USB HDD/Data Recovery? (1 Viewer)

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I'm beyond my pay-grade and need serious help to rescue an external usb storage device or, at a minimum, all the media files on it.

Not sure if I should be posting here, or general tech forum, but my server is Ubuntu linux and my request revolves around linux "rescue" knowledge. If a mod deems this to be in the wrong place, please accept my apologies and move it where you think it should be. Otherwise, here goes...

This is my first attempt at a media server project. I've set up an old desktop with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS to serve as a full-time media server to my household machines. I've set up AirVideo and MediaTomb to stream to a combination of Apple and Android devices, using UPnP. I just finished Handbrake-ripping the last dvd of my 300+ movie library to a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2TB external usb drive, configuring AirVideo and MediaTomb and successfully tested the stream to an iPod Touch and my Archos IT. Was feeling pretty pleased with myself for the successful setup of my first server, with no assistance. Planning on using the external usb drive as my "backup drive", I started looking into a 2nd hard drive for the main box, large enough to accommodate the currently 240GB+/- library (in effect, I created the "backup data" to an external first, and was planning to "restore" the backup data to a primary internal hdd).

However, a lightning storm cut the power this weekend, which NEVER happens here (well, almost never...) and upon reboot, the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex no longer automounts; in short summary, if I disconnect the device and reconnect the device, Ubuntu will mount it, but I cannot navigate the directory tree...Nautilus locks up, and the entire system must be rebooted. Ubuntu Disk Utility indicates that there are a significant number of "pending" and "reallocated" blocks on the Seagate.

The Seagate forum indicates that plugging the device into a Windows machine will re-initialize the UUID of the device, and then running a filesystem check will restore to operational functionality. However, Windows does not recognize the device and it "may not function properly"; the filesystem check hangs, and Windows must be rebooted.

At this point in time, I've spent MANY months ripping 300+ dvds and have over 240GB of movie files that I can't access, backup, nor more. In order of preference:

Is there a way to "save" the Seagate drive and make it functional again?
if not, is there a way to copy/move/backup the data to another device?

Or do I just have to suck it up and start ripping 300+ dvds all over again? Any and all suggestions are most appreciated! Thanks in advance guys!
 
This is common when a drive is in use and unmounted incorrectly. I wouldn't worry, yet.

What filesystem is on that drive? Ext3? Ext4?

A quick n dirty method (not that dirty, really) is to run the following command:
Code:
sudo touch /forcefsck
Then reboot.

This will run fsck of ALL drives before they are mounted at boot.

Or you can just use fsck.ext4 (or fsck.ext3 if it Ext3), manually on the affected device (/dev/device_id)
Use the man command for detailed options on the above commands.

Whatever you do, make sure the drive is NOT mounted before using fsck. Bad things happen, if so.
 
This is common when a drive is in use and unmounted incorrectly. I wouldn't worry, yet.

What filesystem is on that drive? Ext3? Ext4?

A quick n dirty method (not that dirty, really) is to run the following command:
Code:
sudo touch /forcefsck
Then reboot.

This will run fsck of ALL drives before they are mounted at boot.

Or you can just use fsck.ext4 (or fsck.ext3 if it Ext3), manually on the affected device (/dev/device_id)
Use the man command for detailed options on the above commands.

Whatever you do, make sure the drive is NOT mounted before using fsck. Bad things happen, if so.

That would be AWESOME if it's that simple! I'd rather spend the $$ to replace a dead drive, if that's the case, than spend the time to re-rip all those DVDS again!

FWIW, I left the default formatting in place (NTFS) so Windows could read the drive if I want to take it with me somewhere, or if I need to dual-boot into Windows.

Does your advice still hold for NTFS formatting? Is your advice an either/or proposition, or should I do both? And even though the device has NOT been auto-mounting since the power outage, how can I ensure it won't auto-mount the next time, thereby causing "bad things" to happen?!

