-Does your computer fail to bootup? -Does your computer freeze and reboot? -Cannot access your data due to the lost password? -Does your computer contain critical data? -Don't have a recent backup? -Reformatted your harddrive? -Accidentally deleted files?
Our blog will provide the relevant information on free tools, techniques, and approaches to recover your computer and get your valuable data back.
Showing posts with label hard drive recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hard drive recovery. Show all posts
Partition Recovery is a Free Partition Recovery Software for Windows, which can save
your data and restore your drive functionality in the most disastrous
conditions, when the drive is not physically damaged, but is inaccessible due
to the lost or deleted partition.
MiniTool Partition
Recovery can recover lost and deleted partitions from different types and
verities of the drives: as IDE disk, SATA disk, SCSI disk and Removable disk. The
operation can be performed fast and easily, with not much technical knowledge
of the users on the professional secrets of the computers configuration. Software
supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS and NTFS5 file systems.
MiniTool Partition
Recovery can run under 32/64bit Windows 2000 Pro./XP/Vista/Window 7. It is
must-have partition recovery software, and it is totally free for home users.
Sequence of Operations
The full process of the partition recovery from start to finish can be outlined by 7 simple steps.
Launch the software
Click Next to recover partition
Select a disk you which contains the lost partitions, and then click
Next button to continue
There are three scanning rage modes:
·Full
Disk
·Unallocated
Space
·Specified
Range
In general cases, it
is recommended to choose "Full Disk" as your option for simplicity. Then
click Next button.
There are two scanning methods and you can choose one according to
your need and click Next:
Usually, MiniTool Partition Recovery could find your lost or deleted
partitions in a few minutes.
Then you could choose the recovered partitions and click Finish.
License
MiniTool Partition Recovery is for private,
noncommercial, home computer use only. Use of MiniTool Partition Recovery
within any organization or for commercial purpose is strictly prohibited.
Does not matter if the data on your hard drive is alive or not, without valid boot sector, you will not be able to access it. Like you cannot get inside your house, when the door is locked, and the key is lost or damaged. The freeware utility, developed by the respectable Roadkill.Net, Boot Builder, allows you to create your own custom boot sector from scratch. You get an opportunity to recreate or restore boot sectors lost due to virus or other damage to a drive. Boot sectors can be imported to a disk (and exported from there), or created from available template.
This program supports FAT and NTFS boot sector types for Windows operating systems Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7.
XXCLONE is a handy utility with distinctive number of useful features and professional approach to backing up and restoring a hard drive. Its main features:
Makes a self-bootable clone of Windows system disk.
Supports 32-bit Windows (95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP).
Can restore the self-bootability in many cases. It takes only a minute to run.
Supports common internal disk drives (IDE, SATA, and SCSI).
Supports external USB/FIREWIRE drives (good for a laptop).
Competes with Norton Ghost, DriveImage, MaxBlast and is much faster than any of them regular backup operations.
Need not go to the DOS mode. Operates in regular Windows environment.
Simple to use by novices.
XXCLONE advantages
XXCLONE views a Windows disk as a collection of files and directories and with a few exceptions, its access to data on the disk is carried out as a logical (file) access operations using the standard Windows file I/O Application Program Interface (API).
Whereas, nearly all of competing products on the market that are designed for disk cloning operations access the disk using physical, low-level (sector to sector) device I/O technique.
In short, XXCLONE is a special purpose file-copy utility with extra features to make the target volume self-bootable (this portion of the operation still requires low-level disk I/O). It is not a disk-imaging tool that treats a disk as a collection of sectors. Much of XXCLONE's advantages represent a result of this fundamental difference to its competing products.
Here is a list of contrasting characteristics in the two approaches in the disk cloning problem.
When a clone operation is performed for the first time, all the files created on the target volume will be stored in a contiguous region. Therefore, the clone operation in full backup mode automatically performs the so-called "defrag" operations.
The competing products that are based on a sector-to-sector duplication principle propagate the same degree of fragmentation found in the source volume to the target.
When the same clone operation is repeated for regular volume backup, XXCLONE can skip files that were unchanged since the previous backup.
Disk-imaging products typically cannot perform an efficient backup operation in incremental mode (Note: some products do claim to skip unchanged sectors).
