NTFS partition suddenly marked as free space

[redmorning]

Hi folks,

I'm here with a windows (ntfs - no Linux related) question, one more time. I searched this issue but couldn't find a proper solution(if you know/find one and paste the link here, sorry for wasting your time).

I hava a 10.04 Ubuntu box with a dual Windows 7. Actually i always have problems with my Ubuntu; it doesn't start because of disk checking so frequent(I'm suspecting from NTFS partitions). Before yesterday, i booted windows and then tried to boot in Ubuntu but it didn't start up! After many file checks, i decided to boot form a live usb and comment out ntfs (windows D) auto-mount line in /etc/fstab. Than it worked. (I can't post "fdisk -l" output now because i'm on windows now, but i can provide that). To see what's going on with that ntfs partition(which is full of documents, photos, music and films) i booted in windows and realized that (in my coumputer -> disk management) my D partition is marked as "free space" from now on.

In gparted, this space is seems as "unallocated space". On windows, i tried "Easeus Partition Recovery (5.1)" tool. With this tool i can view all my files in this partition before it starts to scan this partition. So i know that all my files are still in there (just some of the folders name are unusual-like they are recovered-). I think that, this partition is just marked as "deleted". I didn't format or delete it, i didn't even touch that. Last thing that i did on this partition is to listen music from Ubuntu.

With this Easeus tool, i can recover that partition but i don't have an external disk to use for this operation (not this option for a while). So i need to learn if i can manipulate this partitions flags. I already know testdisk and used it for a 350 GB disk recovery operation, it was very successful (as i said, i don't have an external hdd).

If any information is needed, i can provide.

Thanks in advance.

[corncob]

I got kind of lost in your post but if it has anything to do with things, you are only allowed to have 4 primary partitions on your drive. Win 7 only needs 2 partitions, they tell me, a boot partition and the OS. OEMs can add 2 more, recovery and storage, so your drive may have been filled up before you installed Ubuntu resulting in one of the partitions being pushed out (marked as unallocated space or other problems). You should be able to see what partitions you have with gparted.

[redmorning]

Hi corncob,

Actually i was running my windows and linux happily for a long time (about10 months). I have a windows boot partition, windows OS partition, recovery partition and lastly an extended partition which contains my windows D partition and other linux partitions (such as /boot, /, swap). I can see my unallocated partition (windows D) on gparted under extended partition. So i don't have a primary partition limit issue(not after months i think [: ).

[oldfred]

Do not know an answer to your specific question, but it sounds like you are having hard drive issues. If you repeatedly have to run chkdsk in Windows and fsck in Linux I would be concerned that drive is failing and have a way to fully back up everything.

[redmorning]

Hi oldfred,

For a fully backup, i will need an extended hdd. Actually i didn't run chkdsk from windows yet and ubuntu won't be able to run fsck on this issued ntfs partition any more (after disabling auto-mount on /etc/fstab). Maybe i must give a shot before continuing.
The thing that bothers me is; when i run this easy use 'Easeus Partition Recovery' tool, i can see all my files right there on my partition. So it makes me think like i can revert this 'free space / unallocated' in some way. Am i right?

[corncob]

Do not know an answer to your specific question, but it sounds like you are having hard drive issues. If you repeatedly have to run chkdsk in Windows and fsck in Linux I would be concerned that drive is failing and have a way to fully back up everything.

I was once told that to check if my hard drive was going bad to run

dmesg

and look for failures

[redmorning]

I'm now on my Ubuntu box. My dmesg output is in the attachment. I couldn't find any anomalies related my partition issue (or missed if there is any). I think it hasn't any information because those partitions are not mounted.

fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xdda4dda4

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1        1658    13312000   27  Unknown
/dev/sda2   *        1658        1671      102400    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3            1671       19324   141804606    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4           19325       60802   333165506    5  Extended
/dev/sda5           41379       60467   153332392+  83  Linux
/dev/sda6           60468       60782     2518016   82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda7           60782       60802      158720   83  Linux

i can't view that unallocated partition (it was /dev/sda8 before) anymore.

vim /etc/fstab

  7 # <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
  8 proc            /proc           proc    nodev,noexec,nosuid 0       0
  9 /dev/sda5       /               ext2    defaults,user_xattr  0       1
 10 /dev/sda7       /boot           ext2    defaults     0       2
 11 #/dev/sda3       /windows-C      ntfs    defaults     0       0 
 12 #/dev/sda8       /windows-D      ntfs    defaults     0       0  
 13 # swap was on /dev/sda6 during installation
 14 UUID=9fbf8e24-a37e-4b14-ad25-fbe8ef1b2944 none            swap    sw              0       0

In this case, i cannot use fsck for my lost partition ('unallocated' / 'free space'). The last system modification that i remember was kernel update (2.6.32-30 -> 2.6.32-32). But after this update, i boot in Ubuntu successively one time.
So i want to ask if i would any chance to mark this lost partition from ubuntu (which cannot be seen from fdsik) or do i have to do it in windows?

Thanks.

[redmorning]

BTW, after this kernel update, in spite of non-mounted ntfs partitions, ubuntu cannot boot in its first attempt and after a hard reboot, it checks partitions. It doesn't find any error anyway. Just a little boring point.

[westie457]

After many file checks, i decided to boot form a live usb and comment out ntfs (windows D) auto-mount line in /etc/fstab

.

Hello, from what I have read in your first post it looks like your partition got lost when you commented out the line in the quote.

Have you tried to reverse that operation?

Edit: Did a small amount of research and found this

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1590694

Hope this works for you.

[redmorning]

Hi westie,

I commented out that line to secure Ubuntu booting. They're not lost. I know why they're not accessible from Ubuntu now. If i reverse it, i won't see anything (if you look at my fdisk output, you will see). Because in gparted, it seems 'unallocated space'. So for Ubuntu, there is not an existing partition to mount! I can see my files just from Windows (with that recovery toll mentioned in the first post).

Thanks.