Stuck in a loop!

[Labi]

Hi Ken

Chkdsk scan complete after several hours. Snapshot of results below.

To my inexpert eye it looks as though there has been an improvement

in the condition of the data on HD. Reasons to be cheerful...!?

At this stage do you think I should I also run a similar scan on the data F: partition?

 

Thanks, Labi.

[KenB]

That looks a lot better Labi.

The E: partition isn't RAW any longer. :)

 

Can you actually access the E: partition now and find files ?

 

You can try the same process on F: if you wish.

chkdsk /r F:

 

If you can access the E: drive chances are you will be able to boot up Windows when you put the drive back [ with luck ]

Edited April 10, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Ken

Not quite sure about accessing E: partition etc...?

If you mean re-scanning using Disk Drill (for example)...the picture is similar to the original quick scan.

Tons of JPG files in Pictures, but most seem to be images & icons etc from everywhere.

Hoping I'll have more success when HD is reunited with my Asus PC.

Am away from home for a couple of days, with my functioning Win7 PC only.

Looking forward to trying it out when I return!!

 

Thanks, Labi.

[KenB]

No - I didn't mean re-scanning.

I meant going to E: from "Computer"

 

Please try the following:

Click on the orb bottom left of sreen

Look for "Computer" and click on this

You should see something like this [ below]

 

In the left pane you will see E: and the other drives and partitions.

Double click on E: [ or right click and select "Open"

 

Can you navigate around the partition ? Locate files etc ?

[Labi]

Ken

 

Trying to open E: brings up a box headed - Location Not Available.

Underneath which is ........................................ "E:\ is not accessible"

---------"----------- "Access is Denied"

 

This window was showing up from time to time throughout my attempts

to examine the contents of the HD, before running the CHKDSK scan.

 

If this proves to be a major problem, I wonder if it's possible

to copy/save the data and then format E: ready to 'reload' once its been

reconfigured....??

 

Labi.

[Labi]

Ken

 

Trying to open E: brings up a box headed - Location Not Available.

Underneath which is ........................................ "E:\ is not accessible"

---------"----------- "Access is Denied"

 

This window was showing up from time to time throughout my attempts

to examine the contents of the HD, before running the CHKDSK scan.

 

If this proves to be a major problem, I wonder if it's possible

to copy/save the data and then format E: ready to 'reload' once its been

reconfigured....??

 

Labi.

[KenB]

Hi Labi

 

Formatting is the absolute last resort.

 

Try this:

Right-click on E: drive, select Properties. Go to the Security tab, hit Advanced, then click Edit button. On the Owner tab take a look what it says.

You may need to take ownership of the E: partition.

 

Click "Edit" then make any changes.

 

The column [Allow] with ticks in shows what permissions you have.

Click on the individual Group or User to see what permissions they have.

 

 

 

Don't forget to OK the changes

 

If you are unsure copy what is under "Owner" and post it here

Edited April 11, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Hi Ken

Right. Back home again.

From the attached pics you can see I have managed to tick all the boxes

under Properties - both for 'system' & 'administrator' - except for the box

at the bottom left (in both cases) saying "apply these permissions to objects..." etc

which remains unticked atm.(?)

 

Pic #1 shows "Advanced Security Settings for OS, with cursor on 'Owner'. I wonder if I should

try to change owner here to the names shown below, although not quite sure how to effect

the change...?

 

Just to recap: as it stands I'm still getting the "E: is not accessible" message box when I click

on E: under Computer....

 

Labi.

[KenB]

Hi Labi,

Thanks for the pics - they help a lot.

 

The 3rd one is a cause for concern

It is showing E: drive as NTFS [ which is as it should be ] BUT the problem is it is showing 0 bytes as the capacity.

This implies that there is nothing on the drive and it can't be read.

 

If you go back to dskmgmt.msc - what is showing there for E: drive ?

 

Did you try chkdsk /f F: on the other drive ?

Edited April 13, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Ken

Another snapshot of drive E: below.

I did run CHKDSK on the F; drive and the results came through quickly, indicating that there were no

problems with the file system.

Curiously, when the F: drive window is opened, it shows that a small segment of the HD

is occupied by data. See the attached pic. But, after checking the folder (_ace_stream_)

it appears to be empty?!

 

Labi.

[KenB]

Hi Labi

Disk Management is showing the drives correctly.

 

You say that you can open F: drive - but presumably cannot access any files / data.

 

Take a look at this link [ a bit long but I think necessary ]

It will show you how to take ownership of F: drive and grant permissions to access the drive.

 

http://preyerplanning.com/take-ownership-of-entire-hard-drive-in-windows-7.pdf

 

Obviously this tutorial shows E: drive - you will need to do the process on your F: drive.

 

With luck you may gain access to the data on the drive.

 

After taking ownership etc try accessing the drive again.

Just treat it as a memory stick.

Click on it to open or right click > Open.

 

If this gives you access to F: and you can copy files to a folder on the desktop I think the next stage is to return the hard drive to its original computer and see if it will boot up.