You may operate XXCLONE in a regular Windows session without stopping your routine use of the computers, since XXCLONE acts as a regular Windows application for most of its operations.
Disk-Imaging tools typically force you to terminate a Windows session and run in DOS mode.
XXCLONE can clone a volume into another with a different file system. That is, you may clone a FAT volume into an NTFS volume or vice versa.
Disk imaging products require the same type of file system between the source and the target volumes.
With XXCLONE, the target volume's size need not match that of the source. As long as the target volume has the capacity to hold the files, it can even be smaller than the source volume.
Free Version Limitations
Here's a list of the basic XXCLONE features that are supported by *ALL* packages of XXCLONE.
Makes a self-bootable clone of the system volume.
Makes a full backup of a non-system volume.
Restores (repairs) the self-bootability.
Makes a Quick Boot Diskette (QBD).
Makes a batch file for repeated operations.
May show alternate wallpaper for distinct look.
May shut down the system after its job is done.
May throttle down its CPU usage.
Can save log and debug files.
Can add an entry in the boot menu for testing.
Can duplicate the Volume ID.
Can be run with command line options (batch file).
Can be invoked in minimized/hidden modes.
Provides a convenient button for the DiskMgmt tool.
When you install and run the XXCLONE Freeware, you will immediately notice that some of the backup options are disabled (grayed out in the display). Currently, there are two things that the Freeware does not support.
The Freeware does not support any of the incremental backup options. Every clone operation will be a fresh, full backup that takes a long time. It demonstrates XXCLONE's basic capabilities. We don't recommend the Freeware use on a daily basis because of the wear-and-tear of the hard disk.
The ability to make an unattended operation. You may write a batch file but you need to be there to click the start button (the /START option has no effect in Freeware).
Disk Investigator helps you to discover all that is hidden on your computer hard disk. It can also help you to recover lost data. This freeware utility displays the true hard drive contents by bypassing the operating system and directly reading the raw drive sectors. You can view and search raw directories, files, clusters, and system sectors.
Two most widely used practical applications are the ability to verify the effectiveness of file and disk wiping programs, and possibility to undelete previously erased data.
While the software is not designed for the computer illiterate users, in some cases, it can recover the data, when other software utilities, even commercial, fail. It is a very powerful utility, where you can edit your Hard Drive on a sector-by-sector basis, and access the layers, which you have difficulties to access by any other tools.
Why do you need booting your computer from CD or DVD?
Booting from a CD is sometimes necessary to run advanced tools like memory testing programs and password recovery tools. You'll also need to boot to a CD or DVD if you're planning to install an operating system like Windows XP or run diagnostic tools like the Windows XP Recovery Console. When you boot from a CD, what you're actually doing is running your computer with a small operating system that's installed on the CD. When you start your computer normally, you're running with the operating system installed on your hard drive - Windows, Linux, etc.
When do you need booting your computer from CD or DVD?
Your Hard Drive is corrupted and you cannot boot up through the conventional options. You usually try first more simple options of recovery like Safe Mode or Last Working Bootup Configuration. The sample of error message you might get is as follows: "Boot sector corrupt. Config.sys missing. Disk cannot be read."
You forgot your administrative password, and you cannot login to your locked computer a regular way.
Your computer is infected with virus, and you need to perform a deep Hard Drive cleaning, including the basic drivers, through external operational features.
You need to manipulate the Operating System drivers that constitute the core of the system, and are used by it even in the light Safe Mode. For example, you need to perform manual rebase of the basic Windows drivers to increase virtual memory interval for the high memory resources consuming software utility.
You need to perform Hard Drive imaging for backup purposes. Many utilities require booting up from the DOS or Linux external environment.
Time Required: Booting from a CD or DVD usually takes less than 10 to 20 minutes.
Here's How:
Change the BIOS boot order so the CD or DVD drive is listed first. Some computers are already configured this way but many are not. Usually, the key required to press, to enter BIOS, is shown on the first page. However, you need to click fast (sometimes, repeating multiple times) to ensure that your request has been processed. The key or keys combination depends on the computer model and manufacturer.
If the CD or DVD drive is not first in the boot order, your PC will start "normally" (i.e. boot from your hard drive) without even looking at what might be in your disc drive.
