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Thread: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    I think I'm here! Maybe?
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    Hidden!
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    Xubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    Quote Originally Posted by neouser View Post
    The command "sudo unmount /dev/sdb1" cannot be found
    It should be "sudo umount /dev/sdb1" not "unmount". Note no N in umount.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    24

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    The command: "sudo fsck /dev/sdb1" seemed to work. Now I have a list with tthe folders followed by "Start does point to root directory. Deleting dir."

    It finishes by saying:
    Reclaimed 87655457 unused clusters (297765443344.. bytes).
    Free cluster summary wrong (587665 vs. really 9560941)
    1) correct
    2) don't correct
    ?

    Which option should I choose?

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
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    /run/shm
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    820
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    Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    Once you press 1) Correct. You get 270+gigs free. Once you pres 2) Don't correct. You get nothing.
    In short, you lost your files, but there is a way to recover what is left of them.
    You have to learn what partition table it is using, go to System -> Administration -> Disk Utility and find your external HDD, note what it says under Partitioning (If Master Boot Record then it's Intel)
    Install a program called TestDisk and PhotoRec
    Code:
    sudo apt-get install testdisk
    Now you will have to restore the files using photorec, well, what is left of them.
    Code:
    sudo photorec /dev/sdb
    Proceed -> Intel -> Pick the 1st partition -> Pick whatever FS it is (Usually FAT, also check using Disk Utility), Free (Or Whole if you did not select to reclaim the 270+ gigs free) then find a directory you will save the files (Somewhere NOT on your external HDD, another external HDD or your Internal HDD), if you don't have enough space, it will fill it up then ask you to select a new place to save the files. Once you find a good place, press Y.
    Last edited by Lisiano; September 18th, 2011 at 01:19 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Linus Torvalds
    "Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program."

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    24

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    That is not the news I was hoping for...

    I will give it a try. I'll first need to find a new storage place...

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
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    Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    Well, sorry for your loss, I guess. Also I can't stress enough how you MUST NOT WRITE ANYTHING to your external HDD. If you do so, some or all files will be overwritten, until then label it as a "Do NOT use under ANY circumstances" or something.
    Quote Originally Posted by Linus Torvalds
    "Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program."

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    3,111
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    Ubuntu

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    This is indeed a fat drive, as shown by the output of your blkid command. Unfortunately, while the data is still on your disk, the "housekeeping" data are lost.

    Use vfat only for USB sticks where only little and temporary data is stored. For storage media, use modern, more resilient file systems such as ext3 or ext4 on linux.

    Unfortunatelly, you indeed have a problem if you do not have a backup of these data. Trying to rescue some is your only bet, and there, I second the hint of Lisiano to attempt photorec.

    Maybe unnecessary to say, but you always need a backup of data for which you care. Now, it was an accidental disconnection at the wrong moment, but also hardware failure may at any time threaten your data. So even with a better file system, you still need the backup.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
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    Pennsylvania, USA
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    1
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    Edgy Eft Testing

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    Quote Originally Posted by vanadium View Post
    ...
    Use vfat only for USB sticks where only little and temporary data is stored. For storage media, use modern, more resilient file systems such as ext3 or ext4 on linux.
    ...
    I completely agree with vanadium, but needless to say, you will not be able to access the contents of this drive from Windows without going to the trouble of installing software on Windows. Or on a Mac for that matter.

    There's no happy middle ground unfortunately.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    50

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    ntfs?

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
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    Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    Since when Linux has native NTFS support?
    Quote Originally Posted by Linus Torvalds
    "Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program."

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
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    Boston MetroWest
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    Re: files disappeared from external hard drive: empty folders present, space occupied

    Quote Originally Posted by Lisiano View Post
    Since when Linux has native NTFS support?
    Solid read/write support came with ntfs-3g about three years ago. The previous ntfs driver was read-only.

    @OP
    If, as we suspect, the external drive has a DOS or NTFS filesystem, you really need to connect the drive to a Windows machine and run "chkdsk" against it. While the ntfsfix program that comes the ntfsprogs suite can fix some problems, I really only trust Microsoft's utilities with a broken NTFS filesystem.
    Last edited by SeijiSensei; September 18th, 2011 at 08:27 PM.

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