Data recovery!

[andyp]

Hi I'm a Windows user and have a problem with an NTFS disk.

Said disk packed up - windows wouldn't boot while the disk (a data slave) was plugged into the motherboard. When the disk is removed, Windows starts normally.

I was recommended to try Knoppix which I have done (version 5.1.1), to recover the data, however this is without success. I can see the both the master and slave disks when Knoppix starts, yet the dodgy disk tells me the disk is empty!

Does anyone have an idea why i can't see the data on the disk and if there is any way of recovering it?

Yours in desparation
Andy

[Harry Kuhman]

Windows frequently mucks up it's disks so bad that even Linux can't recover data from them. I have several such disks, you are far from alone in this matter.

One small chance for a fix that I can offer is that if the partition itself is not bad and the problem is limited to the partition table in the MBR, then Linux commands gpart or testdisk may be able to fix the partition table and thus recover the data. Read the man pages on these for more details. But if these don't recover the data, then I don't have a way to help you.

[andyp]

Thanks for your help, I'll try it and let you know.