 

Don't use the above process on E: drive.

Edited April 13, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Hi Ken

That's a very useful guide: I just wish I'd seen it earlier!

Unwisely perhaps, I'd already 'tinkered' with the Users & Permissions etc in Properties under drive E:

- in an effort to 'take ownership' which I thought was successful - at least insofar as managing to

activate the "Setting security information" operation on drive E: which took around 30 - 40 minutes to complete.

After which, though, I still get the same message - "E:\ is not accessible" - "Access is denied". So maybe I've

not ticked the right boxes after all...? Let's hope nothing too drastic has resulted from my efforts!

 

Drive F: is a puzzle. Bearing in mind it hasn't given an "Access Denied" message; it simply opens to a folder

which is empty, yet the properties diagram shows that some space is occupied.

Here follows 2 x pics: don't know if they're helpful or not, QH..?

I did go through the link instructions anyway in an effort to change the Permissions, and I think I succeeded -

but again, no sign of any data being revealed.

 

Labi.

[KenB]

Hi Labi

 

This is very frustrating for you.

 

You could run EaseUS on both E: and F: again to see if it can locate any data.

 

Personally I would be inclined to try putting the drive back in the original computer and see if it will boot up.

 

The original problem was that E: was RAW.

We have, at least, been able to get that to show NTFS which is what it should be.

There is no way that the drive would have booted up when it was RAW but hopefully it may now.

 

Give it a go - it costs nothing to try :)

[Labi]

Hi Ken

What's really odd is...because it's a quicker view than EaseUs (which takes ages - only allowing for a deep scan) I opened Disk Drill

and it showed RAW against drive E: !? However, DISKMGMT.MSC gave a different (healthy!) picture, as already shown earlier.

Mystifying - and I know it's difficult to diagnose the possible causes given the limitations of our online IT surgery!

 

Can I use the USB plug on my Asus to re-connect the HD and try to boot up....? Saves me re-installing it if it proves

to be defective still.

 

Best, Labi.

[KenB]

Can I use the USB plug on my Asus to re-connect the HD and try to boot up

Possibly.

Some computers give you the option of tapping F12 after switching on, to produce a list of bootable media.

Try this and if you do get a list of options then select the USB one.

 

If not ......

You will need to enter the BIOS of your Win7 machine [ the one the problem drive is attached to ]

If you switch on and watch the screen it should say ......... "Press DEL [ or some other key ] to enter Setup"

This doesn't stay on screen for long and you need to press the key quickly.

 

This will take you to the BIOS [ which will probably look different from the Win10 version.

 

You are looking for Boot or Boot Order or similar.

Hopefully USB-HDD [ or something with USB in it ] will be there.

You need to move this to the top of the Boot Order. [ make it the 1st Boot Device]

 

To do this you need to highlight the USB-HDD [ or whatever it is called ]

To move it to the top of the order you usually use the arrow keys.

It will tell you on screen.

If you can do this don't forget to Save and Exit [ usually F10 ]

 

With the problem drive plugged in - switch on.

The machine should look at the USB drive first to see if there is a bootable operating system there.

If not it will then look to the next in the Boot Order.

 

If it boots up Win8.1 - success.

If it boots up Win7 ...... :(

 

If it DOES boot up Win8.1 see if you can find any of your files / data on both drives [ E: and F: ]

Edited April 19, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Hi Ken

Since my last email: in fact, the first thing I tried after all, was to replace the HD in my Asus (which, incidentally, runs on 8.1 not win 10).

Straight into BIOS! All the settings are of course haywire after being disconnected.

At this point, again it's impossible to shut down without holding down the power switch, so there is only a short window

after using "Save & Exit" before PC reboots back to BIOS, during which I tried F12 and got a message I hadn't

seen before..."Secure boot violation invalid signature detected. Check secure boot policy in setup."

 

What I'm not clear about is ...your suggestion to re-jig my win 7 PC to reboot and prioritise the USB - which should then allow me to

examine the files in E: & F: drives (hopefully).............is this a preliminary step before copying everything over to a folder so that

the HD can then be formatted safely, perhaps deleting the F: drive in the process as well since it has apparently been

created in error? If so, will my win 7 PC interpret the file data correctly given that win 8.1 was responsible for its creation?

 

Disk management is still showing both drives E: & F: are 'healthy' BTW....

 

 

Best wishes, Labi.

[KenB]

(which, incidentally, runs on 8.1 not win 10

Sorry for the error - I have altered my last post :)

 

Straight into BIOS!

I was hoping that it would have booted up now that the RAW partition is showing NTFS.

 

Secure boot violation invalid signature detected. Check secure boot policy in setup.

Boot up again and as it boots directly into the BIOS look for the Security Tab along the top.

Click on this.

Secure Boot will probably be enabled.

Click on it and you should get the option to Disable.

Don't forget to Save and Exit.

 

=======================

Ref DATA F:

is this a preliminary step before copying everything over to a folder

Yes. If we can access the data then the first thing we will do is to copy it to the Win7 Desktop.

