I had some crucial data backed up on an external hard drive, which I was using as a temporary storage facility while doing a clean install on a one of my PC's. As luck would have it, while I was half way through the process the external unit died on me, and while I was told that the HD itself was probably okay and that I'd be able to hook it up directly inside my other PC to retrieve the information, I've run into a bit of a problem - some of the data has disappeared.
It's really kind of strange. I either have the entire contents of a folder missing, or everything is there - nothing in between. So if a folder contained 10 files, it wouldn't be a case of just a few going missing. It was either the entire contents, or everything would be left intact.
The strange thing is though that I think the files are still in place. I think what happened was when the unit burnt out or died, the controller somehow screwed up the HD's directory for finding the location of data. Why? Because I was trying to rectify the situation by retrieving a few bits and pieces of the missing material from other sources (laptops, backup DVD's, etc)and came across a strange thing. It only happened on a few occasions, but putting missing files back into an empty folder sometimes seemed to prompt the system's memory, because the other missing files in that folder suddenly reappeared as if by magic the moment I put one of the missing files in it. So one minute the folder was marked as dead empty (and yes, I did double check to see if they had been turned into hidden files) the next they were all back. I tried it on other folders as well, but with very limited success.
So with all that said and done, I'm hanging on to the hope that the files may all still be in place on the disk and that I somehow have to find a way, if possible, to fix up the disk's amnesia regarding their locations. Can it be done?
I should also point out that as far as my operating system is concerned, the disk is still being recognized (and marked) as a Free Agent unit, so I'm guessing that part of the process with external HD's is that there's some sort of data or protocols in place on board to recognize it as a data storage unit.
Could I possibly install the HD as the primary unit, install Windows 7 or Ubuntu on it without wiping the data (I use both on separate PC's and had in fact transferred the files across from my Linux machine) and see if that gives me any joy?
Any thoughts on the matter would be much appreciated.
It's really kind of strange. I either have the entire contents of a folder missing, or everything is there - nothing in between. So if a folder contained 10 files, it wouldn't be a case of just a few going missing. It was either the entire contents, or everything would be left intact.
The strange thing is though that I think the files are still in place. I think what happened was when the unit burnt out or died, the controller somehow screwed up the HD's directory for finding the location of data. Why? Because I was trying to rectify the situation by retrieving a few bits and pieces of the missing material from other sources (laptops, backup DVD's, etc)and came across a strange thing. It only happened on a few occasions, but putting missing files back into an empty folder sometimes seemed to prompt the system's memory, because the other missing files in that folder suddenly reappeared as if by magic the moment I put one of the missing files in it. So one minute the folder was marked as dead empty (and yes, I did double check to see if they had been turned into hidden files) the next they were all back. I tried it on other folders as well, but with very limited success.
So with all that said and done, I'm hanging on to the hope that the files may all still be in place on the disk and that I somehow have to find a way, if possible, to fix up the disk's amnesia regarding their locations. Can it be done?
I should also point out that as far as my operating system is concerned, the disk is still being recognized (and marked) as a Free Agent unit, so I'm guessing that part of the process with external HD's is that there's some sort of data or protocols in place on board to recognize it as a data storage unit.
Could I possibly install the HD as the primary unit, install Windows 7 or Ubuntu on it without wiping the data (I use both on separate PC's and had in fact transferred the files across from my Linux machine) and see if that gives me any joy?
Any thoughts on the matter would be much appreciated.