Guest Tony Posted August 12, 2007 Posted August 12, 2007 I just had a problem with a Windows XP computer - I used V-COM's Partition Commander to resize the NTFS boot partition. Horrors, Partition Commander gave me an ugly error that it had an internal error, I had lost data, bye bye. System became unbootable. I was finally able to boot from a Partition Magic 8 CD, which allowed me to fix some HD errors (but I had to reboot from the CD and fix 3x). This allowed me to boot, which allowed me to schedule a CHKDSK for the next restart, which fixed over a HUNDRED errors(!), which fixed the system with only the loss of some unimportant data files. Now, during the days of Windows98, I kept a bootable Win98 floppy with Norton Disk Doctor to fix corrupted unbootable hard drives. My question - does anyone make software that can boot from CD or floppy that can fix a corrupted (unbootable) NTFS hard disk, like CHKDSK or NDD can? That would be a nice product to add to my repair utilities. Tony
Guest AJR Posted August 12, 2007 Posted August 12, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? Yes - your XP CD via Recovery Console or Repair. "Tony" <TonyB77@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:eGN5dgR3HHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >I just had a problem with a Windows XP computer - I used V-COM's Partition >Commander to > resize the NTFS boot partition. Horrors, Partition Commander gave me an > ugly error that > it had an internal error, I had lost data, bye bye. System became > unbootable. > > I was finally able to boot from a Partition Magic 8 CD, which allowed me > to fix some HD > errors (but I had to reboot from the CD and fix 3x). This allowed me to > boot, which > allowed me to schedule a CHKDSK for the next restart, which fixed over a > HUNDRED > errors(!), which fixed the system with only the loss of some unimportant > data files. > > Now, during the days of Windows98, I kept a bootable Win98 floppy with > Norton Disk > Doctor to fix corrupted unbootable hard drives. > > My question - does anyone make software that can boot from CD or floppy > that can fix a > corrupted (unbootable) NTFS hard disk, like CHKDSK or NDD can? That would > be a nice > product to add to my repair utilities. > > Tony > > >
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted August 12, 2007 Posted August 12, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? "Tony" <TonyB77@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:eGN5dgR3HHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >I just had a problem with a Windows XP computer - I used V-COM's Partition >Commander to > resize the NTFS boot partition. Horrors, Partition Commander gave me an > ugly error that > it had an internal error, I had lost data, bye bye. System became > unbootable. > > I was finally able to boot from a Partition Magic 8 CD, which allowed me > to fix some HD > errors (but I had to reboot from the CD and fix 3x). This allowed me to > boot, which > allowed me to schedule a CHKDSK for the next restart, which fixed over a > HUNDRED > errors(!), which fixed the system with only the loss of some unimportant > data files. > > Now, during the days of Windows98, I kept a bootable Win98 floppy with > Norton Disk > Doctor to fix corrupted unbootable hard drives. > > My question - does anyone make software that can boot from CD or floppy > that can fix a > corrupted (unbootable) NTFS hard disk, like CHKDSK or NDD can? That would > be a nice > product to add to my repair utilities. > > Tony Repairing a corrupted NTFS partition is in my experience rarely feasible. The fact that chkdsk reported hundreds of errors may mean that you lost hundreds of files. Time will tell if they were important. If you want a good boot CD then you should manufacture a Bart PE boot CD. It takes a fair effort to make one but it's extremely useful. However, it won't repair a corrupted NTFS partition.
Guest Tony Posted August 12, 2007 Posted August 12, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote... > > "Tony" wrote > >I just had a problem with a Windows XP computer - I used V-COM's Partition > >Commander to > > resize the NTFS boot partition. Horrors, Partition Commander gave me an > > ugly error that > > it had an internal error, I had lost data, bye bye. System became > > unbootable. > > > > I was finally able to boot from a Partition Magic 8 CD, which allowed me > > to fix some HD > > errors (but I had to reboot from the CD and fix 3x). This allowed me to > > boot, which > > allowed me to schedule a CHKDSK for the next restart, which fixed over a > > HUNDRED > > errors(!), which fixed the system with only the loss of some unimportant > > data files. > > > > Now, during the days of Windows98, I kept a bootable Win98 floppy with > > Norton Disk > > Doctor to fix corrupted unbootable hard drives. > > > > My question - does anyone make software that can boot from CD or floppy > > that can fix a > > corrupted (unbootable) NTFS hard disk, like CHKDSK or NDD can? That would > > be a nice > > product to add to my repair utilities. > > > > Tony > > Repairing a corrupted NTFS partition is in my experience > rarely feasible. The fact that chkdsk reported hundreds of > errors may mean that you lost hundreds of files. Time will > tell if they were important. Actually, looks like I lost nothing. It's a 250G HD with only 17G in use & I wanted to shrink the C: parition down to 52G. > > If you want a good boot CD then you should manufacture > a Bart PE boot CD. It takes a fair effort to make one but > it's extremely useful. However, it won't repair a corrupted > NTFS partition. Wow - the Bart PE CD looks like a terrific tool!
