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f:\ is not accessible. the disk structure is corrupted and unreadable

wesley_w

wesley_w

Well-Known Member
Oct 23, 2006
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I have an external drive giving me this message. I had this a few months back and was able to fix it somehow but I didn't keep notes and can't remember what I did.
But, chkdsk does not work. It gives me this message..

C:\Windows\System32>chkdsk /f F:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is WesleyOriginal.
Corrupt master file table. Windows will attempt to recover
master file table from disk.
Windows cannot recover master file table. CHKDSK aborted.

I have a full backup in a fireproof safe in the basement but I've been lazy and haven't backed up for about two weeks and I have several photo events that I want to recover if I can. I downloaded a free data recovery program and I can see my files and even the photos are previewable so I know the files haven't been destroyed.

If anyone has any advice. :)

I photographed the UNI meet sunday and I still have all that on my CF cards so those will be easy to get but I have several events that I hope to recover..
 
#1 rule of working on a drive in a situation like this -
Data preservation

If you do care about the recent contents of this drive then you need to do a drive cloning process before ANY other action is done.
 
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When I have had issues like this I have used Seagate Disk Wizard to make an image (clone) of the disk.

Then here is a very small part of what chat suggested (damn it is good)

Recovery Efforts​

Attempt File System Repair with Alternate Tools​

  • While Windows' built-in CHKDSK utility has failed, other file system repair tools like TestDisk or the commercial tool R-Studio might offer more advanced recovery algorithms. These tools can sometimes reconstruct or recover the MFT.

Data Recovery Software​

  • If repairing the file system is not feasible, data recovery software can scan the drive at a low level to identify and recover files. Tools such as Recuva (by CCleaner), EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, or DMDE can be instrumental in such scenarios. They bypass the file system to locate data directly, which can be effective even when the MFT is corrupted.

Professional Data Recovery Services​

  • If the data is of critical importance and the above methods do not yield satisfactory results, consider enlisting a professional data recovery service. These services have specialized tools and cleanroom environments to safely recover data from physically damaged or severely corrupted drives. However, be prepared for potentially high costs.
I have not had to do this for so long, I don't remember exactly what I would do, but what the others are telling you about making an image it ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

I harped on my clients, set up RAID systems (which might not have helped you here) and made auto backups that really did not back up more than once a week, so it would not have helped you that much either. However, the data my clients were using also came to them in large chunks that I had them save elsewhere before it got put onto the system they were trying to protect. So, if they followed my instructions, we'd never loose anything, it would just be a pain to reload the system and the changes they had made to the individual programs and their settings along the way.

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. That really sucks and it really hurts when you did all that work and could potentially lose it.

If you want to talk redundancy and backup strategy when you get this all cleaned up, hit us all up again. I'm sure we'd be good to bounce ideas off of. I know that is not what you are concerned with right now, but you'll be most receptive right after you get this cleaned up. Good Luck!
 
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CYDJ said:
When I have had issues like this I have used Seagate Disk Wizard to make an image (clone) of the disk.

Then here is a very small part of what chat suggested (damn it is good)

Recovery Efforts​

Attempt File System Repair with Alternate Tools​

  • While Windows' built-in CHKDSK utility has failed, other file system repair tools like TestDisk or the commercial tool R-Studio might offer more advanced recovery algorithms. These tools can sometimes reconstruct or recover the MFT.

Data Recovery Software​

  • If repairing the file system is not feasible, data recovery software can scan the drive at a low level to identify and recover files. Tools such as Recuva (by CCleaner), EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, or DMDE can be instrumental in such scenarios. They bypass the file system to locate data directly, which can be effective even when the MFT is corrupted.

Professional Data Recovery Services​

  • If the data is of critical importance and the above methods do not yield satisfactory results, consider enlisting a professional data recovery service. These services have specialized tools and cleanroom environments to safely recover data from physically damaged or severely corrupted drives. However, be prepared for potentially high costs.
I have not had to do this for so long, I don't remember exactly what I would do, but what the others are telling you about making an image it ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

I harped on my clients, set up RAID systems (which might not have helped you here) and made auto backups that really did not back up more than once a week, so it would not have helped you that much either. However, the data my clients were using also came to them in large chunks that I had them save elsewhere before it got put onto the system they were trying to protect. So, if they followed my instructions, we'd never loose anything, it would just be a pain to reload the system and the changes they had made to the individual programs and their settings along the way.

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. That really sucks and it really hurts when you did all that work and could potentially lose it.

If you want to talk redundancy and backup strategy when you get this all cleaned up, hit us all up again. I'm sure we'd be good to bounce ideas off of. I know that is not what you are concerned with right now, but you'll be most receptive right after you get this cleaned up. Good Luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for this info. I ended up getting a program called diskdrill and it is doing a scan right now and is seeing everything I need. I had done five events without backing up and I will recover all of them so in the end I got very lucky!!
 
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wesley_w said:
Thank you for this info. I ended up getting a program called diskdrill and it is doing a scan right now and is seeing everything I need. I had done five events without backing up and I will recover all of them so in the end I got very lucky!!
Click to expand...
diskdrilled ur mom
 
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