#hard drive Data Loss
10 messages in this thread
[ continuation ]
Can anyone offer some advice?
Thanks, Rich
– via Whap!
Rich,
Have you modified anything lately? It almost sounds like you've
got overlapping partitions.
Don
Don,
Prior to the problem starting, we had modified nothing that I can think of.
Would a low level format of the drive, followed by the FORMAT command to
each partition straighten things out?
My drive currently has WORK:(31 meg), WB_2.x: (6 meg), and WB_1.3 (2 meg)
on it. WB_1.3 is not visible when I'm operating in OS 2.04 (which is 100%
of the time). I don't really need that partition, so I guess I could
increase the 31 meg partion by 2 megs?
I plan to boot, transfer operation to a Syquest drive
ASSIGN SYS: SYQ1:System2.0
that has all the data from both partitions on it, low level format and high
level format my hard drive, and then copy all the information back to the
new, blank partitions from the Syquest. Do you think this will help?
Thanks,
Rich
– via Whap!
Rich,
I wouldn't worry about a low level format, but I'd get rid of that
1.3 partition if you don't use it.
Don
Don,
Thanks. I have repartitioned and reformatted my drive.
One of the things that had been misleading over the last several days was
that the data recovery software kept reporting that volume WORK: had no
Root Block. This despite repeated attempts to format with the DOS FORMAT
command.
What I've learned (I think) is that a drive has only one root block. And
that block is found only on one of the partitions. All the other partitions
have none.
After the first attempt at FORMATTing a partition on a newly partitioned
drive,, that partition gets a root block, then FORMAT does not write a root
block to any other partition as each additional partition is FORMATTed. Is
this correct?
So far things appear stable. My drive has two partitions now, WB_2.x, and
WORK.
<keeping fingers crossed>
Rich
Richard,
I just looked at each of my partitions with DiskEd, and each one has a
different root block. It is true that each disk or each partition has
only one root block, and it is usually the center block of the disk or
partition. This block serves as the basic directory to the rest of the
disk, and it is the one which knows whether the disk has been validated,
too. If you have DiskEd, you can just give it the simple command R, and
it will locate the root block and tell you its block number. I don't know
the status of DiskEd these days. It came to me through some early
developer materials I bought. It has never been very popular with the
real whizzes on the Amiga, but I've always found it really easy to use for
studying disks.
Betty,
Thanks for that information. Fix disk repeatedly informs me that I have no
valid root block on volume WORK: After it goes trough its analysis of the
disk it warns me that it has found a root block on the next to last block
of the partition. I have reformatted everything. I'll try to get DiskEd.
Rich
Rich,
NO…there is a root block on each filesystem (partition). There
is only one set of Rigid Disk Blocks on a HD, but can be multiple root
blocks.
Don
Richard,
No that is not correct. Every partition gets a root block, regardless of
where it is at. The root block is the middle sector on a logical partition.
You aren't by chance trying to do a Quick Format, are you? Under the
circumstances I'd suggest doing a complete format. I'd also suggest a
complete re-install of 2.04 from your A3000 master disks.
If all of this fails, there is a real possibility that you have a
hardware problem that is preventing you from writing to your HD properly.
If this appears to be the case it's probably time for a trip to the local
service center.
Dean
DKB Software
Dean and Don,
The only program I have that seems to be able to give me information about
my drives root block(s) is Fixdisk. It may not be fully compatible with
2.0.
I am not doing a quick format.
I have completely reformatted my hard drive and re-installed 2.04 from the
distribution disks.
Fix disk tells me I have a valid root block on partition WB_2.x but "no
valid root block" on WORK (blocks 2 through 65534 ) . When I use Fixdisk to
analize the disk structure it then gives me a message, "Warning: Root Block
found on block #33828. Block #33827 expected.
Is there another program I can use to analize my disk?
My system seems to be working without problems now. But I am afraid that my
data is still at risk.
Rich