Question HDD lost file system, again! How to fix?

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jzeds1491

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Feb 25, 2020
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Hi everyone. I have a 4TB Toshiba Sata internal HDD drive that im using as an external storage (with a sata to usb converter and a trusted power supply) to store my files locally. but yesterday my drive turned into an unallocated hard disk and is inaccessible .
I'm sure my data is totally recoverable, but its second time this happens to me and now I don't have enough free space on my laptop to recover this amount of data .
-is there a way to fix drive format (or volume info or whatever is currupt on file system) to access files like before (without recovering)?
-how could i prevent this? I always safe remove this device and its a healthy drive (sectors - used time- health report).
is buying an external HDD a good alternative (costs a fortune for me)?
 
I always safe remove this device
what do you mean by "safe"?

since this drive is being used as a USB external it will need to be "Ejected" via a Windows command before disconnecting.

each time you may risk the file system and/or the data itself being corrupted if this process isn't followed.
is buying an external HDD a good alternative
i've been using an external drive dock for many years now and have never had any issue with it.
currently has 2x 3TB Barracudas docked.

may be a better option for your situation than using a cheap cable converter.
 
what do you mean by "safe"?

since this drive is being used as a USB external it will need to be "Ejected" via a Windows command before disconnecting.
Yes. safe remove in windows notification center.
i've been using an external drive dock for many years now and have never had any issue with it.
currently has 2x 3TB Barracudas docked.

may be a better option for your situation than using a cheap cable converter.

ok I'll consider an external drive soon. is there a way to fix my drive file system for now? i think it takes days to search and recover lost data and for some reasons i cant start this process right now...
 
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Firstly, you can capture screenshots with Windows' built-in Snipping Tool.

Secondly, the partition metadata in LBA 1 has been corrupted. It reflects a capacity of 2 TiB rather than 4TB. This must be the result of some deliberate action. See Last Use LBA in LBA 1 and Last LBA in LBA 2.

Code:
 LBA:1                  block: 1
 GPT Signature    "EFI PART" ("EFI PART")
 Revision          0001.0000h
 Header Size (92)  92
 Header CRC32      76A873F4h           76A873F4
 Reserved          00000000h
 Current LBA     > 1
 Backup LBA      > 4294967295
 First Use LBA     34
 Last Use LBA      4294967262
 Disk GUID         AAA43CEE-C4B0-4266-B6E2-B25BBE9082E5
 Start Entry LBA > 2
 Entries Number    128
 Entry Size (128)  128
 Entries CRC32     3CE62C4Ah          3CE62C4A

Code:
 LBA:2                  block: 2
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
 Uniq. GUID        EA0C5E10-A5AB-01D9-082F-06F5D5D2EC00
 First LBA       > 34
 Last LBA        > 7814032001
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             Basic data partition............
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 Uniq. GUID        00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 First LBA       > 0
 Last LBA        > 0
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             ................................
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 Uniq. GUID        00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 First LBA       > 0
 Last LBA        > 0
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             ................................
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 Uniq. GUID        00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 First LBA       > 0
 Last LBA        > 0
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             ................................

You should be able to repair this corruption as follows:

Highlight the first line (Disk 2 ...) in your Partitions tab.​
Tick the Advanced checkbox.​
Click GPT off.​
Click GPT On.​
Disk -> Apply Changes.​

Safely remove and reinsert your USB drive so that Windows can reexamine the file system.
 
Last edited:
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Firstly, you can capture screenshots with Windows' built-in Snipping Tool.

Secondly, the partition metadata in LBA 1 has been corrupted. It reflects a capacity of 2 TiB rather than 4TB. This must be the result of some deliberate action. See Last Use LBA in LBA 1 and Last LBA in LBA 2.

Code:
 LBA:1                  block: 1
 GPT Signature    "EFI PART" ("EFI PART")
 Revision          0001.0000h
 Header Size (92)  92
 Header CRC32      76A873F4h           76A873F4
 Reserved          00000000h
 Current LBA     > 1
 Backup LBA      > 4294967295
 First Use LBA     34
 Last Use LBA      4294967262
 Disk GUID         AAA43CEE-C4B0-4266-B6E2-B25BBE9082E5
 Start Entry LBA > 2
 Entries Number    128
 Entry Size (128)  128
 Entries CRC32     3CE62C4Ah          3CE62C4A

Code:
 LBA:2                  block: 2
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
 Uniq. GUID        EA0C5E10-A5AB-01D9-082F-06F5D5D2EC00
 First LBA       > 34
 Last LBA        > 7814032001
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             Basic data partition............
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 Uniq. GUID        00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 First LBA       > 0
 Last LBA        > 0
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             ................................
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 Uniq. GUID        00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 First LBA       > 0
 Last LBA        > 0
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             ................................
 Partition Entry
 Type GUID         00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 Uniq. GUID        00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
 First LBA       > 0
 Last LBA        > 0
 Attributes        0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 Label             ................................

You should be able to repair this corruption as follows:

Highlight the first line (Disk 2 ...) in your Partitions tab.​
Tick the Advanced checkbox.​
Click GPT off.​
Click GPT On.​
Disk -> Apply Changes.​

Safely remove and reinsert your USB drive so that Windows can reexamine the file system.
Oh my! It did work again, all my data is back. You saved the day man thanksssssss yesss
 
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