Database Info

Lost 10yrs of data on a 1.5TB HDD, please read...please help...need to recover

Hello,
I was trying to put UBCD (ultimate boot cd) on a usb stick using the supplied 'ubcd2usb' but it didn’t work, so I thought I would use the command 'ubcd2usb f: h: d -1', but nothing appeared to happen….until I restarted.
Some how it has made my 1.5TB hdd with all my stuff on from the past 10 years…not work, for lack of a better term. That command i put in wrote the ubcd to disk 1 which was the 1.5tb hdd not the usb memory stick! But it didnt write the ubcd to the disk it just made it 'unfunctional'
I also did 'ubcd2usb f: h: d -2' which made disk 2 (the 750gb hdd with windows on it) also unfunctional.
I have another 300gb disk with windows on which I didnt wipe fortunately. So When I go into computer management it says the disk is not initialised for both of the 1.5tb and .75tb disks. I know the datas all there but how do I get it back in too a readable state? I can only presume this program to get 'ultimate boot cd' has done something to teh MBR.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I have not re-initialized the disk. There are 10yrs worth of photos tv music on there!
I know i could use software to recover my data.
I presume this would mean I would have to 're-initialize' the hard disk in Windows Disk Management?
I am scared that if I reinitialize it and use recovery software that all the filenames will be lost.
Is there anyway I can just write a new MBR to them?

first i would plug into a computer with a differnt os i know it sound pointless but i have had problems before and xp seems better then vista for "seeing" files.
if that is no help i would try to use a program called glary utilites it has a program to recover deleted files which. you can then to see the location of the files, deleted or not. then decide where to go from there,
hopefully someone whith more tech know how can help more.

before you do anything else you need to get some data recovery software. I use get "data back". it was totally worth the money.

vinokirk said:
Hello,
I was trying to put UBCD (ultimate boot cd) on a usb stick using the supplied 'ubcd2usb' but it didn’t work, so I thought I would use the command 'ubcd2usb f: h: d -1', but nothing appeared to happen….until I restarted.
Some how it has made my 1.5TB hdd with all my stuff on from the past 10 years…not work, for lack of a better term. That command i put in wrote the ubcd to disk 1 which was the 1.5tb hdd not the usb memory stick! But it didnt write the ubcd to the disk it just made it 'unfunctional'
I also did 'ubcd2usb f: h: d -2' which made disk 2 (the 750gb hdd with windows on it) also unfunctional.
I have another 300gb disk with windows on which I didnt wipe fortunately. So When I go into computer management it says the disk is not initialised for both of the 1.5tb and .75tb disks. I know the datas all there but how do I get it back in too a readable state? I can only presume this program to get 'ultimate boot cd' has done something to teh MBR.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I have not re-initialized the disk. There are 10yrs worth of photos tv music on there!
I know i could use software to recover my data.
I presume this would mean I would have to 're-initialize' the hard disk in Windows Disk Management?
I am scared that if I reinitialize it and use recovery software that all the filenames will be lost.
Is there anyway I can just write a new MBR to them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I faced similar sutiation 2 months back... some of my partitions dissappeared which had datya of 9 years....
I used Diskinternals and recovered all my data.. you can try 'get data back'..
PM me if ya need ne help.
And please dont use the hardisk on which u lost data. take another system, connect your data (lost) HDD and install diskinternals recovery software.. and run teh self explanatory wizard.

You can try testdisk. This tool can fix broken MBR and recover partitions.

If you are afraid to damage something, you can try company called Omnitrack. They have branches over EU

+5 on testdisk. A small free program that is a miracle. I deleted a partition at a business that I was working for and wiped all customer data. Testdisk brought the partition right back.
Key thing is to not right over the data. Its still there, just marked for deletion.

[GUIDE] MTP and PTP (Media Transfer Protocol) vs UMC (Mass Storage Class)

