Trying to recover data from an external HDD using USB to SATA cable...advice needed please

darrenkarp

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Hi All,

Firstly, I'm new to all things Linux. I booted Ubuntu Live from a USB stick and the desktop showed the drive I need to recover, I saw the correct folder where all the data is in (called Share) but it was empty so I then installed ddsrecue-gui (after a little fun with repos, etc.) but I have no idea what device to select as it's input source as many appeared different devices were presented. How do I know the correct device to select?

Many thanks
Darren
 


If you can go to a terminal...
what is the output of...
sudo fdisk -l
 
Here you go (pasted from Ubuntu Live) hopefully I've captured what you need:-

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/loop0: 1.8 GiB, 1905045504 bytes, 3720792 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop1: 91 MiB, 95408128 bytes, 186344 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop2: 34.6 MiB, 36216832 bytes, 70736 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop3: 140.7 MiB, 147496960 bytes, 288080 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop4: 2.3 MiB, 2355200 bytes, 4600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop5: 13 MiB, 13619200 bytes, 26600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop6: 14.5 MiB, 15208448 bytes, 29704 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop7: 3.7 MiB, 3878912 bytes, 7576 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/sda: 465.8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 33553920 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xbd61106d

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2008125 12016619 10008495 4.8G 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 12016620 974984849 962968230 459.2G f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 12016683 14024744 2008062 980.5M 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 14024808 974984849 960960042 458.2G 83 Linux


Disk /dev/sdb: 465.8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 431055DE-DF59-11E8-86CA-708BCD53E0B4

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sdb1 2048 923655 921608 450M Windows recovery environment
/dev/sdb2 923656 1128463 204808 100M EFI System
/dev/sdb3 1128464 1161239 32776 16M Microsoft reserved
/dev/sdb4 1161240 975724741 974563502 464.7G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sdb5 975726592 976771071 1044480 510M Windows recovery environment


Disk /dev/sdc: 232.9 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 5AB396FE-89D2-40E8-8357-A953F09637D9

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sdc1 2048 923647 921600 450M Windows recovery environment
/dev/sdc2 923648 1128447 204800 100M EFI System
/dev/sdc3 1128448 1161215 32768 16M Microsoft reserved
/dev/sdc4 1161216 486603619 485442404 231.5G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sdc5 486604800 488394751 1789952 874M Windows recovery environment


Disk /dev/sdd: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xf9393dc8

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdd1 * 2048 206847 204800 100M 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdd2 206848 1952598015 1952391168 931G 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sdd3 1952600064 1953521663 921600 450M 27 Hidden NTFS WinRE


Disk /dev/sde: 28.7 GiB, 30752636928 bytes, 60063744 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xcf685188

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sde1 * 2048 60063743 60061696 28.7G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
 
I should add that now I've booted back into my W10 machine the 1TB HDD I have is showing but says it needs to be formatted! I did try ddrescue-gui to restore to it but quit after about 60 seconds...so I've gone from confused to raging as I need the stuff on the 1TB HDD!
 
It appears the 1TB has turned into a RAW drive....what the heck do I do now guys?
 
It looks like your USB drive is likely a 32gig drive at /dev/sde1

It looks you have a windows drive at /dev/sdc (approx 466 GB)
and you also have a windows drive at /dev/sdd (approx 466 GB)

It looks like most of your windows data in /dev/sdc4 and /dev/sdd4

Try this at a console.

sudo mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt

Then cd /mnt
see if your data is there.
copy it someplace.

Once that is done you can do the same thing thing on the other drive.

sudo umount /mnt
sudo mount /dev/sdd4 /mnt
cd /mnt
see if you have anything important here. Copy it someplace.
 
Thanks very much for the reply. Before I try that do you have any advice on how I can get my 1TB drive back from being RAW (I obviously played around with ddrescure and overwrite the W10 partition)?
 
and btw the drive I'm trying to recover is a 500GB WDC HDD. In my rig I have a 500GB SDD, a 250GB SDD and a 1TB mechanical HDD. The other WDC HDD is on a USB to SATA cable.
 
