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Seagate error?: folders show as 0bytes or empty


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HI all

First off i would like to apologize for the large picture size :)

i have a e machine windows xp computer.

1.jpg

i have a brand new seagate external drive bought last black friday.

4.jpg

my computer had crashed in december but a friend of mine saved all data in my C drive to the external drive.

he fixed my computer and till about April 13th everything was working fine.

on April 12th i pulled an all nighter, playing WOW, till about 5am. i closed game and turned off the monitor then went to school. i came home at about 3 pm turned on the monitor and a message came up on the welcome screen. i didnt take a picture but

when i logged in the same message showed up.

5.jpg

i freaked and quickly checked the I drive (where my seagate is) and everything showed up as empty or 0 bytes. but the folders were still there.

i went into document and settings folder

i hovered over the user folders and they were empty. they didnt even contain any folders inside it( and there was supose to be a ton of files inside)

then i looked at the program files folder and it was empty. not even folders inside either.

12.jpg

HERES THE WEIRD THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but when i went into to drives properties is showed there was 154gb saved onto the drive ( which is the amount that is supose to be on it)

13.jpg

So

Now i could use so much help to resolve the issue and recover the data. i had a lot of important files saved on it that i cant afford to loose. i havent done anything to it or tryied anything cuz as i said not good hardware skills and i didnt want to risk loosing all data. and at 1st i thought it was a 0LBA error was the issue but since there are still folders within someone disproved that theory.

im really lost and all help would be very much appriciated.

and 1st off i was wonderin if i could even unplugg it for i havent yet. i didnt want to risk anything at all. and somehow the internet conection was bonded to the drive for when the drives "memory lost" the internet connection completely went with it. the provider didnt even show so id need to compleately redo the whole internet provider service and connection and so on. and also it wont recognize a flash drive in the computer.

SO PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!! and if u have any questions PLEASE ask me.

and thanks to everyone ahead of time. :)

~SpiritGuide~

i also cant conect to the internet on it and it wont recoginize when i put a flashdrive into it. i also went into seagate manager and it says no external drive is connected even though it shows that it is connected to the I drive when i go to my computer.

so idk thats why i thought maybe something was wrong with the bios as someone else posted as their thread, i looked into it and it sounded alot like what was goin on with my drive.

can i unplugg it or will that risk loosing everything?

Edited by SpiritGuide
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First off i would like to apologize, i have good software skills but i very poor hardware skills.

Hmm.

i feel real dumb :blushing: .

but i used the insert image option and copied the url but it only came out as the url not the image :blink:

so how do i put up the pictures i had? so u can see wats goin on? :blushing:

You need to upload the images on a free image hosting website, NOT Imageshack as it seemingly has some limitations, and then post the links to the hosted pictures, and obviously NOT the path to the picture on your hard disk.

jaclaz

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Most of the pictures you posted are meaningless (like the ones depicting your PC/CASE or the actual box your HD came in).

The Explorer views are also mostly meaningless. (you should set explorer to show extension and hidden and system files and have a view with "Details" and NOT "Icons")

The only one of interest is the one about "properties" of the disk.

Now, presuming that your drive is still "I:\" do the following:

  1. Open a Command Prompt
  2. In it type DIR /S I:\>C:\Dir_of_I.txt
  3. the above will create in the root of your C:\ drive a file Dir_of_I.txt which represent the actual output of the DIR command
  4. compress this file into a .zip archive and attach the archive to your next post

The error about I:/$MFT is typical of a filesystem problem (that can be caused by hardware, but that is more likely to have been generated by software).

Ideally you should have ANOTHER (at least) 1.5 Tb drive available in order to be able to image the contents before trying to fix (if possible) the filesystem or however to attempt recovering the files.

In other words, we have three possible approaches:

  1. filesystem recovery
  2. mixed filesystem/file based recovery
  3. file recovery

First one can be EITHER very simple or extremely complex and anyway the attempt may "worsen" the probabilities of succeeding wiht the other two ones.

The mixed mode requires, just like the above in the case of complexity, a deep knowledge of filesystem and tools and - with all due respect :) - notwithstanding your declaration about Software skills - you don't seem like having the very basic knowledge to even attempt following a set of instuctions/advices :ph34r: .

Third one is BTW the one that has the most probabilities of success, BUT, depending on the quantity of the data you need back and expecially on the type of files you want to recover, it may be a troublesome (in the sense of long/tiring) path, as you will likely loose ALL the actual filenames (and you will need to re-name files manually).

It's up to you the choice.

jaclaz

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Most of the pictures you posted are meaningless (like the ones depicting your PC/CASE or the actual box your HD came in).

The Explorer views are also mostly meaningless. (you should set explorer to show extension and hidden and system files and have a view with "Details" and NOT "Icons")

The only one of interest is the one about "properties" of the disk.

Now, presuming that your drive is still "I:\" do the following:

  1. Open a Command Prompt
  2. In it type DIR /S I:\>C:\Dir_of_I.txt
  3. the above will create in the root of your C:\ drive a file Dir_of_I.txt which represent the actual output of the DIR command
  4. compress this file into a .zip archive and attach the archive to your next post

The error about I:/$MFT is typical of a filesystem problem (that can be caused by hardware, but that is more likely to have been generated by software).