Here I will post the advantages and disadvantages of the two.
Advantages of UMC
UMC works at block level. It means that you access the partition from the operating system like if were local, and you have complete control of it.
For the previous reason, UMC keeps timestamps for files and folders. This is specially important for pictures, photos or videos that don't have EXIF, where you rely on file creation or modification time to arrange them and to know when were taken. MTP sets for all transferred files current system time, thus overwritting the real creation or modification time and ruining your gallery.
UMC allows the use of recovery software (Recuva) or partition software (Easeus Partition Master) and even format with a different filesystem. Without UMC you have to use android side software that usually is less powerful, needs a rooted phone, etc.
As you have total access to the partition, you can access all files there, even hidden, system, etc. With MTP you only have access to the files that the controlling operating system (android) wants. For example, with MTP, files starting with dot (.file) are not accessible. Some file formats are not allowed.
UMC is compatible with any operating system that allows connecting a FAT32 / exFAT pendrive, while MTP requires specific support. Linux and OS X may have built-in support or not.
With UMC you directly access the files, so modification is instant, and viewing. On the other side, with MTP you download it, modify it and re-upload the edited version, but you never do it directly. Even to play files you need to completely download it first. Imagine downloading a 5 GB MKV.
UMC is always the same, while for MTP there are several implementations: MTP, MTPZ (Microsoft Zune), Sony SonicStage, Apple DMAP.
UMC is faster than MTP because requires less time to initialize transfer, but isn't that big difference for an average user. The higher the number of files to be transferred and the lower the size of each file, the higher the ratio MTP/UMC.
Advantages of MTP or PTP
In MTP mode, the android device controls the input/output to the filesystem, so there is no risk of data loss because of cold disconnecting the device from USB. You work on a layer over the filesystem. With UMC you must be careful.
MTP allows you to use the sdcard from both the android phone and the computer at the same time, even to any desired number of them. On the other side, with UMC you only can do it from a device at a time, meaning that you have to unmount the sdcard from the android to view it on the computer, stopping apps, etc. Of course there are software that can force viewing UMC from both sides, but is a highway to corruption.
MTP does not show the native filesystem to the computer (it uses a hierarchery simulated by the MTP driver), so it will always be compatible. For example, on devices with the same partition for data and sdcard (like Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S3) you are writing from the computer to an ext4 partition and you don't need windows to support it. The same if the device partition were in any imaginable filesystem, the MTP will show you it in a standard hierarchy. On the other side, with UMC your local operating system (windows, linux, mac) must support natively the filesystem of the partition or download some software that allows you to do it.
With MTP you use all capabilities and disadvantages of the device filesystem. If the filesystem is in ext4 you can copy files over 4GB to the device, that you couldn't in UMC mode because usually it will come formatted in FAT32, that is the most compatible fs for all operating systems.
MTP enables Windows Media DRM, UMC doesn't.
MTP allows the use of password for accessing the files (on compatible devices). On the other side, with UMC, of course you could use powerful tools like TrueCrypt, but you need the corresponding software on android that reads it.
How to preserve timestamps
- Use File Timestamp app. Root is required, and works recursively too.
- Use Mass Storage Mode when possible.
- zip or tar the files when sending them to the phone or receiving from.
- If the device has external sd, you can use it as a man in the middle.
- samba (smb protocol) allows preservation of timestamps, however applications for android don't support it.
- FTP allows preservation of timestamps, however applications for android don't support it.
- NFS allows preservation of timestamps, however couldn't get any application for android working properly (Servers Ultimate Pro).
- Rsync allows preservation of timestamps, however couldn't get any application for android working properly (Servers Ultimate Pro).
- adb push and pull does not preserve timestamps. Furthermore doesn't work recursively with folders.
- MTP does not preserve timestamps.
- Cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. usually never preserve timestamps.
Questions and answers
Is possible to implement MTP on "put here your device"?​Possibly yes, if has USB. MTP works on software side, so updating your rom or installing a new one will do the job
Is possible to implement UMC on "put here your device"?​That depends on hardware mainly. If the internal sdcard and the data folders belong to the same partition, you can't. The reason is that you can't enable access to a part of a partition at block level, the whole or nothing. This is the case for Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3, in order to take advantage of all space, and discard the case where you have filled a partition and the other plenty of space.
Dan Morill said:
It isn't physically possible to support UMS on devices that don't have a dedicated partition for storage (like a removable SD card, or a separate partition like Nexus S.) This is because UMS is a block-level protocol that gives the host PC direct access to the physical blocks on the storage, so that Android cannot have it mounted at the same time.
With the unified storage model we introduced in Honeycomb, we share your full 32GB (or 16GB or whatever) between app data and media data. That is, no more staring sadly at your 5GB free on Nexus S when your internal app data partition has filled up -- it's all one big happy volume.
However the cost is that Android can no longer ever yield up the storage for the host PC to molest directly over USB. Instead we use MTP. On Windows (which the majority of users use), it has built-in MTP support in Explorer that makes it look exactly like a disk. On Linux and Mac it's sadly not as easy, but I have confidence that we'll see some work to make this better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sources:
Easy UMS, USB Mass Storage and Media Transfer Protocol – XDA Developer TV
DifferenceBetween: Difference Between MTP and MSC
Directions on Microsoft: What is MTP?
CrackBerry: On startup - Media Transfer Protocol
Ice Cream Sandwich supports USB mass storage after all, Galaxy Nexus does not
Issues and questions:
[Q] Hidden folders through Android MTP
Nexus 4 not showing files via MTP
[Q][MTP] Certain files/directories hidden to windows file manager?
Connecting to PC files are different!
MTP and hidden files
[Q] Hidden files and MTP/Windows
[Q] Do the S3 still using 2gb partition for data and 12 as virtual sd?
Just got meself a Nexus 7... But!
Upload to dropbox: file timestamps should be preserved
Android File Transfer - For Mac users only

Thanks for this guide !

