Repair or replace the partition table?

I called the WD tech guys and they say the partition table is gone and to send the drive back to them for replacement, I assume I can repair or replace the partition table and recover my data?.

Depending on the actual source of the problem, you might give Testdisk a try.

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Thanks for the reply I have already tried that program but it cant see the USB drive it only sees the internal installed drives.

I am working my way through the list http//www.hiren.info/downloads/data-recovery/hard-drive/3 but have not found any that will see the USB drive.

Thanks again.

Update I booted with Gparted and it does not see the WD drive how ever I started the TestDisk from within Gparted and it sees the WD drive or I think it does, it sees the drive as 2199 Gib

I am running the Analyze option right now I will let you know what it finds.

Still looking for advice on being able to recover a partition table on a HD that connects using USB (external storage)

Thanks again.

Hi,

I would acquire an image of the disk before doing anything else. A 1TB disk will take time to image and will take up a lot of space but you may find that its time well spent as you will have something to rely on if all else fails (including your disk) and as a last resort any data recovery tech will be able to get your files from this image. FTK Imager should see the physical disk and allow you to acquire an image of it without much effort.
Having done this you could then decide to return the device to WD and hope they fix it for you. You could void your warranty by removing the disk from its USB enclosure and connect it directly to your computers motherboard via available IDE channels, this may allow the tools you are using to see the disk directly and recover your files or rebuild the lost partition table.

Good luck!

Hi,

I would acquire an image of the disk before doing anything else. A 1TB disk will take time to image and will take up a lot of space but you may find that its time well spent as you will have something to rely on if all else fails (including your disk) and as a last resort any data recovery tech will be able to get your files from this image. FTK Imager should see the physical disk and allow you to acquire an image of it without much effort.
Having done this you could then decide to return the device to WD and hope they fix it for you. You could void your warranty by removing the disk from its USB enclosure and connect it directly to your computers motherboard via available IDE channels, this may allow the tools you are using to see the disk directly and recover your files or rebuild the lost partition table.

Good luck!

Hi
I thought about making a image before messing with it but I dont have the disk space to support the backups, the drive contains mostly multimedia stuff all my important backups like ghost images of my operating systems are all backed up to DVD.

IMO if the partition table is repairable then I want to repair it, the biggest hurtle so far is seeing the drive in the programs I am using, I thought I would ask here because I am sure you guys get external drives daily that need the same types of repair and diag software run on them.

Another update, the first stage of TestDisk is completed and found nothing I am running the Deeper Search thing now.

Thanks again.

What about previewing the drive in either Encase or FTK if you have it. And copying out the data of the programs see it. I know FTK imager is free and I have used it a few times to copy out the data. Then you can do whatever you need to repair the partition table. Sometimes quick and dirty is easier. Just my .02….

A few random thoughts

1. If the computer doesn't "see" the disk, forensic software may not be able to access it either.

2. I'm not sure why the WD people would jump to the conclusion that the partition table needs to be repaired.

3. I just had a friend with a similar situation. We took the case off and the disk inside was perfect. The problem was with the enclosure electronics. No forensics software needed….just a new enclosure.

4. Is the disk FAT or NTFS? Do you get any error messages while connecting such as "There was a problem with the installation. Your device may not work properly."?

Good luck.

A few random thoughts

1. If the computer doesn't "see" the disk, forensic software may not be able to access it either.

2. I'm not sure why the WD people would jump to the conclusion that the partition table needs to be repaired.

3. I just had a friend with a similar situation. We took the case off and the disk inside was perfect. The problem was with the enclosure electronics. No forensics software needed….just a new enclosure.

4. Is the disk FAT or NTFS? Do you get any error messages while connecting such as "There was a problem with the installation. Your device may not work properly."?

Good luck.

No errors you just dont see the drive in explore I see it in Device Manager, you can plug and unplug the USB cord and watch windows find it and load it and unload it in Device Manager, you click on the properties and the driver is their and it reports it as working ok.

I have no clue about WD I am skeptical it seem like a easy answer to me the guy was not helpful and their was a bit of a communication gap, think he was in India.

I was going to open the case but I think everything is ok but what lets you see the data on the drive I assume its the partition table?

I think its NTFS if I can ever get Windows to see it again I will confirm this .

Thanks again.

A few random thoughts

3. I just had a friend with a similar situation. We took the case off and the disk inside was perfect. The problem was with the enclosure electronics. No forensics software needed….just a new enclosure.

Good luck.

Ditto on this… I've seen several WD drives with disk enclosure problems, I replaced the enclosure and it was fine