[olug] corrupt master file table (NTFS)

DYNATRON tech dynatron at gmail.com
Fri May 28 23:02:11 UTC 2010 

it's an older dell "poweredge" server (P4_HT-2.8Ghz), but the HD's (2x750GB,
2x1.5TB) are all < 2yr old. it's been powered on since it was new in box,
except for maintenance and what happened a few years ago...

it's had been hit by lightning, but has worked fine after replacing
blown-out mobo components with cards. i suppose that leaves the door open
for all kinds of issues, but i needed a smb server, and it hasn't given me
any other issues. just this HD.

i've looked into spinrite, but i'm not a fan of closed software. if i could
look at the source, i'd consider paying $90, but not for something closed. i
might have a different attitude if i really needed the data, but mostly i'm
just down for the adventure of it. thanks for the suggestion.



On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 4:06 PM, Dan Linder <dan at linder.org> wrote:

> If it's an older system that's been on quite a bit, it's possible the disks
> are starting to fail at the substrate level.
>
> You might be able to run SpinRite on it:
>  http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm
> They offer a money-back gurantee if it doesn't work for you, but I've had a
> couple of drives it resurrected just long enough to pull the data off of
> before replacing them.
>
> Dan
>
> On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 13:06, DYNATRON tech <dynatron at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > let me say first, that i'm impressed with testdisk as well as the many
> > features and file systems it supports, and i'd like to thank bill for
> > suggesting it. unfortunately, i'm not sure that it will save this
> > particular
> > disk.
> >
> > according to testdisk the MFT mirror was corrupt as well...bummer.
> > i suppose this explains why chkdsk could not fix it, but i'm still
> confused
> > how this can happen in the first place, unless i had a loss of power
> while
> > writing to both MFT's. it seems to me logic would dictate that a drive
> > should edit only one MFT at a time to avoid this situation. this computer
> > hasn't talked to the internet in a couple years, so i find malware to be
> an
> > unlikely possibility. the only thing i can come up with is that i had a
> bad
> > sector in the mirror MFT which only became an issue when i lost the
> primary
> > MFT.
> >
> > for the last 3 days testdisk has been doing this:
> > *
> > Disk /dev/sdb - 750 GB / 698 GiB - CHS 91202 255 63
> >       Partition                             Start              End
> Size
> > in sectors
> > 1 P HPFS - NTFS                   0   1   1   91200 254 63 1465144002
> >
> >
> > Search mft    749338624/1465144002*
> >
> > the last thing i remember doing with it is telling it to attempt recover
> of
> > the boot sector, but i'm not sure what that has to do with the mft.
> >
> > any ideas?
> >
> >
> > On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 11:15 AM, DYNATRON tech <dynatron at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > right on. i appreciate the correspondence. i should be ready to give it
> a
> > > go later tonight. i'm gonna study up on NTFS and testdisk before i dive
> > in.
> > > i'm not the type to walk into an unfamiliar room blindfolded, so i have
> a
> > > little studying to do first.
> > >
> > > thanks for your interest,
> > > -j
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 10:56 AM, Jordan Fox <vmifox at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Sent to you, not OLUG:
> > >>
> > >> I would be very interested in hearing your experiences.  I have some
> > >> experience doing low level HDD stuff and might be able to help some.
> > >> It's been a while though - I've never used TestDisk or recovered an
> > >> MFT.  Though there were at least 2 times that recovering an MFT would
> > >> have been great - I didn't know it was possible at the time (maybe it
> > >> wasn't... testdisk didn't exist yet).
> > >>
> > >> Jordan
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > >> From: DYNATRON tech <dynatron at gmail.com>
> > >> Date: Tue, May 25, 2010 at 9:50 AM
> > >> Subject: Re: [olug] corrupt master file table (NTFS)
> > >> To: Omaha Linux User Group <olug at olug.org>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> thanks bill. testdisk looks awesome<
> > >> http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk>.
> > >> gonna take it for a spin. i appreciate the tip. i'll post back with a
> > >> review.
> > >>
> > >> On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 3:15 PM, Bill Eberly <imjustabill at gmail.com>
> > >> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > I did something similar once. If the backup MFT is still there (I
> > >> believe
> > >> > it's stored at the end of the drive), try TestDisk.
> > >> >
> > >> > If that doesn't work, I recommend GetDataBack. It's for Windows, and
> > not
> > >> > free, but the trial will show you what it can recover. Saved my butt
> > >> once
> > >> > when I accidentally deleted everything on my girlfriend's computer,
> > and
> > >> > then proceeded to destroy the partition table and MFT,
> > >> > _______________________________________________
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> > >> > https://lists.olug.org/mailman/listinfo/olug
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> dynatron digital services
> > >> box 191 - 68037
> > >> www.dynatron.org
> > >> dynatron at gmail.com
> > >> _______________________________________________
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> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
> > >> petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the
> > >> peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
> > >> hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  Phil 4:6-7
> > >>
> > >> "The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the
> > >> distance between your knees and the floor."  Anonymous
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > dynatron digital services
> > > box 191 - 68037
> > > www.dynatron.org
> > > dynatron at gmail.com
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > dynatron digital services
> > box 191 - 68037
> > www.dynatron.org
> > dynatron at gmail.com
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> >
>
>
>
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-- 
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box 191 - 68037
www.dynatron.org
dynatron at gmail.com

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