AnimeSuki Forums

Z3120 · 2008-02-17, 00:00

So it seems like I deleted the partition I had on my external HDD by accident. Any programs you can suggest that'll help me recover my files? I don't want to download everything again

leetdood · 2008-02-17, 00:32

Active Partition Recovery seems able to do this... haven't used it myself but that's what i found on google.

hobbes_fan · 2008-02-17, 04:41

PCInspector (esp if its a quock format), but be prepared for a time consuming process

Ledgem · 2008-02-17, 14:38

I'd think that any data recovery software should be able to do this, unless you deleted the partition and performed a security wipe. This is because when you delete data (including a partition), the system merely marks the space as free to be written to - but nothing is actually overwritten. So your data is all there, the operating system just views it as free space. If you do a secure wipe, the system will overwrite your data on the spot to make recovery difficult or impossible.

Just keep in mind that because of this, writing to your drive in any form will decrease your chances of a successful recovery. Any writing will potentially go over the data you want to recover, meaning that some files will either be unrecoverable or will come back corrupt. If you still want to use your drive while working at its recovery, set the drive to be read-only.

Z3120 · 2008-02-17, 16:00

Right now what I'm finding to be the most difficult, and if possible, is if I can just restore the partition table I accidentally deleted. I managed to copy all files from my external HDD using EASEUS, but I have no idea how to rebuild the partition table as I'm finding not only the ~300 gigabytes of data I lost when I deleted the partition but ~50 gigabyte worth of other files I'm assuming that's being use as blank pieces of paper for the files I want back. What I've noticed is because of these unexpected additional files, if I don't restore every single file and the table, I think practically half of my data will be unusable as I've notice quite a number of my video files that once were playable are now seen as being corrupted.

Any suggestions or where I can ask for more precise help?

Edit: I merely deleted the partition by accident and nothing more. Didn't create a new partition or anything.

Doughnuts · 2008-02-17, 17:42

It depends what software you used to delete the partition (whether or not modified the partition itself, or just deleted it from the partition table). I would dump your MBR and take a look at 0x1BE (where the partition table starts).

Did you/do you have any other partitions on the disk, or is it just 1 full partition?

(Assuming you're on Windows) Grab a copy of WinHex. It's a hex editor that has a wonderful feature that lets you dump drives rather than just files. It's free to trial. So, run it, and make sure you enable write protection to begin with so you don't screw anything up.

Tools > Open Disk. Here you can select a physical drive to open. Open the right drisk, then in the hex view panel select 0x1BE through 0x1FE, then Edit -> Copy Block -> Editor Display and paste it into notepad. (Or if you want, just screenshot the whole window)
While you've still got WinHex open, write down all the information about the disk (Capacity in bytes, cylinders, heads, sectors, bytes per sector, surplus sectors).
Also, scroll down from the MBR, there should be a few pages of Zeroes until you reach some more information (which Should be your partition),. Write down the start address (Example, mine starts at 0x7E00).

Gimme all that information and I may be able to help you rewrite the partition table. If by any chance (though it's probably unlikely) you know the exact number of bytes of the deleted partition, it will make this a whole lot easier.

Z3120 · 2008-02-18, 05:13

Thanks for the offer Doughnuts, but I finally managed to get it working. I can't believe how easy it was with the famed TestDisk.

2008-02-17, 00:00	Link #1
Z3120 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008	Partition Recovery So it seems like I deleted the partition I had on my external HDD by accident. Any programs you can suggest that'll help me recover my files? I don't want to download everything again

2008-02-17, 04:41	Link #3
hobbes_fan You could say..... Join Date: Apr 2007	PCInspector (esp if its a quock format), but be prepared for a time consuming process __________________ *Before you ask "How do I convert fansubs to...." see the following* MP4 - http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=47693 Convert AVI/MKV/MP4 to DVD http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=26308

2008-02-17, 14:38	Link #4
Ledgem Love Yourself Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Northeast USA Age: 38	I'd think that any data recovery software should be able to do this, unless you deleted the partition and performed a security wipe. This is because when you delete data (including a partition), the system merely marks the space as free to be written to - but nothing is actually overwritten. So your data is all there, the operating system just views it as free space. If you do a secure wipe, the system will overwrite your data on the spot to make recovery difficult or impossible. Just keep in mind that because of this, writing to your drive in any form will decrease your chances of a successful recovery. Any writing will potentially go over the data you want to recover, meaning that some files will either be unrecoverable or will come back corrupt. If you still want to use your drive while working at its recovery, set the drive to be read-only. __________________

2008-02-17, 00:32	Link #2
leetdood Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008	Active Partition Recovery seems able to do this... haven't used it myself but that's what i found on google.

2008-02-17, 16:00	Link #5
Z3120 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008	Right now what I'm finding to be the most difficult, and if possible, is if I can just restore the partition table I accidentally deleted. I managed to copy all files from my external HDD using EASEUS, but I have no idea how to rebuild the partition table as I'm finding not only the ~300 gigabytes of data I lost when I deleted the partition but ~50 gigabyte worth of other files I'm assuming that's being use as blank pieces of paper for the files I want back. What I've noticed is because of these unexpected additional files, if I don't restore every single file and the table, I think practically half of my data will be unusable as I've notice quite a number of my video files that once were playable are now seen as being corrupted. Any suggestions or where I can ask for more precise help? Edit: I merely deleted the partition by accident and nothing more. Didn't create a new partition or anything.

2008-02-17, 17:42	Link #6
Doughnuts Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: England Age: 37	It depends what software you used to delete the partition (whether or not modified the partition itself, or just deleted it from the partition table). I would dump your MBR and take a look at 0x1BE (where the partition table starts). Did you/do you have any other partitions on the disk, or is it just 1 full partition? (Assuming you're on Windows) Grab a copy of WinHex. It's a hex editor that has a wonderful feature that lets you dump drives rather than just files. It's free to trial. So, run it, and make sure you enable write protection to begin with so you don't screw anything up. Tools > Open Disk. Here you can select a physical drive to open. Open the right drisk, then in the hex view panel select 0x1BE through 0x1FE, then Edit -> Copy Block -> Editor Display and paste it into notepad. (Or if you want, just screenshot the whole window) While you've still got WinHex open, write down all the information about the disk (Capacity in bytes, cylinders, heads, sectors, bytes per sector, surplus sectors). Also, scroll down from the MBR, there should be a few pages of Zeroes until you reach some more information (which Should be your partition),. Write down the start address (Example, mine starts at 0x7E00). Gimme all that information and I may be able to help you rewrite the partition table. If by any chance (though it's probably unlikely) you know the exact number of bytes of the deleted partition, it will make this a whole lot easier.

2008-02-18, 05:13	Link #7
Z3120 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008	Thanks for the offer Doughnuts, but I finally managed to get it working. I can't believe how easy it was with the famed TestDisk.