• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Hard Drive suddenly needs reformat??!

B

bencho

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
2,093
Hey, So I have an IcyDock external and I was moving files over. Suddenly, things just freeze up and it says the drive now needs to be formatted before it can be read. Tried ejecting it and trying another slot, reboot... but no luck.
Drive is a Samsung 2TB F4, flashed with the new firmware

???? Why did it do that and what can I do??
 
Last edited:
I would start by taking a look at the SMART raw data with a program like CrystalDiskInfo.

Also please resist the urge to format if you want any hopes of recovering whatever data is on the disk.
 
I do have crystal, I just hit the scan button and it says good.
How do I look at the RAW?

Yea, I've had issues in the past with HDDs, I didn't format it.



EDIT---
It's not showing up in CrystalDiskInfo anymore?
 
Last edited:
Which Icy Dock enclosure do you have and how is it connected to your box? If it is FW, USB or even esata, take it out and connect the drive to an internal SATA port to rule out the enclosure and cable(s) connecting it to your box. See if that solves the problem (if so, get a new enclosure) and if it doesn't, please paste the SMART screen from CrystalDiskInfo into this thread.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198044

That one. Normally it's connected via esata.
Right now I have it under USB just in case the esata had driver issues.

I actually have GetDataBack running to scan the disk just in case. I tried different slots and same issue.

I'll run the CDI after the scan finishes... EST was approximately 24 hours to scan all 2TB.

I just found something called TestDisk by CGSecurity... Might try that as well when the scan is finished. Bad year, this is 3rd HDD to blow on me :\
 
I used TestDisk and found the partition. However, when I try to list the files, it says "no files found, filesystem may be damaged"

The boot sectors are identical but the "Repair MFT" option gives me "MFT and MFT mirror are bad Failed to Repair them"
 
Like I said, take it out of the case and plug it in straight SATA, to remove any failure the enclosure may have caused/be causing before you proceed with anything.
 
I did move it to sata directly to my mobo last night...
The TestDisk result was found this morning after deep searching all night.
I had to get to work so I'll post up SMART if CDI sees it when I get back from work.
 
bencho said:
I used TestDisk and found the partition. However, when I try to list the files, it says "no files found, filesystem may be damaged"

The boot sectors are identical but the "Repair MFT" option gives me "MFT and MFT mirror are bad Failed to Repair them"
Click to expand...

I used a product from this company that located a deleted partition AND allowed me to recover all my files.

http://www.unformat.com/
 
I use GetDataBack for file recovery.

I just tried to CrystalDisk and it does not show up at all. Weird, as I have it directly attached to my mobo via sata. Is there any other way to see if the drive is dead or dying?
The Windows CHeckdisk I ran this morning did recover some files but approximately 900GB is GONE :\
Going to try to run GetDataBack again and see how much more I can pull off.

Ugh.. why are disk drives so damn unreliable this year
 
Ugh.. why are disk drives so damn unreliable this year
Click to expand...

It could just be bad luck. Another common reason is poor shipping. Could be a bad power supply / power spikes, vibrations..

I just tried to CrystalDisk and it does not show up at all.
Click to expand...

Is is showing up in windows when CDI does not see it?
 
Yea, who knows. Now I'm paranoid enough to blow a bunch of money for a backup of my backup :(

It does show up windows. I left Windows Checkdisk on this morning before work and saw it tried to repair stuff. Just got home and logged into PC to see the drive loaded and ready to go... except it was 900/1800GB instead of 1600/1800GB :(

Big question: Will copying the files off the drive alter/screwup whatever is left on there that is not seen by the MFT? I want to get what I have off it NOW and maybe run something else you guys suggest to test the drive for issues.
 
Your best bet was to buy a new drive and make a bit for bit copy then do your recovery attempts on the copy leaving the source disk alone. Although after running several tools especially chkdsk (which can destroy good data) you probably lost that chance.

Big question: Will copying the files off the drive alter/screwup whatever is left on there that is not seen by the MFT?
Click to expand...

I think you are okay as long as it is a copy not a cut / paste. In the past ntfs used to update the last access time on every file however I believe that is disabled by default.

Code: 
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>fsutil behavior query disablelastaccess
DisableLastAccess = 1

C:\Windows\system32>
 
Last edited:
Hard drives at times lose partition information, which is the error you see. Whenever a previous good hard drive all of a sudden acts as if there is no partition or it needs to be formatted, run a disk check. I've cured so many drives with that. If it's a primary disk drive boot to Windows Setup disk and open a repair console and type in chkdsk /r If your in Windows just plug in the drive and run the checkdisk with both boxes checked.
 
Hard drives at times lose partition information
Click to expand...

Either this is a rare event or we are very lucky at work and otherwise. I manage 200+ drives for the last 15 years and I have never ever had a drive that just lost its partition table. I believe there are a few scenarios that can do this like a virus, bad sectors at the beginning of the disks, improper shutdowns, using a 3TB drive on a system that does not support 3TB drives ... however I have never ever seen that not even once.
 
Last edited:
Yea usually i hear telltale clicks or notice consistent stuttering.
This was just out of the blue BOOM.
I was copying over about 150GB or so and halfway through, the IcyDock cycled through and the drive needed a format.
I got more of the data back last night but about 350GB is gone for good I think.
I'll be sure to run Windows checkdisk first thing next time.

Haven't shopped for a HDD in a long time and I'm shocked to see the prices still so high for the 2TB.
Probably going back to WD this time after Sammy bought Seagate :\
 
So I got what data I could transferred off the bad drive.
Currently running HDTune error checking on it and it immediately came up with "spin up failures"
When I get back from work, I'll see if there are any bad sectors.

Otherwise, should I try to RMA immediately?
Also, Crystal disk does NOT see the drive, even though HDTune reports it as having SMART.
 
I would rma it. I am not sure what Seagate's policy on RMAs for Samasung drives is. For Seagate drives the ask for a code from the SeaTools program but allow you to say something like "I cant get the code / I know its bad."
 
Yea... I'm kinda sad that Sammy bought Seagate.
The HD204UI (bad drive) I'm scanning now is FAST... @ 120Mb/s
The WDGreen 2TB i have was only topping @ 90Mb/s or so.

Pretty sure both are 5400. But the Samsung is faster, quieter, cooler... albeit dead :( Can't find these TRUE Samsung drives anymore :\

Also, what can I run to wipe the disk before RMAing it? I think the consensus was KillDisk, any other opinions?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top