 

will my win 7 PC interpret the file data correctly

Yes - no problems here - unless you have an old version of Word on the Win 7 machine and a newer version on the 8.1

There are, however, ways around this.

The important thing is trying to get at your files.

 

=======================

 

Try making changes to Secure Boot and see if it will boot up now.

 

If not then take it out and connect it up to the caddy and the Win7 machine.

Make the changes in the BIOS of the Win7 machine and see if Win 8.1 will boot up.

 

If not - leave it connected and get back to me.

Edited April 19, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Ken

Still going into BIOS even after disabling Secure Boot. Other settings there also need updating, though.

 

BIOS in Win 7 successfully changed to prioritise USB mass storage device, although - after some hesitation,

win 7 still opened up, bypassing the USB setting.

 

Clicking on E: drive under computer, again gives the message "E:\ is not accessible"..etc.

Does this bring us back to the question of "Ownership" I wonder? Last time I looked into this section

under Properties, it listed several Users and I'm unsure which one is recognised as the 'correct' User.

As I said previously, I did make some changes hoping that I could take back Ownership in case

access was being denied on that account. Is it now time to re-visit Properties...?

 

Labi.

[Labi]

Hi Ken

Have checked Disk Drill again and found that E: drive still shows RAW - unlike F: drive which is NTFS.

I'm now wondering if it's worth running Chkdisk/fix again, in case something I've done in Properties

has corrupted or misfiled data somehow...?

 

Labi.

[KenB]

Run diskmgmt.msc again with the caddy connected.

Does the E: partition show up as RAW there?

 

Try this for me:

With the caddy connected-

Start > type in cmd

Right click on Command Prompt that shows left of screen > click on Run as Adminisrator

At the Command Prompt type ...... E: .....and hit Enter.

You should see something like this this: [ mine shows F: ]

Now type ......... bootrec /scanos ...... hit Enter [ space after bootrec ]

 

Does this show any Operating Systems found ?

 

================

 

We can also look for photos: [ As most of your photos are on DATA F: do the following ]

 

Type in F: .....hit Enter

 

At the prompt type ....... dir /b /s *.jpg .......hit Enter [ space after dir and space after /b ]

 

This is what I found:

 

Let me know the results :)

Edited April 17, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Ken

The command "bootrec" isn't recognised...?

Pics below to show current status. Hope they shed some light...?

 

Labi.

[Labi]

Hi Ken

A further update. I ran the 2nd command on both F: & E:

F: shows "No files found" (in relation to JPG's)

E: produces a very lengthy list with all sorts of 'stuff' relating (presumably) to JPG files.

At times, while the list (under E:) changed very quickly, I noticed some references to

RAW & 'bad' during the scan.

Finding it increasingly baffling. Darkest before dawn, perhaps....?

 

Labi.

[KenB]

Hi Labi

 

"bootrec" isn't recognised...?

Very odd

Your pics however, show that Windows does see an OS on E:

 

Odd that F: shows no .jpg files [ photos ] when both EaseUS and the other software found lots.

 

RAW & 'bad' during the scan.

Not good - it looks as if many of you pics are corrupt.

 

Try this:

Create a new folder on the Win7 Desktop [ right click on the Desktop > New .......give it a name ]

I called mine ..... Test [ keep yours simple too ]

 

Right click on your new folder > click on Properties

Next to "Location" is the information you want.

Mine was .......... C:\users\kenb\desktop.......[ make a note of what yours says]

 

Now go to the Command Prompt again. [ use Administrator again ]

 

Type at the prompt: [this is what I used yours will be different at the end - after C: ]

for /r E:\ %f in (*.jpg) do @copy "%f" C:\users\kenb\desktop\test

 

NOTE - after C:\ you will need to use the location of your new file PLUS the name you gave it.

Note the spacing of the above.

 

When you click on Enter you should see the files being transferred to the new folder.

My test worked fine.

We will be able to see which pictures [ if any ] can be saved

Edited April 19, 2018 by KenB

[Labi]

Hi Ken

Different scans seem to produce contradictory results. All very confusing...

According to various websites bootrec is associated with Win7 together with

other related commands...?.

Before moving files over, is it worth trying another command to fix the Boot system?

I notice that there are one or two variations on the theme. Perhaps a "fixboot" command

might repair the damage and allow me to keep the HD intact after all....?

 

Labi.

[KenB]

is it worth trying another command to fix the Boot system?

I had thought of that - but ......we are using two different systems [ Win7 with a standard BIOS and Win8.1 with UEFI ]

 

Also we would need to use the bootrec command - and for some reason you say that this isn't recognised.

 

Also - it looks as if many of your files / data are corrupt. This implies that Windows files etc may be corrupt too.

So it may not be as simple as fixing the MBR

 

Let's see if we can salvage any of your data [ we can use the above command for documents too ]

Try the Command Prompt above and let's see what you end up with :)

Edited April 19, 2018 by KenB