If I understand this correctly, then devices like the Asus Transformer Eee Pad (TF300T) which has a 16GB or 32GB internal storage, PLUS a microSD card (and standard SD card slot when docked) could use UMC, if the manufacturer made it so (which they haven't), right?

invertedskull said:
If I understand this correctly, then devices like the Asus Transformer Eee Pad (TF300T) which has a 16GB or 32GB internal storage, PLUS a microSD card (and standard SD card slot when docked) could use UMC, if the manufacturer made it so (which they haven't), right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The UMC should appear then for the microsd, which you can physically remove from the phone, plus the dock if existent.
For the 16/32 GB internal storage it depends if there is a dedicated partition for internal sdcard. Check it for the Eee Pad.

Well, then I assume(?) Asus were lazy or just didn't think to give us the choice, cos I only have MTP or PTP mode. I miss UMC.

invertedskull said:
Well, then I assume(?) Asus were lazy or just didn't think to give us the choice, cos I only have MTP or PTP mode. I miss UMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, assuming that you have your device rooted and with busybox, can you post the output of these three commands
Code:
ls -lR /dev/block
Code:
mount
Code:
su
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print

scandiun said:
Well, assuming that you have your device rooted and with busybox, can you post the output of these three commands...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I don't have it rooted. I have been asking around if rooting / unlocking the TF300T would give me the option for UMC, but pretty much everyone told me chances are zip.

invertedskull said:
Sorry, I don't have it rooted. I have been asking around if rooting / unlocking the TF300T would give me the option for UMC, but pretty much everyone told me chances are zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting can't change that because it's hardware implemented. You can't do anything about it. Probably the Eee pad transformer doesn't have a dedicated partition for sdcard.
A quick way to check it is see if the free space for the sdcard and the userdata is exactly the same, and is always like that no matter on which of the two partitions you write.
About the issue anyway, modern phones like Galaxy S3, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note and probably newer like Nexus 2 and Note 2 won't have it anymore, it's just the way to go because takes all the advantage of the free space on the device. It will be the standard from now on.
EDITED:
If you want UMS on devices that don't have it, you can use DriveDroid from market (there's both free and paid). With it, create a blank file that will be used as "partition". Then you can connect your phone to your computer and put there the songs you want. Then do the same in the car. For example, in my Nexus 7 I've created a 2 GB file which serve for that purpose (takes a while when is big).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=39203658&postcount=21

I have 20.71GB free internal, and 1.89GB free on the mSD card. :/

invertedskull said:
I have 20.71GB free internal, and 1.89GB free on the mSD card. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the mSD is another sdcard, different than the internal, in case it has it.
Would be great if you could get the partition scheme as I requested before, or ask for it, to definitely rule it out.

scandiun said:
Because the mSD is another sdcard, different than the internal, in case it has it.
Would be great if you could get the partition scheme as I requested before, or ask for it, to definitely rule it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this what you need?

when i connect my device with computer(MTP conection), i saw 1drive appear, then i go inside, i saw 2drive(iternal&external with how many free space left), go inside again always empty... how to use it?

I get that also. Just go into either one (internal or external) that you want to copy your files to and do your stuff.

invertedskull said:
Is this what you need?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More or less. The internal sdcard and the external (microsd) are different, one has 27.15 GB and the other 29.80 GB.
Click in the More... and see if you have UMC for the external microsd

scandiun said:
More or less. The internal sdcard and the external (microsd) are different, one has 27.15 GB and the other 29.80 GB.
Click in the More... and see if you have UMC for the external microsd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I only have MTP or PTP. This makes me sad.

Of UMC, MPT, and PTP, which is the most benigh?
I don't know if this is the best place to ask my question, but at least you all seem to understand this all pretty well.
I plug my phone into my PC to just use ADB. Under Gingerbread, I would select "Charge only" as my USB connection type.
With ICS, there is no longer the "Charge Only" option for an USB connection to a PC. I have to pick UMC, MTP, or PTP.
Given I really don't want to use any of those, just ADB, which of the three is the most benign one?