Ideally you should have ANOTHER (at least) 1.5 Tb drive available in order to be able to image the contents before trying to fix (if possible) the filesystem or however to attempt recovering the files.

In other words, we have three possible approaches:

  1. filesystem recovery
  2. mixed filesystem/file based recovery
  3. file recovery

First one can be EITHER very simple or extremely complex and anyway the attempt may "worsen" the probabilities of succeeding wiht the other two ones.

The mixed mode requires, just like the above in the case of complexity, a deep knowledge of filesystem and tools and - with all due respect :) - notwithstanding your declaration about Software skills - you don't seem like having the very basic knowledge to even attempt following a set of instuctions/advices :ph34r: .

Third one is BTW the one that has the most probabilities of success, BUT, depending on the quantity of the data you need back and expecially on the type of files you want to recover, it may be a troublesome (in the sense of long/tiring) path, as you will likely loose ALL the actual filenames (and you will need to re-name files manually).

It's up to you the choice.

jaclaz

there were 154 gb on the drive. i did what u said but idk how too get to post them im on a seperate computer rightnow. the computer im having trouble with stoped having internet connection when the drive acted up and since then the computer wont recognize me putting in a flash drive. how do i get the zip file to this computer to post? also when i went into seagate manager it says no external drive is connected.

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Look, it's simply NOT possible. :w00t:

An External drive (failed or failing) cannot do anything to:

  1. Internet connectivity
  2. USB device coonectivity

Or you have ALSO a failed/failing OS install/PC hardware. :blink:

Forget the "Seagate Manager" (whatever it is) for the moment.

What happens if you connect the "Freeagent" disk to the PC you have currently running (and connected to the Internet)?

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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if i unplugg the freeagent drive from the pc it on and plug it into the laptop im on could i risk loosing all the data or making things worse. thats just the the thing im afraid of right now is loosing everything on the drive cuz its all there i just cant see it. :unsure:

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hey this thought just occured to me. the usb ports on the machine arent working meaning that when i plug in a flash drive it doesnt come up at alll. so heres wat i just thought about. on the computer we conect to the internet using a wireless motem. in the back of the computer a little device is plugged in for the internet and the seagate drive is connected to the machine as well. do u think that if the usb ports arent workin that would explain why the internet and the drive arent working? and why all 3 stoped working same day?

if it is cuz the usb ports is there way to fix it and does that mean nothing is wrong with my drive after all?

and if i unplugg the drive could i damage or loose the data on it, i think it may be partally connected (if thats even possible) cuz it shows up in my computer.

this thought just occured to me cuz i read your post on how the drive couldnt afffect the internet or the usb device. i rememberd when i had first plugged in my flash drive and it didnt register i tried plugging into the back of computer and the drive and internet connection devive thing(dont know what its called) were both plugged in as well and those where the other things i was having problems with.

so im hoping this is the problem and not the drive cuz nothing else makes any relative sense.

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hey this thought just occured to me. the usb ports on the machine arent working meaning that when i plug in a flash drive it doesnt come up at alll. so heres wat i just thought about. on the computer we conect to the internet using a wireless motem. in the back of the computer a little device is plugged in for the internet and the seagate drive is connected to the machine as well. do u think that if the usb ports arent workin that would explain why the internet and the drive arent working?

Yesyes.gif, that might explain why both your USB modem and USB HDD and USB flash suddenly does not work.

and if i unplugg the drive could i damage or loose the data on it, i think it may be partally connected (if thats even possible) cuz it shows up in my computer.

Rest assured that DATA does not:

  • evaporate
  • rot
  • waste away

by itself.

So try a reboot first, otherwise try it in a different computer and if it still doesn't work try it directly in your computer's SATA connection.

this thought just occured to me cuz i read your post on how the drive couldnt afffect the internet or the usb device. i rememberd when i had first plugged in my flash drive and it didnt register i tried plugging into the back of computer and the drive and internet connection devive thing(dont know what its called) were both plugged in as well and those where the other things i was having problems with.

so im hoping this is the problem and not the drive cuz nothing else makes any relative sense.

Trueyes.gif

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As freeagent desk doesn't have a sata port, he will have to disassemble the enclosure of the drive and thus losing its five year warranty.

It does, you just have to open it carefully and not leave any evidence.newwink.gif

http://fiddlings.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/disassembling-a-seagate-free-agent-desk-1tb/

Anyway, I do not think it will come to that. The problem is probably with his computer's USB ports.

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ok i was right^^ its the usb ports the drive is fine and so is the stuff on it. now i....how do i fix the USB Ports problem :unsure: please help.

and thanks to all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it means alot to me! :D

~SpiritGuide~

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Your motherboard manual should be there.

If this problem affected only the front panel usb, you should first check if the usb cables are well plugged on the motherboard (see page 24/25 or 2-14/2-15).

If all usb were affected, it could be a bios setting, so check in the bios the usb settings (see page 33 or 3-5).

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