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**toad** · Mar 03, 2008, 01:50 AM

Re: Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

Thank you for your comprehensive post - it indeed looks a mess! I take it booting from a live CD such as knoppix does not solve your problem either...

While there are very competent people on this board I can say that I don't know how to fix it and therefore suggest to "double post", i.e. repeat this exact post in the Ubuntu forum. There you have a far greater number of people who may help.

**shag13** · Mar 03, 2008, 02:54 AM

Re: Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

no booting from a livecd did not help, nor does GParted live, (as far i understand how to use it, but here, some gparted experts may help me. I just use it to try to understand something, but was not able to)

it looks like while writing partition tables during installation for its / and swap partition, (that i had deleted and recreated) Gutsy had decided to rewrite the one that used to be FAT32 with some kind of "unknown"/"invalid" partition, file system or flag that i just do not know how to recover. I can not understand why it has chosen to do something in a place where it should'nt have do anything

i will try to post it on ubuntu, thank you for the advice.

i will not be able to post more for like the next 10 hours, from now. But i will be very glad if some of the expert guys from here can post suggestions or any helpful advices, that i could then try later.

**monte48lowes** · Mar 03, 2008, 01:01 PM

Re: Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

Boot from a live CD and use 'testdisk'. It appears something did happen to your file allocation table. I'll research testdisk a little more. Your data is safe on the drive, unless you light it on fire. Photorec (another program written by same person as testdisk) can recover all your files from the drive, as long as the blocks the data are on have not been overwritten.

Mike

**monte48lowes** · Mar 03, 2008, 01:18 PM

Re: Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

Here is an example from Christophe's website:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step

I think it's rather easy to follow. If you have any questions, just ask.

Mike

**shag13** · Mar 03, 2008, 07:33 PM

Re: Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

So, i have bought a new drive and backuped others partitions.

i have tried photorec, clearly it is a no way, it found some files but too few, and many times the same, some of them also look truncated.

I continue expecting to do something with testdisk.

i've tried the advanced options because the analyse didn't manage to do the trick, but i explain just below this step that actually was after analysing...

-----
TestDisk 6.6, Data Recovery Utility, February 2007
Christophe GRENIER <grenier@cgsecurity.org>
http://www.cgsecurity.org

Disk /dev/sda - 100 GB / 93 GiB - CHS 12161 255 63
Partition Start End Size in sectors
5 L FAT32 1828 0 1 4437 254 63 41929650

Boot sector
test_FAT : Boot sector doesn't have the endmark 0xAA55

Backup boot sector
test_FAT : Boot sector doesn't have the endmark 0xAA55

First sectors (Boot code and partition information) are not identical.
Second sectors (cluster information) are not identical.
Third sectors (Second part of boot code) are not identical.

A valid FAT Boot sector must be present in order to access
any data; even if the partition is not bootable.

[ Quit ] [Rebuild BS][ Dump ] [Repair FAT]
Return to Advanced menu
----

=> here i have tried [Rebuild BS]
(right now for me [Repair FAT] is too scary as it is written as "Dangerous for expert only"...)

So Rebuild scan the disk, and then propose this :

-----
TestDisk 6.6, Data Recovery Utility, February 2007
Christophe GRENIER <grenier@cgsecurity.org>
http://www.cgsecurity.org

5 L FAT32 1828 0 1 4437 254 63 41929650
Cluster 104490, Directory / found ?
Answer Y(es), N(o) or A(bort interactive mode). N or A if not sure.

drwxr-xr-x 0 0 1263096404 13-Oct-2019 11:10 HORT-TWI.G-Y
-r-xr-xr-x 0 0 1346454860 21-Oct-2022 13:12 ETHROUGH.~@TH
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 1288000329 15-Oct-2013 11:34 INTU~@GRE.ATE
-r-xr-xr-x 0 0 1230524242 30-Nov-2012 10:50 EFT-POIN.TIN
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 3343796564 16-Oct-2019 07:42 MATEL�DI.FFE
-r-xr-xr-x 0 0 1212631378 13-Jan-2022 11:34 -MINUS~@C.ONC
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 1414022985 15-Oct-2017 10:42 �NIEUN-T.IKE
-r-xr-xr-x 0 0 1162432640 25-Oct-2014 11:10 OK~@INTER.POL
-r-xr-xr-x 0 0 1128366149 20-Feb-2016 06:42 CON�TWEN.TY-
-r-xr-xr-x 0 0 1146765645 1-Oct-2022 18:02 CUMULATI.ON~@
-rwxr-xr-x 0 0 1447646025 31-Mar-2014 13:10 HITUEUMS.IOS
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 2152940873 3-Oct-2022 11:10 ENESS~@DE.FEC
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 1431193933 12-Dec-1907 23:23 DIMINISH.MEN
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 760435791 23-Jan-2008 07:41 ~@DOTS-12.345
dr-xr-xr-x 0 0 926299444 19-Oct-2002 12:34 1234678~@.DOT
drwxr-xr-x 0 0 1330795845 22-Sep-2007 08:41 8~@DOTS-1.345
-----

=> that i can not accept, this has nothing to do with my data. After this cluster, nothing more was found and i came back to :

-----
Disk /dev/sda - 100 GB / 93 GiB - CHS 12161 255 63
Partition Start End Size in sectors
5 L FAT32 1828 0 1 4437 254 63 41929650

FAT : 32
cluster_size 64 49
reserved 33 7
sectors 0 34304
total_sect 41929650 471433
fat32_length 8377 471434
root_cluster 0 471436
free_count uninitialised 471675
next_free uninitialised 471676
Extrapolated boot sector and current boot sector are different.
Warning: Extrapolated boot sector have incorrect values.

