Recover Data from GPT Partition (Ideas?)

[iladelf]

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[Mindfulness]

Following best practices(this will give you best results) , I would first make a clone of the drive and then do your recovery from the clone.

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48269

After the clone is made, try a program like r-studio to see if it could recover the data from the clone you created.

 

[MobileTechie]

A linux disk like knoppix or parted magic should be able to see it OK

 

[300DDR]

I agree with Mindfulness. It needs to be cloned first since it has bad sectors for sure. After getting as many sectors cloned as possible, then you can start looking for the data on the image. Maybe it's already too far gone (it may have been corrupted by the fact you've connected it to PCs which may try to repair it in the background, and fail), maybe it's just a corrupt partition and the linux disk isn't seeing things correctly. Either way, best first step was (and is still) to clone the drive IMO.

 

[lcoughey]

I agree, the first step should have been to get a clone. Give it a go, if it isn't too late. Don't push it too hard. If you find yourself fighting to get the drive to read sectors, stop and talk to a pro before it is too late.

On a side note, you should never run a diagnostic on a failing drive. The best it will do is tell you what you already know. It could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

There are several members of this forum who own a DDI system. If I were you, I would, at the very least, contact one of them to get the clone for you.

 

[300DDR]

Spinrite

 

[seedubya]

Spinrite

BEST PROGRAM EVER!!!!!!

if you don't care about your data

 

[lcoughey]

The diag I ran was the full scan Drive Fitness Test, and about 3/4 of the way through, determined the drive had bad sectors. I simply shut the program down at this point and did nothing. Had no clue whether or not the drive was "bad" or not, so that's why I ran the diagnostic. My assumption is that is what the diagnostic software is for; as a tech, you can determine whether or not you want to proceed to recover the data or not (via the diagnostic software, Spinrite, clone or something else).

I can understand where you are coming from, thus why I try to educate. If you feel you should run a diagnostic on a drive, it is better to clone every sector that you can read rather than just test them. If you get to the 80% mark, hit a scratch on the drive and it fatally crashes, you have 80% cloned vs 80% tested with nothing saved. I suspect most clients would rather pay you for recovering 80% of their data rather than testing 80% of their drive before it crashes.

Will keep the clone thing in mind, but since this is a home user, I doubt there's anything that needs backing up anyway.

Don't underestimate the value of the data because they are a home user. The majority of my clients (directly or indirectly via re-sellers) are home users who value you their data a lot higher than you would expect. I even have a client who is willing to spend thousands to recover data from a cracked microSD card for the baby photos on it.

To the forum moderators: Can we get SpinRite and HDDRegen tagged as bad words on the forum?

 

[JustInspired]

Spinrite

Isn't that made by Mel Gibson?

But seriously, on a non booting system we'd find out in advance whether the customer needs data recovery and we'd image the drive before subjecting it to any other stress especially if we suspect the slightest issue with the drive itself.

I was like you once but I have learned a lot here! Dont "bear it in mind"... make it standard operating procedure.
The customers' data on that drive is what's important at the end of the day especially if they don't do regular backups. Everything else is replaceable.

 

[kisk]

Not sure why the initial post was edited to be empty but linux (backup #1 files directly first), then ddrescue would be my route. Some may argue on my order

 

[seedubya]

Actually just had one today. I can confirm that R-Studio will recover files.