hard drive errors that chkdsk can't fix

[slag]

hard drive is hosed - won't boot computer.

My wife restarted her pc and she is getting the error msg that the boot device can't be found. I pulled the drive and stuck it in my esata enclosure and I can read the drive but it has problems. I can't get checkdisk or any freeware programs I have to scan the entire drive and fix the issues, even after letting them run overnight.

Ideas/suggestions? Would a linux based boot disk have something that might allow me to read and fix it? I really only want to make an image of the drive and clone it to another, but the programs I've tried all complain that it is corrupted.

 

[corkyg]

Sounds like the drive is hosed.Salvage what folders you can and replace. IMHO, it is beyond imaging.

 

[ronbo613]

How old is the drive? How much has it been used?

Sounds like a good time to go shopping for a new hard drive. Hope you have backups, which is always a good idea.

 

[hojnikb]

recover the data and trash the drive.

 

[Elixer]

Ideas/suggestions? Would a linux based boot disk have something that might allow me to read and fix it? I really only want to make an image of the drive and clone it to another, but the programs I've tried all complain that it is corrupted.

You can use ddrrescue to get it done, or send it to the pros, but, that is really expensive.

 

[Cerb]

recover the data and trash the drive.

You can use ddrrescue to get it done, or send it to the pros, but, that is really expensive.

Both the above. CHKDSK cannot fix drive errors. Nothing can. Programs like Spinrite can temporarily ease them, but are risky, except as a last attempt before throwing it away. Try gddrescue (command: ddrescue). If it can't give you a usable image, then you have to decide what the data may be worth to you, in Benjamins.

 

[slag]

Well, I got home from work and was presented with this:

Disk Check result for G
-----------------------------
Windows has made corrections to the file system.
759922652 KB total disk space.
137777032 KB in 726133 files.
357804 KB in 128189 indexes.
2480 KB in bad sectors.
1005824 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
620779512 KB available on disk.
4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
189980663 total allocation units on disk.
155194878 allocation units available on disk.

It finished. Now to see if I can make a backup with it.

 

[ElFenix]

get as much of it as you can. if it's a seagate you can then use seatools for dos to try to fix some things. it may take a lot of passes (it can only fix 90 sectors at a time). WD may have something similar. then get whatever else off of it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

PS. CHKDSK is quite possibly the WORST thing that you could run on a physically-failing HDD, if you intended to attempt to recover data.

Arguably, ddrescue (Linux) is one of the best.

 

[Ketchup]

PS. CHKDSK is quite possibly the WORST thing that you could run on a physically-failing HDD, if you intended to attempt to recover data.

Arguably, ddrescue (Linux) is one of the best.

This. If a platter is damaged (as opposed to the arm, actuator, interface) chkdsk will block more bad sectors each time it is run. If you can access it at all, grab all the data you can and destroy the drive.

 

[jeani]

Thanks for your post I like your information so nice of you.

 

[RecoveryForce]

I'll list some comments in point form in response to some of the previous suggestions.

• Chkdsk - never run unless the data is backed up
• SpinRite - snake oil that will likely make the damage worse (even their documentation says to backup the data before running the program)
• ddrescue - I recommend this as a great drive cloning tool, as long as you know when to stop
• send to pros expensive - this can be true, but depends on the condition of the drive and the lab you use. Usually the expensive part comes in when the pros have to deal with the damage caused by previous recovery attempts. This case should cost less than $500.

So, that said, it looks like you got lucky with chkdsk not killing the drive before completing. However, the 2480 KB of bad sectors reported is not good, especially if those sectors were MFT records. Basically, chkdsk would have just dropped those records and any files and folders referenced by them will now be lost...and the damage cannot be undone.

If you haven't done so already, get a full sector-by-sector clone of the drive now, before any further stress is put on the drive. I recommend you use ddrescue, which as already mentioned several times by other posters. Once you have the clone, you should then be able to easily recover your files off the clone directly or with the help of data recovery software.

 

[slag]

It was still corrupted as heck. I was able to pull off the important stuff and reloaded her pc with a spare 2 GB drive I had with windows 8.1. Imported all of her stuff, showed her how to get to the classic view, and she is happy as a lark. I'm going to format her old drive and see if I can't get it to clean up a bit. Thanks to all who responded with advice. It was helpful.

 

[RecoveryForce]

It was still corrupted as heck. I was able to pull off the important stuff and reloaded her pc with a spare 2 GB drive I had with windows 8.1. Imported all of her stuff, showed her how to get to the classic view, and she is happy as a lark. I'm going to format her old drive and see if I can't get it to clean up a bit. Thanks to all who responded with advice. It was helpful.

I wouldn't reuse it. It is failing and will only get worse over time.

 

[slag]

I wouldn't reuse it. It is failing and will only get worse over time.

I agree. But I'm curious as to what will happen since I no longer need it. I've migrated everything she needed off it.

On a side note, I installed a Corsair BT100 yesterday in my computer. Holy cowturds, that is so nice and fast. This is how booting a pc should be!!