Note: After setting your optical drive as the first boot device in BIOS, your computer will check that drive for a bootable CD or DVD each time your computer starts. Leaving your PC configured this way shouldn't cause problems unless you plan on leaving a disc in the drive all the time.
Insert your bootable CD or bootable DVD in your disc drive.
How do you know if a CD or DVD is bootable? The easiest way to find out if a disc is bootable is to insert it in your drive and follow the remainder of these instructions. Most operating system setup CDs and DVDs are bootable, as are many advanced diagnostic tools.
Note: Programs downloadable from the Internet that are intended to be bootable discs are usually made available in ISO format.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Watch for a Press any key to boot from CD... message.
When booting to a Windows setup CD/DVD and many other bootable discs, you may be prompted with a message to press a key to boot to the disc. To boot to the CD or DVD, you'll need to press any key on your keyboard (like the space bar) within the few seconds that the message is on the screen.
If you do nothing, your computer will check for boot information on the next boot device in the list in BIOS which will probably be your hard drive.
Some bootable CDs and DVDs do not prompt for a key press and will start immediately.
5. Your computer should now boot from the CD or DVD disc.
Note: What happens now depends on what the bootable disc was for. If you're booting to a Windows Vista DVD, the Windows Vista setup program will begin. If you're booting to a Slackware Live CD, the version of the Slackware Linux operating system you've included on the CD will run.
If you tried the above steps but your computer did not boot from the CD or DVD properly, check out some of the tips below.
Tips:
Recheck the boot order in BIOS. The number one reason a bootable disc won't boot is because BIOS is not configured to check the CD/DVD drive first.
Do you have more than one CD or DVD drive? Your computer probably only allows for one of your disc drives to be booted from. Insert the bootable CD or DVD in the other drive and restart your computer.
Clean the CD or DVD. If the disc is old, as are many Windows Setup CDs and DVDs by the time they're needed, clean it. A clean disc could make all the difference.
Burn a new CD/DVD. If the DVD or CD is one you created yourself, like from an ISO file, then burn it again. The disc may have errors on it that re-burning could correct. I've had this happen to me more than once.
Check CD-ROM jumpers. Not all CD-ROM drives will boot properly if the jumpers are not set properly; verify that the CD-ROM drive has the jumpers set properly. We generally recommend that you have the CD-ROM set as master on the secondary controller. This rule also applies to portable computers.
Check if your CD-ROM is operational. Verify other CD discs work in the CD drive. If the drive is a bad drive it will be unable to boot from the CD disc because it cannot read from the disc.
Types of Bootable CDs and DVDs:
There are multiple bootable CDs and DVDs, starting from the Operation System CD you received with the computer purchase. Aftermarket offers multiple disks configurations, as legal, based on the free operating systems, as not very legal, like portable Windows compilations. We will review some of the options in the following articles of this chapter.
JkDefrag is a disk defragmenter and optimizer for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008/X64. Completely automatic and very easy to use, fast, low overhead, with several optimization strategies, and can handle floppies, USB disks, memory sticks, and anything else that looks like a disk to Windows. The presented Windows version is intended for Harddrives only. For defragmentation of floppy disk and removable media you need use command line version that can be downloaded from the author’s website. Add the appropriate drive letter to the end of the command path or else JkDefrag automatically will skip these.
Note: Just a side note that there is no big advantage in defragmenting USB drives due to the random data access. Furthermore, there were several warnings from the USB drives manufacturers, that the defragmentation process might harm the USB drive structure.
Cost
JkDefrag is completely free, no cost, no time limit. The executables are released under the GNU General Public License.
Installation
There is no "setup" or "install" and no configuration file. All you have to do is download the zip and unpack anywhere you like. The program is ready to run and will automatically process all the mounted, writable, fixed volumes on your computer. It is correct - you just start the program, and it will proceed with disks defragmentation even without pressing start button.
Permissions
JkDefrag needs "full control" permissions to all files and disks that it must defragment/optimize. On a default Windows system the "administrator" userid has full permissions to all files and disks. Users with no administrator privileges can also run JkDefrag, but then it can only defragment/optimize the files and disks for which the user has "full control". Note: On Vista right-click the JkDefrag program and select "run as administrator".