WaltA said:
I don't know if this is the best place to ask my question, but at least you all seem to understand this all pretty well.
I plug my phone into my PC to just use ADB. Under Gingerbread, I would select "Charge only" as my USB connection type.
With ICS, there is no longer the "Charge Only" option for an USB connection to a PC. I have to pick UMC, MTP, or PTP.
Given I really don't want to use any of those, just ADB, which of the three is the most benign one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either the MTP or PTP are the safer ones. There is no possibility to select "none" like was possible in previous version as you say. The UMC has the disadvantage that if you activate the Mass Storage usually the /sdcard won't be available from ADB commands.
Anyway, the ADB is separate from those options. The ADB option is usually found under Developer options. You can use adb with any of the options you say.

Thanks a lot very very helpfull!

oops, delete post. wrong window lol

scandiun said:
Rooting can't change that because it's hardware implemented. You can't do anything about it.
...
About the issue anyway, modern phones like Galaxy S3, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note and probably newer like Nexus 2 and Note 2 won't have it anymore, it's just the way to go because takes all the advantage of the free space on the device. It will be the standard from now on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I would let you (and anyone else reading this thread) know that your post here is wrong. It's not "hardware implemented" in the sense that these two protocols are software implementations of data transfer. In fact, in many cases, even where there is NOT a microSD card that is mounted as a separate partition from system/data, the UMS/MSC (USB Mass Storage Transfer/Mass Storage Class) can still be implemented by this procedure:
1. Root (and optionally flash a custom ROM, that can be easily modded)
2. boot into alt OS, such as Recovery or OS from alt. source (USB OTG?)
3. Partition such that you have the required "separate partition"
4. add kernel modules/libraries you want and will need for UMS/MSC
5. Boot up and enjoy UMS/MSC as well as MTP (if you don't mind crappy speed)
Done.
Also, regarding MTP/PTP (Media Transfer Protocol, which is actually different from Picture Transfer Protocol), being a future replacement for all "modern phones", I am not so sure. It is designed for that indeed, but the Android community is different from most others. I will personally be going out of my way in the future, to ensure all phones I buy have removable uSDcard slots, as long as I can still find them, because it makes recovery in a bind, much easier (like, if there's a problem establishing communications with a computer, and numerous other possibilities). There's nothing like popping in a 32 or 64 Gig card of movies, training videos, eBooks, etc., within 10 to 20 seconds, vice the hours it will typically take to transfer even 5 Gigs of videos over the MTP protocol. Again, I don't like programs handling all my media for me. I prefer to see the files where they live (a higher fidelity simulation, is afterall, a hallmark property of how sharper minds represent reality, and abstractions from it are always mere shortcuts we use in a hurry). You got an easier method to rapidly check file hashes on your phone, from your laptop? Think of it this way, saying that MTP will "replace" UMS, is like saying Apple will replace Linux.
Regards,
Paul
:good:

Best way to migrate to SSD?

I just recently bought a new 128 GB Kingston SSD. I have an Alienware M14x R1. My plan is to use the SSD as the primary boot drive and use the current HDD (Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB Hybrid Drive) as a secondary storage drive by replacing the optical disc drive with the Seagate HHDD.
Is there anyway to migrate Windows to the SSD without having to re-install everything? Some of the applications I have right now probably cannot be installed again because I'll reach the license key limit. That's why I'd prefer to just simply migrate everything over. But that's going to be about 500 GB of data to migrate over.
Or is the performance of the Seagate Hybrid Drive good enough that I don't necessarily need to use the SSD as a primary boot drive and I can use that as the secondary storage. Perhaps even in a RAID setup?
Thanks for the advice and suggestions!

I suggest you to install a fresh copy of Windows on the SSD. Also install all programs you can install again on it. Doing that will ensure you don't have any align problems due to the migration (which can decrease performance).
And then you can keep the programs you can't reinstall again on the secondary drive, which would be the Seagate.

romitkin said:
I suggest you to install a fresh copy of Windows on the SSD. Also install all programs you can install again on it. Doing that will ensure you don't have any align problems due to the migration (which can decrease performance).
And then you can keep the programs you can't reinstall again on the secondary drive, which would be the Seagate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the programs that I leave behind on the Seagate Hybrid Drive, would I still be able to run them while booted into the fresh copy of Windows? A lot of those programs were not designed to be "portable" because they have all these registry attachments and similar dependencies. Is it really as simply as just launching those programs using their EXE files without booting up the Windows installation on the hybrid drive?

