitive) file names right out of the directory structure. $29 shareware for Windows 95 through XP (NTFS drives not supported).

------------------------------------
Or Data Recovery Services

http://www.ontrack.com/datarecovery/
Ontrack offers a full range of data recovery solutions to address your data loss needs. Unlike other data recovery companies, Ontrack provides exclusive and patented solutions that do not require you to send in your media for recovery. In situations where the hardware is functioning normally, our patented Remote Data Recovery service and EasyRecovery software solutions can solve your data loss needs safely and effectively in a matter of hours. If another company claims that there is no alternative to shipping your drive, it's because they don't offer an alternative. For situations in which the hardware is physically failing, our In-Lab services will utilize our Class 100 clean-rooms to retrieve your mission critical data.

or

FLAT RATE DATA RECOVERY PRICING INCLUDES!
http://www.i-t-s.com/datarec/datarec_pricing.htm

or

Total Recall
http://www.recallusa.com/
Our recovery and forensic technology is used by support and call centers as well as data recovery providers world-wide.

ESS Data Recovery
http://www.savemyfiles.com/
ESS Data Recovery, Inc. has been removing barriers in the data recovery and computer forensics market ever since its inception

 

by: LeeGoldingPosted on 2003-08-26 at 15:33:14ID: 9228276

Thanks CrazyOne.

We already have "EasyRecovery Professional" and its found every file that was on the hard drive. So every file is intact.

*The drive that losts its partition is a primary master and has Windows 2000 Server installed on it until the partition loss. I should have told you that earlier I suppose. So there is some reasonably important information on there that hasn't been backed up due (I know I should always backup :)*

Whats the procedure to recover the drive back to before the problem? Recover the data to a large hard drive. Repartition the original drive and copy the restored files to it. As its a primary Windows 2000 server partition, do I need to create a MBR?

Is there not a way to just create a new primary partition and restore the MBR and file allocation table?

Points upped to 500 :)

Thanks,

Lee.

 

by: bkoehler-mprPosted on 2003-08-26 at 18:07:05ID: 9228939

I've used Disk Commander from Winternals software to recover a partition table (one of the many suggestions from CrazyOne).
http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/index.asp

 

by: rand1964Posted on 2003-08-26 at 20:16:01ID: 9229447

I would boot it with the Operating System disk in the CDROM, after going into the CMOS and selecting "boot from cdrom", and select recovery console.  It will bring you to a command prompt.  Look around and make sure you see everything.  I would then run a "bootfix" and see if that works.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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