Stopping
JkDefrag can be stopped safely at any time, there is no risk of losing data or corrupting your disk. You can use all the usual ways to stop a Windows program, such as pressing ALT-F4, clicking the ’x’ in the top-right corner, via the pull-down menu in the taskbar, or by killing the program via the task manager or another utility. It may take a bit of time for the program to actually stop, JkDefrag will finish the current file in the background.
Logfile
JkDefrag writes all messages to a logfile called "JkDefrag.log". You can inspect the logfile if you want, it’s a flat-text file. The logfile is automatically cleared when the program starts, it does not grow to infinity.
Tips:
1. Cleanup old junk from your harddisk before running JkDefrag, for example with "Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup", or with some freeware program.
2. Reboot before running JkDefrag. This will release files that are in use, so they can be defragmented. You can also run JkDefrag in Windows safe mode (press F8 while booting) to defrag even more files.
3. Stop your real time virus scanner before running JkDefrag. Virus scanners check all disk activity, making defragmentation and optimization very slow.
4. Move the swap file to another volume, reboot, defragment, and move the swap file back. If you don’t have a second volume then temporarily make the swap file small, for example 100Mb.
5. If an application (for example a database) prevents certain files from being defragmented then stop the application, run JkDefrag for the particular data directory only, and restart the application.
6. Package unused files with any packager. The package-file not only takes less harddisk space, but will also defragment and optimize much faster than the individual files. This does not apply to Windows NTFS compression, which will actually make defragmentation and optimization a lot slower.
7. Buy the biggest harddisk you can afford. Investing in a bigger harddisk gives more speed-per-dollar than investing in a faster CPU or more memory.
8. The first partition on a harddisk is significantly faster than other partitions. Try to use other partitions only for "SpaceHog" data.
9. If you have 2 physical harddisks (of the same speed), then place the pagefile on the first partition of the second harddisk.
As you might notice, the interface is simple and basic. There are power users, who prefer having more power of using the program, while having the Windows interface instead of command line. For them, I can offer JkDefragGUI freeware utilities.
JkDefragGUI is a Graphical User Interface which allows you to easily select all the features JkDefrag. But is can do a lot more. JkDefragGUI can schedule a defragmentation, install JkDefrag or it’s screensaver but can also do some small maintenance to your computer. It can be used to schedule a defragmentation of your system files like pagefile and registry files. JkDefragGUI also supports CCleaner which can be used instead of the internal cleaning function. It can also erase any information which is left behind on your hard disk after erasing files. JkDefragGUI was created for people who don’t have the skills of an advanced user but still want to use the powerful features JkDefrag has to offer or for those people who like a GUI instead of using the command line. JkDefragGUI is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2008, U3 capable flash memory and with BartPE pre-installed environment.
There is one more utility with the same name JkDefragGUI, resolving the task to bring more visibility to multiple options of the basic JkDefrag. This utility is portable as well and supports many languages. Standard package include 10 languages, but you can download extra multi-language packages for additional 40 languages.
And for the users, who are in favor of the AIO (all-in-one) bundles, there is another utility, combining all vital system management utilities under one roof. ScanDefrag is a small windows application that configures Microsoft’s, Norton’s, or JKessel’s disk utilities as part of the next Windows’ startup process. This can result in less restarts and cleaner runs of these programs. ScanDefrag Standard allows performing scheduled system maintenance using:
Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup
Microsoft’s ScanDisk/ChkDsk or Norton’s Disk Doctor
Microsoft’s Defragmenter, Norton’s SpeedDisk, or Jeoren Kessels’ Defragmenter
Note that this software is not portable, and requires installation on your PC. However, it is packed with several utilities, which are considered the best in their categories, so for many users it might be considered as comprehensive preferable solution.
When you purchase a new hard drive and before it has any data on it, it is has usually already undergone a ’low level format’. The purpose of a low level format is to divide all the magnetic space on the hard drive into small storage areas. These storage areas are known as ’sectors’, however for efficiency purposes the Operating System (e.g. Windows XP) groups sectors together into ’clusters’.
A cluster is the smallest unit of storage space with which the Operating System (e.g. Windows XP) will deal. If you save a very small file to your computer it will all fit within 1 storage cluster on the hard drive. If you save a very large file it may fill up many clusters, that is, as many clusters as it takes to hold all the content of the file.
