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Resolved Question

HDD suddenly became blank

Jul 6, 2016 4:04AM PDT

I have both Ubuntu 14.04 and Windows 8.1 installed. And I have two hard drives. SSD (With both OS installed on it) and old-school HD (with only one 450Gb partition and 1Gb unallocated space before it) with all the music and video stuff (but some important docs as well). Today after restarting Ubuntu and starting Win before the actual windows boot the message appeared that my HD is being checked on errors. Ok, so the check finished and Win booted normally. But now my HD is totally empty with only $recylcle.bin folder on it. At the same time it still says it's 90% full. So it looks like all my data is there. I just don't see it because of some problem.

So I ran MiniTool Check File System and it showed:

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...
291776 file records processed.
File verification completed.
4710 large file records processed.
0 bad file records processed.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage ...
Deleted invalid filename liboxideqtcore0:amd64.postrm (43612) in directory 44944.
Deleted invalid filename liboxideqtcore0:amd64.postrm (43612) in directory 60382.
An unspecified error occurred (6672732e637878 78a).


Then I ran chckdsk /r E: and it showed just the same as MiniTool.

Then I ran MiniTool Surface Test and it showed:

Scan Surface complete. 3 errors found.

If i go to Hard disk properties in files explorer and choose Tools - Error checking - Check, then is says there are problems and suggests to fix them but can't do it and finishes with the link to admin log where it is all the same again:

Chkdsk was executed in read/write mode.

Checking file system on E:
Volume label is Stuff.

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...

291776 file records processed. File verification completed.
4710 large file records processed.
0 bad file records processed.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage ...

Deleted invalid filename liboxideqtcore0:amd64.postrm (43612) in directory 44944.

The NTFS file name attribute in file 0xaa5c is incorrect.
6c 00 69 00 62 00 6f 00 78 00 69 00 64 00 65 00 l.i.b.o.x.i.d.e.
71 00 74 00 63 00 6f 00 72 00 65 00 30 00 3a 00 q.t.c.o.r.e.0.:.
61 00 6d 00 64 00 36 00 34 00 2e 00 70 00 6f 00 a.m.d.6.4...p.o.
73 00 74 00 72 00 6d 00 ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? s.t.r.m.........

Deleted invalid filename liboxideqtcore0:amd64.postrm (43612) in directory 60382.
The NTFS file name attribute in file 0xaa5c is incorrect.
6c 00 69 00 62 00 6f 00 78 00 69 00 64 00 65 00 l.i.b.o.x.i.d.e.
71 00 74 00 63 00 6f 00 72 00 65 00 30 00 3a 00 q.t.c.o.r.e.0.:.
61 00 6d 00 64 00 36 00 34 00 2e 00 70 00 6f 00 a.m.d.6.4...p.o.
73 00 74 00 72 00 6d 00 ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? s.t.r.m.........

An unspecified error occurred (6672732e637878 78a).


There is already no warranty on my laptop so I have to deal with it myself.
What should I do?
It doesn't mount in Ubuntu as well.
Please let me know if you need any additional information from my side.


Discussion is locked

Seybo has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Here is the solution
Jul 7, 2016 10:29PM PDT

I managed to solve the problem myself and I'm really surprised to see WD official representative suggesting me to buy a new HD instead of how to fix my problem.

So here is what a real professional should have suggested me. In my humble opinion.

There is a great tool Victoria.
I have used it and got this great results.

Here is what i had before (notice 197 parameter value and errors on the second screen):
https://postimg.org/gallery/3e8e4pnlk/

Then I restored all my data with R-Studio and after it did full HD Write with Victoria.
And this is what I have now after it:

http://postimg.org/gallery/260vjti8y/

All the problems are gone and I continue to use my drive.

What i'm still concerned with is Load/Unload Cycle Count of whopping 1.5 million.

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I've seen folk recover and not put in a new drive.
Jul 8, 2016 9:35AM PDT

Later they are back. Some forgot to make a backup while the drive was working.

No maker or tech should tell you that this drive is to be trusted.

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Answer
Just last month
Jul 6, 2016 12:44PM PDT

Similar issue. I used Recuva to copy the client's files out and we started over with a new drive.

The yellow items to me mean the drive appears to be failing.

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Answer
HDD Replacement
Jul 7, 2016 5:36AM PDT

Hi @Seybo!

I'm sorry to say that, but the drive appears to be failing, so the best option will be to replace it with another unit. Current Pending Sectors are active visible bad sectors that cannot be read but are still visible to the operating system. These are dangerous and cause a lot of problems, which is why I would suggest to change the drive

As for the data on it, since it's not recognized by Linux and none of the third party data recovery software seems to be allowing you to transfer it then will be best to consult with a data recovery company and see if they can help you in this situation. Here's a link with few WD recovery partners you can take a look at if you want:

http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=S3QSEb

Hope this helps and best of luck!

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Answer
(NT) Stop writing to that disk.
Jul 7, 2016 5:58PM PDT
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Answer
Stop writing to that disk
Jul 7, 2016 6:06PM PDT

Your going to make any data recovery more difficult.

Run a pass of recuva if it can find anything start copying it out.

If no go your looking at a data recovery house.