Generalkidd said:
For the programs that I leave behind on the Seagate Hybrid Drive, would I still be able to run them while booted into the fresh copy of Windows? A lot of those programs were not designed to be "portable" because they have all these registry attachments and similar dependencies. Is it really as simply as just launching those programs using their EXE files without booting up the Windows installation on the hybrid drive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really depends on the programs. However, the vast majority of software licenses have no issues with reinstalling on the same machine. In certain cases reactivation might be tricky but then you can just phone/email support and tell them the situation. I've had to do this a few times (with e.g. NCP VPN client) and they're always very helpful.

[Q] Reading a Hard Drive

Figured you guys are all tech-savvy maybe you can hep me with this peculiar issue. (BTW Mods move to proper area if not correct)
My computer is an older build from late 2009 (Core i5, MSI P55-GD65 Mobo, 4GB RAM)
I just took my Hitachi Touro 3TB external enclosure apart to place the drive inside the computer (win 7 x64). When I plug it into the computer it is an "unreadable disk". When I go under administrative tools and look at the drives available on the computer the 3TB drive shows 10% of the drive's capacity as "Healthy" and in RAW format requesting I format the disk. It then shows two other partitions that are unallocated (all 3 partitions totally the 3TB). This is incorrect.
To rectify...
1.) I tried a different SATA port
2.) I updated my mobo to the newest firmware
3.) I tried a different SATA cable
Now, funny part is when I wire it back up to the external enclosure and plug it back into the computer via USB...VOILA it works.
So, my problem is getting the drive working internally what's the problem? I did this with other drives no problem but the >2TB drive now seems to be a problem. I have a 4TB Touro coming in the mail and worst case (don't want to do this) I'll just dump everything off the 3TB onto the new 4TB and then format the 3TB internally.

I might be wrong but here I think is the issue.
I once had a chance to open the outer casing of the external drive. Internally it is exactly like any other HDD u see in the market but with an additional chip that enables you a Plug n Play feature + others which windows will look for.
So when you connect it like any usual HDD, bios goes looking for certain sectors / addresses which normal HDD contains. like partition tables, MFT and all and provides details to windows till the extent it understands. So you are either going wrong at the chip or the sector stuff. Later can be resolved by re formatting.
I don't know more than this.
Sent from my HTC Desire VC using xda app-developers app

Sorta solved
Somehow when the disc was in the external enclosure it wasn't a GPT format drive because when I finally formatted the damn drive internally I couldn't make a partition larger than 2TB. Once I converted the drive to GPT I got a full 3TB readable partition.
At least it's much quicker transferring data back to it being installed internally

How to format 3TB HDD as FAT32?

Hello,
I desperately wish I could use another filesystem (exFAT, NTFS, etc) but I need my external HDD to be readable from my Amazon Fire TV box, Android phone/tablet, and hopefully iOS devices (though the latter is less of an issue if this won't work). From everything I've read, the ONLY file system that can be read by all of these is FAT32. I've tried on my Android phone/tablet using other options like NTFS and even using premium apps, I could get the drive to mount but nothing could be read. I only include this information but I know FAT32 isn't the best option and people will rightfully share that with me but sadly, it's the only option I have in this case.
I also know that while 2TB should be the max that FAT32 can handle, there are several people who have successfully gotten around that. If needed, I can share links to a post talking about that. However, what no one can seem to share is how to actually do that? Do I need to change the disk sector size? I've tried using multiple different software including AOMEI Partition Assistant, EaseUS Partition Master, and MiniTool Partition Wizard, obviously Windows built in (useless), and one or two others whose names escape me at the moment and, although most of them advertise that they can handle FAT32 partitions larger than 2TB, I can find no info on how to actually use them to accomplish this. Is GParted able to do this without problems? Is there any other program that can? Can anyone please share what I need to do to accomplish this? I know I have to have GPT rather than MBR but I don't know what else I need to do.
Thanks so much in advance! I truly appreciate any tips or advice you can share! Take care!!

Open a command window by going to Start, then Run and typing in CMD.
Now type in the following command at the prompt:
format /FS:FAT32 X:
Replace the letter X with the letter of your external hard drive in Windows. Windows will go ahead and begin formatting the drive in FAT32!
Format external hard drive fat32
There seems to also be an issue when using the command line besides the size limit problem. Namely, it can take forever to format the hard drive for some users. Not sure why, but I’ve seen it enough times and it can be very frustrating to wait 5 hours and then have the whole format fail.

As I know the snap-in disk management could not support formating partition from NTFS to FAT 32 when it is larger than 32 GB, if you want do that, you could use some partition software, such as Partition Assistant, GParted, and etc, btw, from your post it mentioned Acronis Disk Director, unquestionable, it is a powerful partition software, however, it need cost too much.

This should be possible with gparted, as long as the sector size of your hard disk is greater than 512 Byte. If not, 2TB will be the limit with Fat32.