The only 1TB drive I see here, is /dev/sda
/dev/sda2 is about 460 gig.
/dev/sda6 is also about 460 gig.

/dev/sda6 is formatted as Linux drive.

/dev/sda2 still looks to be formatted as a Windows drive.
 
Really sorry but getting terribly lost with all this. What I'd like to do firstly is get my internal 1TB drive back. Then I can worry about the 500GB external drive. I ran the fdisk -l command before I ran ddrescue and clearly screwed something up!
 
fdisk -l (make sure you use the "dash ell" doesn't change anything or format anything.
It just shows you what you have.

Unless you did some other commands or installed Linux on a drive, you should still have everything.

The most obvious places appear to be /dev/sdc4, /dev/sdd4, and /dev/sda2.
I would think whatever data was on these partitions is still there.
 
Can you mount /dev/sda2 ?

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

cd /mnt
 
Thanks again. As it takes some time running the Ubuntu Live, installing the repos, etc. I'll do it tomorrow and hopefully you'll be able to advise on what I need to do!
 
Hi,

I've just come home from work and have booted up Linux Live. Below is the output from the fdisk -l command. It would appear that yesterday I stupidly managed to delete the windows partition on the 1TB drive. In Windows 10 I can see this drive in disk management showing as a RAW drive. How can I get this drive back and working? We can then hopefully deal with the 500GB HDD and recover the files on it:

Disk /dev/loop0: 1.8 GiB, 1905045504 bytes, 3720792 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop1: 91 MiB, 95408128 bytes, 186344 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop2: 34.6 MiB, 36216832 bytes, 70736 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop3: 140.7 MiB, 147496960 bytes, 288080 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop4: 2.3 MiB, 2355200 bytes, 4600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop5: 13 MiB, 13619200 bytes, 26600 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop6: 14.5 MiB, 15208448 bytes, 29704 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/loop7: 3.7 MiB, 3878912 bytes, 7576 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/sda: 465.8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 431055DE-DF59-11E8-86CA-708BCD53E0B4

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 923655 921608 450M Windows recovery environment
/dev/sda2 923656 1128463 204808 100M EFI System
/dev/sda3 1128464 1161239 32776 16M Microsoft reserved
/dev/sda4 1161240 975724741 974563502 464.7G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sda5 975726592 976771071 1044480 510M Windows recovery environment


Disk /dev/sdb: 232.9 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 5AB396FE-89D2-40E8-8357-A953F09637D9

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sdb1 2048 923647 921600 450M Windows recovery environment
/dev/sdb2 923648 1128447 204800 100M EFI System
/dev/sdb3 1128448 1161215 32768 16M Microsoft reserved
/dev/sdb4 1161216 486603619 485442404 231.5G Microsoft basic data
/dev/sdb5 486604800 488394751 1789952 874M Windows recovery environment


Disk /dev/sdc: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x128ad46d

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdc1 * 2048 1953521663 1953519616 931.5G 6 FAT16


Disk /dev/sdd: 28.7 GiB, 30752636928 bytes, 60063744 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xcf685188

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdd1 * 2048 60063743 60061696 28.7G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)


Disk /dev/sde: 465.8 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 33553920 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xbd61106d

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sde1 * 2008125 12016619 10008495 4.8G 83 Linux
/dev/sde2 12016620 974984849 962968230 459.2G f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sde5 12016683 14024744 2008062 980.5M 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sde6 14024808 974984849 960960042 458.2G 83 Linux
 
Last edited:
Once the partition has been re-formatted, there is not much you can do.
Sometimes professional data recovery services can get the data back, but it is very $$$
and not always 100% effective.

But any of the partitions above that end with "Microsoft basic data"

should still have your data on them.
 
I've no problem seeing the data with recovery software and I never re-formatted any drive (just messed up the partition file format it would see) but the cost of the recovery software is like $200. Do you know of anything that's free?
 
Unfortunately. No I do not.
 
no problem. Thanks very much for all your help. I was hoping to be able to recover the data of the 500GB with Ubuntu at least.
 

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