"fixboot" command?? Help... GDH

[stevet3]

Hi,
I have a 200 gig HD (Fat 32) that had 2 partitions of 94 gig each called C: and D:.
C: was the boot partition. Something happened while copying file to a cd and got several cross-linked files and I could not boot up. BTW the D: partition on the same drive works perfectly with all files intact.
I bought and installed another drive as a main drive ie..250 GB and configured my old drive as the slave. While searching google I ran across a "surefire fix called "fixboot" Needless to say it did not work but instead changed my 94 GB C: Partition to a 10MB Fat12 Partition.
I downloaded demo of RMF and did a quick search and it only sees the New partition of 10MB. I changed the program to search Physical Drive for about 15 GB I guess and it shows me several of my lost files without the names but with the Ext name in Lost Files folder. I want to recover my MS Office Files, PDF, Zip and Email.(PST) but I need the original names because there are 1000's of files of which a lot I don't need. From reading the post I see by using the Format Recovery it should give you the original names after rebuilding the partition. My question is should I try the Format Recovery method with my situation (even though I did not actually reformat) or just muddle through the 1000's of nameless files previewing each to see if I want them. Or should I recover the different file types, save them and then try the Format Recovery method. Remember the second partition works fine with all files intact. Will Format Recovery affect the D: partiton. The only way I can see the files is through the Physical Drive search.
BTW what about recovering complete programs such as Quicken etc..
Thanks,
SteveT3

[GDH]

Steve,

Thanks for you detailed email. The good thing is that all your data is still there. Here are some options for you....

Complete Search
As you can tell from your tests the "Complete Search" will find specific file types but will not display the original file name or path (files found are returned in the format "Recovered_filetype_1). This is because a Complete Search is running over the disk and looking for deleted files by their unique file structure. On a Fat32 system the actual file and folder name are stored at the start of the disk in the "Directory" area. For a Fat32 drive we do not currently try and match the found file with the Fat32 Directory entry.

Probably the best advice I can give you is to first run a "Complete Search" for the most important file types that you want to get back. This will give you some comfort in the fact that you have the data saved even if it is without the file names.

There are several methods you can try for renaming the files. In the download library of our support section you will find the "Mass Renamer" program. This will automatically rename Word files based on the content properties, such as "Document Title". You can also download ExplorerView from www.explorerview.com. Using Windows Explorer, ExplorerView and the F2 key, you can quickly find the files you want and rename them.

Format Recover
The current version of Recover My Files, 3.30, does not rebuild a Fat32 file system. However, we have been working on a Format Recover for Fat32 and as luck would have it we will have the first beta release ready for you to try today. I will post the beta download link here shortly. This version should get back your entire Fat32 partition with full file and folder names.

However, in your particular case the only way you can see the full size of your old C: drive, as it now displays as 10MB, is to run a search of the physical drive. As you know, the physical drive covers both Fat32 partitions, the C: and the D:. We have not yet put support into the new beta for multiple Fat32 partitions on the one drive. The answer will be to run a Fat32 Format Recover and stop the search about half way (because the drive has two evenly sized partitions). Recover My Files should then rebuild the old Fat32 C: drive.

As a side note, Recover My Files will not change the content of the searched drive in any way (note that you must save files found to a separate drive or CD or DVD) so there is no risk to the data on your current good D: drive (although I guess you have a backup by now .

I shall post the download link soon.

[stevet3]

Thanks for you detailed answer. I will wait for the link. Where will that be posted? Actually I had a backup for the crashed drive with a program I just purchased; Sonic Studio 6.1 using the Backup My PC section. It was backed up to an external Maxter USB. On the Restore it had all the folders and subfolders listed but it was empty when you got to the files. Can't figure that out. It was not a pirated version. Any clues?
Thanks,
Steve T

[GDH]

I shall post the download link in this thread.

I havent played with Sonic Studio so I am not quite sure what has happened here. Not much of a backup program if it only restores file and folder names (but its better that one that another customer used, his backup program actuall deleted all his files).

[GDH]

Here is a download link for the new beta version:

http://download.getdata.com/RecoverM...-2005-beta.exe

The installation screen says V3.30, but once installed it should say V2005 at the top of the screen.

It has support for Fat32 formatted drives. Please select the "Format Recover" option as you would normally. Follow the on screen instructions. Do not select music or video files as part of the search as this will slow it down. If possible, stick to the default selected file types.

I will start a new thread for feedback.