Sounds like the 2nd method (if an either/or proposition) is a safer bet, but is deviceID the UUID or is it sdc? The drive is sdc, i believe (a quick gPartEd check will verify that), and auto-mounts at /media/GoFlex. what is the complete command for that? Would it be ~$: fsck.ntfs /media/GoFlex or perhaps ~$: fsck.ntfs dev/sdc

I'm a GUI operator, but not afraid of the CLI with a little guidance. Thanks in advance Eaux!
 
Do you get any info that looks like errors when you run this?
Code:
sudo dmesg| grep sdc
If your drive/file-system is whacked, it will be reported via dmesg.


I do not use NTFS, but know that there is a fsck version for ntfs, may need to add the ntfsprogs via apt-get? It may come w/ntfs-3g, now?

FYI, if it's /dev/sdc, the actual device will be /dev/sdc# (# probably = 1 if it's one giant partition)
If the # = 1, then:
Code:
fsck.ntfs /dev/sdc1


Start with the /forcefsck method first. Shouldn't hurt anything.

If nothing else, attach this drive to a Windows machine and run chkdsk on it.
 
Do you get any info that looks like errors when you run this?
Code:
sudo dmesg| grep sdc
If your drive/file-system is whacked, it will be reported via dmesg.


I do not use NTFS, but know that there is a fsck version for ntfs, may need to add the ntfsprogs via apt-get? It may come w/ntfs-3g, now?

FYI, if it's /dev/sdc, the actual device will be /dev/sdc# (# probably = 1 if it's one giant partition)
If the # = 1, then:
Code:
fsck.ntfs /dev/sdc1


Start with the /forcefsck method first. Shouldn't hurt anything.

If nothing else, attach this drive to a Windows machine and run chkdsk on it.

In order, the output of the dmesg command is:

jim@Ubuntu-desktop:~$ sudo dmesg| grep sdc
[ 296.117128] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] 3907029167 512-byte logical blocks:
(2.00 TB/1.81 TiB)
[ 296.128847] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off
[ 296.128858] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 0f 00 00 00
[ 296.128864] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 296.134799] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 296.134814] sdc: sdc1
[ 296.173799] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 296.173812] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI disk
[ 296.322989] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Sense Key : Recovered Error [current]
[descriptor]
[ 296.323032] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] ASC=0x4 ASCQ=0x1d
jim@Ubuntu-desktop:~$

I note the "recovered error" as unusual, but nothing else appears whacked.

I ran the sudo touch /forcefsck command and rebooted, but it appears to have only scanned my internal harddrive (disk 1 of 1), as I also have 2 external usb HDD.

Inasmuch as I previously attempted to run chkdsk in a Windows machine, and locked it up, I believe I'm down to the manual ntfs command on the sdc device. I checked my synaptic packages and both ntfsprogs and ntfs-3g are already installed on my system.

Just to ensure that no "bad things" occur, I'm unclear what "unmounted" means. Does the fact that the device no longer automounts on my desktop mean it is already unmounted, or do I need to manually unmount the device, and if so, how? Just right click and choose "safely remove drive"?

And to be clear in my mind, with the device unmounted, i simply type 'fsck.ntfs /dev/sdc1' in a terminal and let it do its thing?
 
Inasmuch as I previously attempted to run chkdsk in a Windows machine, and locked it up, I believe I'm down to the manual ntfs command on the sdc device. I checked my synaptic packages and both ntfsprogs and ntfs-3g are already installed on my system.
The Windows machine locked up when you tried chkdsk? Not good. Have you tried another Windows machine?
I would recommend using Windows to fix this.


Just to ensure that no "bad things" occur, I'm unclear what "unmounted" means. Does the fact that the device no longer automounts on my desktop mean it is already unmounted, or do I need to manually unmount the device, and if so, how? Just right click and choose "safely remove drive"?
Just because you do not see the drive icon does not means it isn't still mounted.
The 'mount' command will report what is mounted on your system.

