Windows no longer boots, secondary HDD is unaccessible

[Messerschmitt]

I'm having some big problems with my computer, specifically I believe with my drives.

I have a SSD where I have windows installed and an older HDD where I keep my file. Now, I think it's worth mentioning that I did change the environment variables to drive D, as per an older article to save the SSD the reads and writes. https://www.overclock.net/forum/355-ssd/1133897-windows-7-ssd-tweaking-guide.html

Anyway, I was copying a huge amount of pictures (a few mb's each) to my old HDD on drive D (about 7000). It was copying until everything crapped out and windows crashed. This is when everything went bad.

IF I disconnect drive D (because I think it might have failed since it was old), drive C will NOT boot. My computer will keep booting into BIOS. If I keep drive D, windows WILL boot, but extremely slow, and I can hear my old HDD keep crunching for a 1-2 seconds, then stopping for like 6-7, then again 1-2 seconds, rinse and repeat.

Windows will be VERY slow to load (while normally it's super fast since it's on SSD), after windows loads, it always wants to do a CHKDSK on drive D, which will never complete as it hangs, and if I cancel, windows will load in 5-10 minutes. Initially will be a blank screen with only my mouse, but if I click, at some point my desktop will show up.

Even so, it's unusable, as nothing will load, and even if I go to "Computer" and click property (wanted to change the environment variables), it will give me a system error.

 

Anyobody have any idea what's happening?

I have installed another copy of Win 7 on another HDD. With my SSD connected, I can access it (can see the files). With my older HDD connected, I cannot access it, and the file system appears as RAW in disk management, but still shows up, with the size.

The only important files were those pictures I was trying to copy, as I was a retard and did a cut from my phone to the HDD (after which I was going to copy them to my NAS), so now I don't have any of those pictures expect on this old HDD.

Thanks.

[jaclaz]

There are two (separate and different) issues as I see it.

1) your "old" install on the SSD is missing the profiles (that are on the hard disk)
2) your hard disk filesystem is "damaged"

If you manage to recover the profiles from the hard disk (#2) and you replace the hard disk, you will also solve #1.

You need a hard disk of same (or bigger) capacity as the problematic one (to replace it) + another one bigger than it (to save the temporary image) and you need to attempt a disk recovery.

Then if the recovery of at least the profiles is successful, you will be able to boot again the old install from the SSD + new hard disk.

Otherwise you may try to reset your user profiles on "C:\" .

The actual guide/instructions you used to "move" the profiles out of the SSD and into the hard disk are the ones in this other thread/post, right?

https://www.overclock.net/forum/355-ssd/1133113-how-move-windows-7-vista-user-program-data-folders-pre-user-creation.html#post15181216

In any case, since you are going to alter manually the contents of the SSD, you would better make an image of it. (so you will need a hard disk with enough free space as the size of the SSD).

Then you should try this:

https://www.nextofwindows.com/fixing-user-profile-cannot-be-loaded-issue-in-windows-7

jaclaz

 

 

[Messerschmitt]

I will probably end up formating and reinstalling a fresh copy of Win 7 after I browse through the SSD and see if I don't have any files there.

What is weird, is that before I was able to start windows with ONLY the SSD and the old HDD disconnected. It gave a few errors probably because the TMP and TEMP folders are missing but it was 99% functional. So something must've gotten corrupted in that huge picture file transfer attempt.

I also tried the windows repair from the windows installation disk, but that doesn't seem to be doing anything. With only the SSD it straight up boots into BIOS. With the old HDD attached, it wouldn't even load into safe mode, but as mentioned after a loooong time it finally boots into normal window

My biggest concern are the pictures I was trying to transfer. I was retarded enough to delete them from my phone after I transferred them to the old HDD, and then all this fiasco happened when trying to copy them to my NAS.

What would be the best way to try to recover them and be able to access the old HDD which now would show up in windows as RAW.

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by Messerschmitt

[jaclaz]

48 minutes ago, Messerschmitt said:

My biggest concern are the pictures I was trying to transfer. I was retarded enough to delete them from my phone after I transferred them to the old HDD, and then all this fiasco happened when trying to copy them to my NAS.

What would be the best way to try to recover them and be able to access the old HDD which now would show up in windows as RAW.

 

Loosely, the "RAW" may depend on an actual (serious) hardware failure (such as a broken head), on trivial hardware failure (such as a misreading/corruption of a single sector) or on a purely "logical" issue (such as a wrong byte value in the MBR). 

The standard procedure is to first thing make an image (dd-like or "forensic sound") of the old disk[1], you will need another, surely working hard disk, slightly bigger.

Depending on how functional the failed hard disk is, you may succeed using a "normal" imaging tool (like dd or similar) or you might need a tool with "special" features (such as ddrescue or similar).