File Allocation Table (FAT) or Master File Table (MFT): NTFS recovery and FAT recovery
On older Operating Systems such as Windows 98 there is a storage area known as the ’Root Directory’. This is the place which stores the name of a file, the location of its starting cluster, and the size of the file. In order to find a file the Operating System uses this information to get to the first storage cluster of a file. It then uses a special table at the start of the disk know as the File Allocation Table or FAT to identify the remaining clusters that are used to store the file. It is important to realize that this information is stored completely separate from your file data and is why FAT data recovery is possible.
In newer Operating Systems the FAT and Directory Entry method has been merged and replaced by a single table known as the Master File Table or MFT. Whilst an MFT is more complex, the principal of locating the start of a file and its subsequent storage clusters is essentially the same.
What happens when I delete a file?
Lets look to see what happens when you intentionally delete a file and why it may be possible to bring that file back. When you select a file and press the delete key on a Windows computer the file is sent to the Recycle Bin. You may think of the Windows Recycle Bin as just another fancy storage folder on your hard drive. The ’real’ deletion (at least as far as this article is concerned) is what happens when the Recycle Bin is emptied or the deletion bypasses the Windows Recycle Bin altogether.
When a file is deleted the Operating System marks the file name in the MFT with a special character that signifies to the computer that the file has been deleted. The computer now looks at the clusters occupied by that file as being empty and therefore available space to store a new file. What the Windows Operating System does NOT do is go out to the clusters on the hard disk where the files data is actually stored and wipe the contents of these clusters. The deleted file data is still there, but the Computer Operating System no longer knows it exists.
This in fact is the underlying principal of data recovery. It is about finding data that still exists on the hard drive but which currently can’t be located by the Operating System. If the clusters containing the data have are, corrupted or physically damaged, then recovering the data they once contained is impossible.
Ok, so my data is still there, but for how long? The answer to this question is completely up to you. The only way that your deleted MFT record or your file data itself will permanently be destroyed is if it is overwritten by other data. This means that any computer activity after the deletion has the potential to permanently erase otherwise recoverable files.
If you are attempting data recovery from your hard drive, if possible connect it to another computer as the slave drive so that the operating system wont be doing a merry dance over you deleted files when you attempt the recovery process. If you use data recovery software, don’t install it on the drive on which the files were lost. Better yet, use a floppy disk or CD version if available. If you send your hard drive to a professional data recovery service they should not be working on the original hard drive. They should take a sector copy (an exact copy including all deleted information) of your hard drive and work on this. You may consider doing this yourself. There are a number of programs that will do this, the most common being Norton GHOST. But remember, you must make a complete sector copy of your hard drive to make sure the image includes all the deleted areas of the drive.
Data Recovery by Searching for Deleted MFT Records
Most data recovery programs search for deleted MFT entries to undelete files or unformat drives. These programs usually give a give a probability or hard drive data recovery rating of ’good’, ’medium’ or ’poor’. What they are actually doing is locating the MFT record for a deleted file and then checking the rest of the MFT records to determine if the clusters that the deleted file occupied are being used by any other file stored on the computer. As only one file can occupy any one cluster on a hard drive, if other files are using your deleted files storage space then it is likely that the original data has been overwritten and permanently destroyed. This recovery technique is usually relatively fast, as all the recovery program has to do is find the deleted file entries in the MFT and then go directly to that location of the hard disk to perform the data recovery. You will see an MFT search when you execute a "Fast Search" using Recover My Files Data Recovery Software.
However, if your MFT is corrupt, defective or has itself been overwritten, this method isn’t going to help you get data back even though the file data still remains out on the disk waiting to be found. What you need to do is search unallocated clusters.
Things get a bit more complicated by the fact that a single file does not have to reside within contiguous clusters. It may be that the Operating System stores a single file in clusters on different parts of the hard disk. This is called a ’fragmented’ file. The problem with a fragmented files is that it can slow your computer down as it needs to spend time and resources sending the actuator arm to different parts of the hard disk to read the complete file. This is why many people regularly use a defragmentation program. The amount of fragmentation in a file can also reduce your ability to recover deleted files as we will explain later in this article.