Guest db ´¯`·.. > Posted August 12, 2007 Posted August 12, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? the beauty of the ntfs system is that it is really a file system with many benefits. i recall that sometime last year an ntfs on one of my computers crashed. but i recovered it with a program called acronis disk director. the method you mentioned during your win98 days still exists. They are just upgraded for compatiability with winxp and most softwares like acronis disk director and paragon include tools many tools. here is a thread not unlike yours: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?&query=paragon&lang=en&cr=US&guid=&sloc=en-us&dg=microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support&p=1&tid=405c58e6-1e0c-4af9-8964-0c99c3c1de75 something to keep in mind, however is that the chkdsk you performed "may" have sacrificed the opportunity to restore those files it converted. while your in a reading/study mode here is more information http://search.live.com/results.aspx?srch=105&FORM=IE7RE&q=corrupted+ntfs ps: toss those cd's into the middle of the ocean! -- db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸. ><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º> .. "Tony" <TonyB77@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:eGN5dgR3HHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >I just had a problem with a Windows XP computer - I used V-COM's >Partition Commander to > resize the NTFS boot partition. Horrors, Partition Commander gave me > an ugly error that > it had an internal error, I had lost data, bye bye. System became > unbootable. > > I was finally able to boot from a Partition Magic 8 CD, which allowed > me to fix some HD > errors (but I had to reboot from the CD and fix 3x). This allowed me > to boot, which > allowed me to schedule a CHKDSK for the next restart, which fixed over > a HUNDRED > errors(!), which fixed the system with only the loss of some > unimportant data files. > > Now, during the days of Windows98, I kept a bootable Win98 floppy with > Norton Disk > Doctor to fix corrupted unbootable hard drives. > > My question - does anyone make software that can boot from CD or > floppy that can fix a > corrupted (unbootable) NTFS hard disk, like CHKDSK or NDD can? That > would be a nice > product to add to my repair utilities. > > Tony > > >
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted August 12, 2007 Posted August 12, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:30:55 -0400, "Tony" <TonyB77@yahoo.com> wrote: > > "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote... > > Repairing a corrupted NTFS partition is in my experience > > rarely feasible. The fact that chkdsk reported hundreds of > > errors may mean that you lost hundreds of files. Time will > > tell if they were important. > > Actually, looks like I lost nothing. It's a 250G HD with only 17G in use & I wanted to > shrink the C: parition down to 52G. Great, glad to hear it! But let me offer you two words of advice for the future: 1. If you have files that are important to you, you should be backing up regularly. It is always possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning strike, virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss of everything on your drive. As has often been said, it's not a matter of whether you will have such a problem, but when. 2. *Especially* when doing things like changing the partition structure of the drive, which potentially affects *everything* on it, it's foolhardy to do so without making sure you have a good backup. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Tony Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote... : > Great, glad to hear it! But let me offer you two words of advice for > the future: > > 1. If you have files that are important to you, you should be backing > up regularly. It is always possible that a hard drive crash, user > error, nearby lightning strike, virus attack, even theft of the > computer, can cause the loss of everything on your drive. As has often > been said, it's not a matter of whether you will have such a problem, > but when. > > 2. *Especially* when doing things like changing the partition > structure of the drive, which potentially affects *everything* on it, > it's foolhardy to do so without making sure you have a good backup. > > -- > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > Please Reply to the Newsgroup Thanks, Ken. Ironically, this computer that had the problem is being prepped to be the backup computer! That's why there's so little on the hard drive, it's only the OS, a handful of utilities, and some files that were backed-up. I'm partitioning the 250G into a 50G C: drive for the OS and files, and a 200G D: drive to be used only for backups from my other computers. One thing you left out Ken, that I'd like to strongly recommend - I always do a complete defrag before making any partition changes. This way, if there are any problems, file recovery is easy. BTW, I've since learned that V-COM's Partition Commander is notorious for trashing drives. Tony