If the disk is not functional, it is simply game over.

Maybe (and I have to underline maybe) a professional might be able to fix hardware issues (and also recover the pictures or at least part of them), but it is not possible to know unless the issue is diagnosed.

jaclaz

 

[1] provided that it actually still works, even if slowly, the "HDD keep crunching for a 1-2 seconds, then stopping for like 6-7, then again 1-2 seconds, rinse and repeat" is NOT a good sign, 

[Messerschmitt]

Thanks, will try those programs.

Hopefully they are free?

[Mcinwwl]

As jaclaz already said, DD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dd_(Unix)

If you are not Linux savvy, or in general not experienced with command line, I guess jaclaz would recommend you DMDE free. https://dmde.com/download.html (as he did reccomend this for me 2 years ago).

If you really need something with a simple UI, you might check out if any of the popular backup software companies, like Macrium, Acronis or Aomei, has a free of charge software that can create an exact image, or other ways, clone the disk, and then mount it or browse it some way. DO NOT look for simple tools to back-up and mount drives, as they usually are designed for fully-functioning disk and Windows installations. Your search might include companies that were closed or quit the market, because any "disk cloning software for Windows 7" should work now the way it was at a release date, I suppose.

[jaclaz]

Yep, DMDE would do nicely (and the Windows version is actually GUI) but maybe it is a little bit too complex for just making the image, it may well be used later for analyzing the image and/or recovering the data (hopefully)

Under Windows I would suggest DataRescueDD:

https://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/v3/drdd.htm

for the imaging, because it has some distinctive features allowing (if needed) the making of partial images and "reading backwards" (something that even if it does sound funny, is sometimes actually useful on problematic media).

jaclaz

 

[Messerschmitt]

Thank you, yes I'll 100% windows, and I will be running windows 7. My first priority is just the picture files if it's possible to get them individually. Creating an image from my downed HDD is a bonus.

This is the second time when copying a few thousand pictures killed HDD's.

Only a few months ago, when I tried moving a large amount of files (thousands of pictures), my NAS started spitting out bad sectors on 1 WD red, then on a 2nd, and I had to get them replaced to not lose integrity (RAID 5).

Now this WD black fails after trying to copy a few thousand pics. Seems like moving around pictures is a HDD killer. The drives are old and several 10k's hrs (the NAS I think had 25k, this black is probably around there or higher).

 

Will try DataRescueDD. Otherwise I'll try DMDE free if DR DD won't work.

[jaclaz]

You have to understand the basic ideas behind the procedure, your priorities are meaningless, no offence intended , but if you severely cut your hand, the priocedure is stopping the bleeding first thing and your priority of (say) cleaning the knife because blood may stain the blade is secundary.

Making an image is not a "bonus" it is the BASIC, FIRST, NEEDED step.

Your drive is NOT functioning (otherwise we wouldn't be here talking about it).

Maybe (and I have to underline maybe) it is possible to make an image (possibly partial) of it on some surely working media and then proceed to attempting the recovery of the files.

Attempting to do so on the original disk drive (malfunctioning), unless the issue is a really trivial and logical one, won't work or even if it will work will take ages.

Once (hopefully) you will have the image, there are two ways to proceed (it depends also on the actual contents of the image and the type of corruption):

1) file system oriented recovery <- this is the approach that would give the "best" results IF it works
2) file oriented recovery (or "direct file carving")<- this is the approach that needs to be used if the above fails and it may produce some good files BUT you will lose path and filename

jaclaz

[HarryTri]

On Κυριακή, 2 Δεκεμβρίου 2018 at 12:57 PM, Mcinwwl said:

If you really need something with a simple UI, you might check out if any of the popular backup software companies, like Macrium, Acronis or Aomei, has a free of charge software that can create an exact image

Macrium Reflect Free can create a forensic image of a disk (I know because I use it).

[jaclaz]

8 minutes ago, HarryTri said:

Macrium Reflect Free can create a forensic image of a disk (I know because I use it).

Yep , the point still being that - like any other similar tool - it may make a forensic sound image of a working or functional disk, and it has to be seen if it does make it as a RAW (or dd) file or it uses any proprietary formats.

At first sight I could only find "direct disk cloning" (with the "Forensic Sector Copy") on Macrium Reflect pages (but I do trust your word for it), the issue is only how it behaves with "defective" sectors and similar , some softwares (designed for backup/copy etc. as opposed to those designed for rescue/recovery) tend to fail or hang forever if "bad" sectors are found and (this is a generic note, not specific to Macrium) high-level, evoluted, automagic programs that can do this (and that and that other thing) might be more "sensible" to "bad" data than plain, simple tools that only do one thing are.

jaclaz

[HarryTri]

9 minutes ago, jaclaz said:

At first sight I could only find "direct disk cloning" (with the "Forensic Sector Copy") on Macrium Reflect pages (but I do trust your word for it)

Have a look at Backup>Compression in the Macrium Reflect's options, the option for making a forensic image is there.