So we can now think of our hard drive as being broken down into many clusters which hold the contents of our files. A cluster that is being used to store a file is called an ’allocated cluster’, and if it is not being used to store a file an ’unallocated cluster’.
The next question is, ’how does the computer know where to look when it wants to find a specific file?’. Well, if you wanted to find a specific chapter in a book the best thing to do would be to go and look up the Table of Contents. A computer does much the same thing, which is also important if you want to recover data, recover a file, or undelete.
Data recovery software
Most data recovery program search for deleted MFT entries to undelete files. These programs usually give a give a probability of recovery rating of ’good’, ’medium’ or ’poor’. What they are actually doing is locating the MFT record for a deleted file and then checking the rest of the MFT records to determine if the clusters that the deleted file occupied are being used by any other file stored on the computer. As only one file can occupy any one cluster on a hard drive, if other files are using your deleted files storage space then it is likely that the original data has been overwritten and permanently destroyed.
This recovery technique is usually relatively fast way to get data back, as all the recovery program has to do is find the deleted file entries in the MFT and then go directly to that location of the hard disk to perform the data recovery. You will see an MFT search when you execute a "Fast Search" using Recover My Files Data Recovery Software.
However, if your MFT is corrupt, defective or has itself been overwritten, this method isn’t going to help you even though the file data still remains out on the disk waiting to be found. What you need to do is search unallocated clusters.
Searching Unallocated Clusters for Deleted Files
A good data recovery program will have the option to ignore the MFT (or lack there of) and to search all the unallocated clusters to try and find and recover files. This means we need to know what a deleted file looks like. Luckily most file types have a unique file header and footer. This means that if you look inside a Microsoft Word document for example, the first characters and the last characters of the file are always the same. So therefore a data recover program can search the entire hard drive and identify files by their unique header and footers. You will see this technique used in Recover My Files Data Recovery Software when you select a ’Complete Search’. Recover My Files recognizes more than 160 different file types using this technique.
Why are Some Files Partially Corrupt after a software File Recovery?
Remember that a computer will only use as many clusters as it needs to store a complete file. This means that your original data may only have been partially overwritten. You may still be able to retrieve some of the clusters containing the file. Unfortunately, in most cases that won’t be helpful, as most programs need a file to be complete before they will process it. Rebuilding partially damaged files is a another area of data recovery. It requires specialized knowledge about the particular file types one is dealing with. Some links to software for repairing specific file types are provided above.
Data Recovery from a Formatted Hard Drive
When you run the format command you are simply erasing the Root Directory Entries and FAT, or MFT. It is possible to run the format command and wipe the entire hard drive but format must be executed with special options. There are a number of tricks that data recovery programs use to recover from format commands. This includes searching for deleted Directory Entries which are in fact stored as files on the computer. If a directory entry is located, then we now know the name, starting cluster location, and size of the files. Of course you can also search the data area of a formatted drive for file header and footers and locate individual file types by this method.
What is the problem with File Fragmentation?
The problem of file fragmentation is that most of the data recovery techniques available must work on the assumption that all files are contiguous, that is, that they are stored in consecutive sectors one after the other from the beginning to the end of the file. The information to track fragmentation of a file is overwritten when the FAT or the MFT records are destroyed.
MBRwizard is a powerful, yet flexible utility designed to assist with all types of Master Boot Record difficulties. Initially developed to overcome MBR problems introduced by disk imaging products such as Symantec Ghost and Acronis True Image, MBRwizard has become a popular utility for repairing all types of MBR problems, especially those caused by disk-2-disk (d2d) and system backup and recovery applications.
Whether you are looking to solve issues caused by experimenting with Linux, repair partition entry issues after recovering a disk image, or simply safeguarding your system by capturing a backup of the MBR before disaster strikes, you MBRWizard is the answer! MBRwizard is designed as a command line only application for flexibility and automation of tasks, therefore, there is no graphical interface for this application.