Guest Patrick Keenan Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? "Tony" <TonyB77@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:evSqTxU3HHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote... > : >> Great, glad to hear it! But let me offer you two words of advice for >> the future: >> >> 1. If you have files that are important to you, you should be backing >> up regularly. It is always possible that a hard drive crash, user >> error, nearby lightning strike, virus attack, even theft of the >> computer, can cause the loss of everything on your drive. As has often >> been said, it's not a matter of whether you will have such a problem, >> but when. >> >> 2. *Especially* when doing things like changing the partition >> structure of the drive, which potentially affects *everything* on it, >> it's foolhardy to do so without making sure you have a good backup. >> >> -- >> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User >> Please Reply to the Newsgroup > > Thanks, Ken. Ironically, this computer that had the problem is being > prepped to be the > backup computer! A couple of things on that. First, hard disks DO fail. It's not a good idea to have a single backup set. If that hard disk is your only backup, your data can be gone. Second. do you *fully* understand *why* this problem arose? If there is a subtle hardware or driver-specifc issue, the problem may come back. A backup system should be the single most reliable system in a network. It usually matters a lot less if it's not a high-performance system than it being basically uncrashable and incorruptible. And, it should be creating multiple backup sets that can't be damaged if that system suffers some sort of catastropic failure, say, a lightning strike or fire. And a copy should be stored at a secure offsite location. HTH -pk > That's why there's so little on the hard drive, it's only the OS, a > handful of utilities, and some files that were backed-up. I'm partitioning > the 250G into > a 50G C: drive for the OS and files, and a 200G D: drive to be used only > for backups > from my other computers. > > One thing you left out Ken, that I'd like to strongly recommend - I always > do a complete > defrag before making any partition changes. This way, if there are any > problems, file > recovery is easy. > > BTW, I've since learned that V-COM's Partition Commander is notorious for > trashing > drives. > > Tony > > >
Guest Tony Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 Re: Fixing a Corrupted NTFS Hard Disk on an unbootable system? "Patrick Keenan" wrote... > "Tony" wrote... > > "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote... > > : > >> Great, glad to hear it! But let me offer you two words of advice for > >> the future: > >> > >> 1. If you have files that are important to you, you should be backing > >> up regularly. It is always possible that a hard drive crash, user > >> error, nearby lightning strike, virus attack, even theft of the > >> computer, can cause the loss of everything on your drive. As has often > >> been said, it's not a matter of whether you will have such a problem, > >> but when. > >> > >> 2. *Especially* when doing things like changing the partition > >> structure of the drive, which potentially affects *everything* on it, > >> it's foolhardy to do so without making sure you have a good backup. > >> > >> -- > >> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > >> Please Reply to the Newsgroup > > > > Thanks, Ken. Ironically, this computer that had the problem is being > > prepped to be the > > backup computer! > > A couple of things on that. > > First, hard disks DO fail. It's not a good idea to have a single backup > set. If that hard disk is your only backup, your data can be gone. > > Second. do you *fully* understand *why* this problem arose? If there is a > subtle hardware or driver-specifc issue, the problem may come back. Yes, because drive partition software write to hard drives differently, there were two technical problems: 1. Recommended method is to ALWAYS parition a drive with the same version of the same product. I had originally partitioned the drive using Partition Magic 8. I now tried to change partitions using V-COM's Parition Commander. WRONG!!! Bad practice because they write raw data to the drive in slightly different ways. THIS is the main issue. 2. From searching the web, I learned that Parition Commander has a bad habit of creating the error I encountered. A furthur testimonial to how well Parition Magic saved me, is booting from a PM CD give you tools and recovery options for NTFS drives that can fix boot problems, fix parition errors, and retore unbootable partitions. Partition Commander doesn't have these tools. The error I encountered was UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME. Despite the catastrophic nature of the failure, three days later V-COM's tech support still has not responded to my urgent tech support submission. Google unmountable_boot_volume "partition commander" and you'll see what I mean. I also discovered that the XP Recovery Console often doesn't fix UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME errors, but Partition Magic 8 does. > A backup system should be the single most reliable system in a network. It > usually matters a lot less if it's not a high-performance system than it > being basically uncrashable and incorruptible. I know. However, I once had a Snap Appliance for backup - figured simple is reliable for backups. Nope, it failed on me. Now, I'm going with a computer with an OS for better accessability. > And, it should be > creating multiple backup sets that can't be damaged if that system suffers > some sort of catastropic failure, say, a lightning strike or fire. And a > copy should be stored at a secure offsite location. I keep my backup copies in a vault 500 miles underground, guarded by dwarfs. :) Tony
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