shoot2thrill

I changed the geometry to match that of the hard drive and I no longer get the warnings. However, my problem still exists: cannot copy a good backup boot sector over a bad one & cannot write a rebuilt boot sector. I'm thinking this is more effort than it is worth, I already have the important data off it. Thanks for the help!

Does this mean I should be attempting the recovery on her computer instead of mine? I'm getting the impression that if I change the geometry to 255 so my computer can read it, hers won't be able to since it requires 240. Thank for your help by the way.

No, meaning that it is NOT confirmed (nor will be). For *any* reason the partition table (or something else) has gone or is invalid, you need to run recovery oriented software to first thing try rebuilding the parition table and filesystem and, should this not be possible, use file-based recovery. A similar/related thread: If you need help for the recovery start a NEW thread. jaclaz Thank you for the response. That link points me to my exact problem: one partition is seen as RAW by disk management which is why I can't see it. I should be fine following the link you gave me but if not I'll let you know, thanks! Using testdisk I was able to extract the important files I needed. Thanks! I am now attempting to make the drive readable by Windows which can be followed in this thread.

First off, I was able to copy the important data to a different hard drive so right now I am just doing this for more brownie points. I'm attempting to make the entire drive readable by Windows again however I am having difficulty. Here's the story (skip this paragraph if you don't want to read it, it's not too important): my friend's 750GB 7200.11 Seagate drive decided to go into the BSY state one day and became undetectable by the bios. I performed this fix and was successfully able to view the drive in the bios again. Upon booting Windows I noticed that about 350GB of data was RAW and the rest was blank NFTS. This is where testdisk comes in, I was able to perform a deep scan and find the missing partition with all of my friend's data on it and subsequently was able to back up all of the important stuff. I attempted to make the drive readable by windows by writing the new partition table which testdisk recommended, however the write failed. Partition 1: probably some factory default backup section which I don't care about but it would be nice to keep. Partition 2: this is the one I care about reading in Windows which unfortunately is the one which is RAW. Partition 3 extended LBA: I have no idea what this is. Partition 5 [Data]: empty and I don't care about it. The only thing I can see which may be causing the problem is the incorrect number of heads/cylinder warning... Testdisk advanced screen Partition 1 menu Partition 2 menu Partition 2 rebuild BS (list correctly lists files, write fails to write) Any help would be appreciated!

No, meaning that it is NOT confirmed (nor will be). For *any* reason the partition table (or something else) has gone or is invalid, you need to run recovery oriented software to first thing try rebuilding the parition table and filesystem and, should this not be possible, use file-based recovery. A similar/related thread: If you need help for the recovery start a NEW thread. jaclaz Thank you for the response. That link points me to my exact problem: one partition is seen as RAW by disk management which is why I can't see it. I should be fine following the link you gave me but if not I'll let you know, thanks!

My friend's 750gb SD46 drive was stuck in the BSY state so I performed the appropriate fix. My computer recognizes the drive however when I load windows up (from my personal drive not hers) and observe her drive, the drive is only seen as 400GB in size and it is empty. What I am REALLY hoping is that Windows 7 (my OS) cannot read the section of the drive which was written by Windows Vista (her OS) which would mean about 350GB of her data is still on the drive and I just can't see it. Can anyone confirm that this is the case? I would test it myself on her computer obviously but she won't be home until tomorrow. I am glad that the drive is at least detectable in Windows now so if necessary I can run data recovery software.