Here are some key features of "MBRWizard":
Partition Modification
- Delete Partitions
- Hide/Unhide Partitions
- Set Bootable/Active Partition
- Change Partition Type
MBR Operations
- Restore MBR, Head, or other sectors from file
- Delete MBR, or Wipe all sectors on first head
- Fix MBR due to damage or corruption
- Copy Sectors
- Clear or write a new disk signature
- Sort partition table entries. Designed to match Windows boot.ini entries
Additional Functionality
- Mount volumes within Windows
- DisMount volumes
- Modify Volume Label
- Securely wipe entire disk
- Boot Menu- Quick menu allowing user to select bootable partition
- Shutdown/Reboot the machine
- Create ini file containing the structured contents of the MBR
- Read/Write a Status byte in the MBR
The software is a free application with no limitations. It also does not require installation on your hard drive, and can be run from external device.
News: Authors are planning to release a new version of the program with GUI and Vista support. The development is on the Beta stage. If you like to perform beta testing, you can announce your participation through the following link: http://mbrwizard.com/beta.shtml
Partition Find & Mount implements a new concept of deleted or lost partition recovery. It works in the most convenient way possible - by locating and mounting partitions into the system, thus making those lost partitions available to you like any generic disk volume. Partition Find & Mount will also work in case any Boot Record (including the Master Boot Record) is missing, damaged or overwritten.
Main Features
* Easy to use. You do not need special knowledge to use the software. * Safe to your data. There is no possible way you could get things worse. * 3 modes of partition search * Non-standard disk layouts are supported * All versions of NTFS and FAT are supported * Allows to create and mount images * Free for personal use.
Master Boot Record
Master Boot Record is a hidden area on your hard drive that contains all information about disk partitions (sometimes also called volumes or logical drives). If it gets erased or damaged, you may completely lose access to your data.
Lost or deleted partitions can be found with Partition Find and Mount. In the easiest case, if MBR is the only structure that is corrupted, it will take just a second for Partitions Find & Mount to find all partitions!
After partitions are found, you can mount them to the system, making them visible as usual read-only disk volumes.
When Find & Mount tool does not work
Partition Find & Mount software is designed to find lost or deleted partitions in the most convenient way, however, it may not work if the file system on a partition or hard drive itself is severely damaged.
How to Use
Partition Find and Mount is easy to use software that locates and mounts lost partitions in read-only mode, thus allowing you to safely access them with any file manager, including Windows Explorer.
All versions of NTFS and FAT file systems are supported.
Finding partitions
Partition Find and Mount finds lost or deleted partitions by scanning the storage device and looking for specific signatures that represent the beginning of a partition.
Partition Find and Mount does not rely on the information stored in the Master Boot Record (MBR), thus allowing you to find partitions even in case you repartition your drive. However, Partition Find and Mount will not work if the file system on the lost partition is severely damaged or if the hard drive itself has a physical damage. There are three different methods of scanning the drive available in Partition Find & Mount:
Fast intellectual scan
Normal scan
Thorough scan
Fast Intellectual Scan
Fast intellectual scan works best if the drive is repartitioned or if MBR is the only structure that is damaged.
The specific of this method is the following: when a valid partition is found, the process automatically resumes from the end of the found partition. This greatly improves the speed of the process. Scanning the whole hard drive using this method takes just seconds.
We recommend using this method since it is fast and reliable enough.
Normal Scan
While scanning with Normal Scan option, Partition Find and Mount checks all areas of the disk where standard partitioning tools are allowed to place the beginning of a partition. An example of a standard partitioning tool is the Windows Disk Manager. It takes 1 to 5 minutes to complete the search. This method may not find partitions that were created using some non-standard partitioning tools.
Thorough Scan
Thorough scan will look into every sector of the drive while searching for valid partitions. This is the most complete method and it can take up to several hours to complete. It is recommended to use this method if the Normal Scan produces no usable results.
Mounting partitions
After Scan finishes, you will see the full list of found partitions. Now, you can add any found partition to the system by mounting and assigning a letter to it. All partitions are mounted in the read-only mode. You won’t be able to alter files on such partitions, but only to copy files off that partition. This guarantees that the data cannot be altered by the operating system or any software (including malware).
Creating and using disk images
Partition Find and Mount allows you to create a binary image of any partition. You can also create an image of an entire hard drive. These images can be used later for scanning and mounting the same way it is done for generic hard drives. To create an image, select a disk or partition and click "Create Image" button. To scan an image instead of a hard drive, you can click "Open Image" button. Chosen image file will be added to the list of disk drives as a separate hard drive. Now you can scan it and mount any found partition.