[ Dump ] [ List ] [ Write ] [ Quit ]

List directories and files
-----
=> where i did not know what to do. So waiting for any help at this step...

=> Ok, now let's go back to the first analysing step, following the guideline...

=> So : first, below, from beginning only last partition Linux Swap is in green, with a L flag in front of it. But if i had understood correctly what to do, it is my job to change flag in a way that everything looks ok. The best i can do is this one :

1-----
TestDisk 6.6, Data Recovery Utility, February 2007
Christophe GRENIER <grenier@cgsecurity.org>
http://www.cgsecurity.org

Disk /dev/sda - 100 GB / 93 GiB - CHS 12161 255 63
Partition Start End Size in sectors
P HPFS - NTFS 0 1 1 1827 254 63 29366757
D FAT32 LBA 1827 196 1 4438 254 63 41949432 [FAT32]
L HPFS - NTFS 4438 151 1 10704 254 63 100669842
D Linux 10704 241 1 11226 254 63 8386812
L Linux 11226 241 1 12029 254 63 12901077
L Linux Swap 12030 1 1 12160 254 63 2104452

Structure: Ok. Use Up/Down Arrow keys to select partition.
Use Left/Right Arrow keys to CHANGE partition characteristics:
*=Primary bootable P=Primary L=Logical E=Extended D=Deleted
Keys A: add partition, L: load backup, T: change type, P: list files,
Enter: to continue
NTFS, 15 GB / 14 GiB
-----

=> in this case all partition labelled L or P are Structure Ok, and marked in green.

Notice that if i go to line starting by "D FAT32 LBA" and use the P list files features, it is ok, i can see a directory structures with files that looks to be the one i have lost...

But it did not repaired my Fat32 partition, and also break one of the Linux which contain / of Kubuntu...

if i follow the guideline that may not be a trouble for now and i could continue...
as long as i will be used a [Search!]

-----

TestDisk 6.6, Data Recovery Utility, February 2007
Christophe GRENIER <grenier@cgsecurity.org>
http://www.cgsecurity.org

Disk /dev/sda - 100 GB / 93 GiB - CHS 12161 255 63

Partition Start End Size in sectors

1 P HPFS - NTFS 0 1 1 1827 254 63 29366757
2 E extended LBA 4438 150 1 12160 254 63 124060545
5 L HPFS - NTFS 4438 151 1 10704 254 63 100669842
6 L Linux 11226 241 1 12029 254 63 12901077
7 L Linux Swap 12030 1 1 12160 254 63 2104452

[ Quit ] [Search! ] [ Write ] [Extd Part]
Return to main menu

-----

=> searching is long... many things are found step after step and finally i have :

-----

Warning: Incorrect number of heads/cylinder 240 (NTFS) != 255 (HD)
HPFS - NTFS 0 1 1 1827 194 63 29362977
Warning: Incorrect number of heads/cylinder 240 (FAT) != 255 (HD)
FAT32 LBA 1827 196 1 4438 149 63 41942817 [FAT32]
Warning: Incorrect number of heads/cylinder 240 (NTFS) != 255 (HD)
HPFS - NTFS 4438 151 1 10704 239 63 100668897
Linux 10704 241 1 11226 239 60 8385864
Linux 10705 1 1 11225 254 61 8369800
Linux 11226 241 1 12029 254 58 12901072

Disk /dev/sda - 100 GB / 93 GiB - CHS 12161 255 63

-----

=> which actually lead to nothing and did not help , to my mind it is better that was as it looks like heads and cylinder value changed too much from these "searched" options, and i think it should remain stable, don't you think so ?

then i had :

-----

Warning: the current number of heads per cylinder is 255
but the correct value may be 16.
You can use the Geometry menu to change this value.
It's something to try if

-----

=> and i only can go back to analyse menu.

=> Looks like it was not able to recover

==============> So now, few suppositions :

* is my real trouble not coming from the fact that here (already seen upper as 1-----) and where i had numbered lines for my suppositions...

Disk /dev/sda - 100 GB / 93 GiB - CHS 12161 255 63
Partition Start End Size in sectors
1/ P HPFS - NTFS 0 1 1 1827 254 63 29366757
2/ D FAT32 LBA 1827 196 1 4438 254 63 41949432 [FAT32]
3/ L HPFS - NTFS 4438 151 1 10704 254 63 100669842
4/ D Linux 10704 241 1 11226 254 63 8386812
5/ L Linux 11226 241 1 12029 254 63 12901077
6/ L Linux Swap 12030 1 1 12160 254 63 2104452

1/ and 2/ are overlapping 1827 / 1827 while it should have been sometinh like 1827 / 1828
3/ and 4/ or 4/ and 5/ are also overlapping at 4/ start and 4/ end, it should not.

a correct looks like to be 5/ and 6/ 5/ finishing at 12029 and 6/ starting at 12030... Like it seems to be ok, with green color and structure ok

==> what do you think of that ?

==> do you think that i may :
* validate 2/ as a Logical,
* write partition to disk,
* reboot using a live CD,
* see if i can mount only this partition as others should be broken,
* if ok, backup the whole stuff.
* reboot again, go testdisk
* change others flag so that others partitions are ok, and not /2 and /4
* write these modifications to disk
* reboot, delete that damned 2/ recreating it from somewhere and the copy back my files ?
* try another install of kubuntu which should be recreate 4/ (and do not break again...)

==> can you think this can work ? does it make sense to you ?

=====> and by the way, and hell, why do this F* Gutsy have changed these damned values ?
i only wanted to install a Kubutu, not to stop sleeping...

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Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

Gutsy break my FAT32 partition during install

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