To unmount via cli (considering the mount point is /media/GoFlex):
Code:
sudo umount /media/GoFlex
lil' too easy? :hihi:


Honestly, I highly advise NOT to use NTFS. I know that the most important thing, right now, is to retrieve your data.

I would recommend formatting the drive to Ext4, then install this on your Windows machine.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read/
Even thought the name of the app is ext2read, it does read from ext3 and ext4 filesystems, even reads from LMV2 containers!
 
I GOT IT!!! Eaux, once again, you are the man who has saved my bacon!!!

I couldn't follow your instructions to the letter, but you provided the critical piece of information that served as the bridge to the solution. To help anyone else who may experience this issue, the solution was as follows:

While waiting for Eaux's instructions to unmount hard drive with CLI command, another poster on MajorGeeks suggested a SystemRescue LiveCD, to be run in RAM. Having one laying nearby, I booted up and was able to mount the usb disk and fire up GPartEd. While GPartEd identifed the disk as "having warning errors", it would not allow me to fix them. Perusing the rest of the tools on the LiveCD, I found a program called TestDisk, which purported to test the health of your disk and fix any errors it may find. TestDisk identified the drive as NTFS formatted and mentioned NTFS-3G as a tool being used to analyze and repair. Thanks to Eaux, this meant something to me, and we proceeded forward. TestDisk unmounts the disk and 12-14 hours later, the disk has been scanned, analyzed, and repaired; and the drive indicator light flutters back on without my manual interference. This is a good sign!

We power down the LiveCD, reboot the PC, and VOILA...the disk has been recognized by the system and is automounted. Disk Utility still identifies several hundred "reallocated sector" and "pending sector" errors, but I am able to browse the drive directory with nautilus. I quickly slammed a newly purchased usb Hard drive into a port and rsync the entire dvd movie directory onto the backup drive. 9 hours later, mission critical is accomplished and the drive has been backed up!!!

At this point, the previously faulty drive is now plugged into my Windows machine, which promptly recognizes the drive and allows me to browse the directory again. I'm now able to check the drive for errors, using "automatically fix file system errors" and "scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" options; this is the GUI equivalent of chkdsk /f. Upon finish, I should reboot 2x (not sure the significance of that, but I'll be damn sure to do it!) and all should be good.

Lastly, I also appreciate the info for the Windows program to read EXT formatted drives. This WOULD have been a very simple repair in Ubuntu IF the drive had been EXT formatted. Now that I'm safely backed up (to an NTFS formatted drive, in my haste to back up), I'll leave the backup drive formatted in a Windows friendly NTFS format and install the Windows EXT reader program. I'll also be reformatting the original drive to a Linux friendly EXT format (with journaling!) and rsync the backup to the original!

Eaux, at about 4 hours each to rip and encode a typical dvd, you have saved me THOUSANDS of man hours of re-ripping my 300+ dvd collection! Where should I send the case of beer of your choice? And believe me, I'm getting off REAL CHEAP with that fee! Thanks bro!
 
Beautiful!

No payment necessary, brah! Just glad you got your data back. Hopefully you'll pass the lesson you learned along to someone else in need.

If you're ever in the Boulder Co area, hit me up, then i'll let you buy the beer :hihi:
 
Beautiful!

No payment necessary, brah! Just glad you got your data back. Hopefully you'll pass the lesson you learned along to someone else in need.

If you're ever in the Boulder Co area, hit me up, then i'll let you buy the beer"s" :hihi:

There, I fixed your last post for ya...and DEAL!
 
Beautiful!

No payment necessary, brah! Just glad you got your data back. Hopefully you'll pass the lesson you learned along to someone else in need.

If you're ever in the Boulder Co area, hit me up, then i'll let you buy the beer :hihi:

Boulder? You moving into Mork and Mindy's house?
 

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