Why upgrade to Partition Find and Mount Pro
Partition Find and Mount is fully functional software without expiration date or trial period and can be used for as long as you like. The only limitation it has is the speed limit of the data transfer from recovered and mounted volumes. The limit is 512 KBytes per second which is enough for generic home use.
If you are quite serious to try repairing your Hard Drive by yourselves, you need to understand exactly, how HDD is design, how it operates, what are the possible problems, and what particular problem source you have with your unit, based on the appearance.
Video presentation by hard drives expert Scott Moulton of Forensic Strategy Services, LLC will help you understand what is going on inside the HDD, and what can go wrong there. Presentation has been prepared for TorCon conference and provides very detailed information on rebuilding hard drives and recovery of your own data.
Part 1
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 1
Part 2
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 2
Part 3
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 3
Part 4
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 4
Part 5
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 5
Part 6
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 6
Part 7
Hard Drive Data Recovery - 7
Each part is less than 10 minutes clip, and keep in mind that to review this excellent video course in full, you will have to spend about an hour of your valuable time.
Hard drives are complex, as you may already notice through the Hard Drives basics reviews. They have a circuit board and a number of precise mechanical moving parts. In terms of hard drive data recovery, the first thing that you must evaluate is whether it is a hardware problem that is stopping you from accessing your data. Common hardware problems include a faulty circuit board or problems with the actuator arm.
A faulty circuit board is characterize by a drive that does not ’spin up’, meaning that platters are not turning underneath the copper wire. A faulty actuator arm or more serious mechanical error is characterized by an abnormal clicking noise or a grinding noise. The best advice in determining whether you have a hardware problem is to listen to the sound of your hard drive. If you cannot hear the platters spinning (i.e. it is quiet when it is turned on) or you hear more serious noises then you should stop using the drive immediately and you will need to send your drive to a hardware data recovery service.
Note that the hardware data recovery can be expensive because technicians most likely will need to disassemble your hard drive to fix the problem. Hard drive data recovery is usually done in a ’clean room’ as hard drives are sealed to avoid errors caused by dust or other particles. Also hard drives are finely tuned machinery and it takes specialist equipment to read the platters from a physically damaged drive.
If you are sending your hard drive to a data recovery specialist then you should attempt to obtain an upfront estimate of fees (although you will rarely get one), ask that if you send your hard drive for quotation purposes will they send it back to you in the same condition if you choose not to use the service, and make sure you send it to a reputable company as you may only get one chance at hard drive data recovery.
In most cases, the hard drives do not die suddenly, but the performance degrades with time. Since the data recovery might be a complicated and expensive procedure, it is recommended to prevent the damaging results of the failure by taking prompt backups of the important data, while the drive is still accessible.
Data is written and read as a series of bits, the smallest unit of digital data. Bits are either a 0 or a 1, or on/off state if you prefer. These bits are represented on a platter’s surface by the longitudinal orientation of particles in the magnetically sensitive coating that are changed (written) or recognized (read) by the magnetic field of the read/write head. Data isn’t just shoveled onto a hard drive raw, it’s processed first, using a complex mathematical formula. The drive’s firmware adds extra bits to the data that allow the drive to detect and correct random errors.
Rapidly replacing longitudinal magnetic recording in new drive manufacture is a process called perpendicular magnetic recording. In this type of recording, the particles are arranged perpendicular to the platter’s surface. In this orientation they can be packed closer together for greater density, with more data per square inch. More bits per inch also means more data flowing under the read/write head for faster throughput.
Information is written to and read from both sides of the platters using mechanisms mounted on arms that are moved mechanically back and forth between the center of the platter and its outer rim. This movement is called seeking, and the speed at which it’s performed is the seek time. What the read/write heads are seeking is the proper track--one of the concentric circles of data on the drive. Tracks are divided up into logical units called sectors. Each sector has its own address (track number plus sector number), which is used to organize and locate data.
In the event a drive’s read/write head doesn’t arrive at the track it’s seeking, you may experience what’s called latency or rotational delay, which is most often stated as an average. This delay occurs before a sector spins underneath the read/write head, and after it reaches the proper track.
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