[Messerschmitt]

Hello all.

So I have got my basic computer going. Fresh OS install on my SSD and put in 2 older 3TB reds in Raid, as you probably know reading my other few threads.

Somehow I think my SSD failed to boot because either somehow some files were written on my failed HDD when I first installed the OS, or because I used the SSD Tweak forum and things such as Enable Write Caching on SSD and checking Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device have corrupted the SSD when my HDD failed and it improperly shut down windows. I don't know. There wasn't really a power loss.

 

Anyway, back to my main quest, trying to get my pictures back. I am using DataRescue DD. Seems like the only option is to create a image? I saved it as the default "image[%Range%].dd and did the whole drive.

Now, it seems this will take a LONG time. The timer at the bottom stays at 00:00:00 remaining and the progress bar hasn't moved. But before I let it run over night, I am hoping you can tell me what "Read error at 22bxxxxx: Data error (cyclic redundancy check) means.

The address keeps changing as I am guessing those are bad sectors, but I am getting a LOT of them. Like 10-30 every minute. Does this mean I am SOL and it won't work? These errors started popping up from the very beginning and they haven't stopped since I started writing this (just over 10 minutes).

Lastly, is it possible that the HDD physically failed? Like mentioned it crashed as I was coping the thousands pictures, it didn't really suffered a physical blow (like drive failing off). Can it have brought down everything? While DataRescue DD is going, I can't hear the HDD keep crunching at the same tempo every few seconds. And it took a while until DataRescue DD loaded up the drives.

Also, if the .dd file makes it in the end, what are my options to explore the .dd file and hope I can retrieve my pictures?

Edited December 11, 2018 by Messerschmitt

[jaclaz]

6 hours ago, Messerschmitt said:

Anyway, back to my main quest, trying to get my pictures back. I am using DataRescue DD. Seems like the only option is to create a image? I saved it as the default "image[%Range%].dd and did the whole drive.

Now, it seems this will take a LONG time. The timer at the bottom stays at 00:00:00 remaining and the progress bar hasn't moved. But before I let it run over night, I am hoping you can tell me what "Read error at 22bxxxxx: Data error (cyclic redundancy check) means.

The address keeps changing as I am guessing those are bad sectors, but I am getting a LOT of them. Like 10-30 every minute. Does this mean I am SOL and it won't work? These errors started popping up from the very beginning and they haven't stopped since I started writing this (just over 10 minutes).

Lastly, is it possible that the HDD physically failed? Like mentioned it crashed as I was coping the thousands pictures, it didn't really suffered a physical blow (like drive failing off). Can it have brought down everything? While DataRescue DD is going, I can't hear the HDD keep crunching at the same tempo every few seconds. And it took a while until DataRescue DD loaded up the drives.

Also, if the .dd file makes it in the end, what are my options to explore the .dd file and hope I can retrieve my pictures?

Again, not very good signs, actually bad ones.

Basically a hard disk sector (which is normally seen as being 512 bytes in size) contains - accessible only by the internal citcuits/logic, a record that is a sort of checksum of the contents of the sector itself, called CRC or Cyclic Redundancy Check, this is a value, written at the time the sector is written that is checked when reading the data to make sure that it is valid.

If you have a huge number of such errors, particularly if they come in "a bunch" at cyclical intervals it is likely a (but not necessarily) a failed head.

The image won' t be successful, you can stop the imaging of the whole drive.

You can or you cannot hear the hard disk "crunching" at intervals?

If you stop the program you should still have available the (partial) image (the .dd file).

Check it in a hex editor, or in DMDE.

Is it all 00's or it does contain some data?

All the symptoms till now are that of a failed drive, point is whether some partial data can be copied or not, and if these data are enough to recover (some of) the photos.

If your photos have a value I would suggest you to stop fiddling with the disk and  ask for the assistance of a professional data recovery firm.

Typically we are talking of a cost of anything between US$ 300 and US$ 2000  and there is no guarantee that the photo can be recovered, most "serious" recovery firms (not very easy to find BTW) will ask you anything between US$50 and US$300 to "diagnose" the disk, and then will submit you an estimation of the cost of recovery (id possible).

jaclaz

 

 

Edited December 11, 2018 by jaclaz

[Messerschmitt]

I used DMDE and I blieve I opened the .dd (I used disk image).

I guess the 975mb .dd image doesn't look too good eh? It ran for about half an hour? Before I cancelled it.

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by Messerschmitt