1tb External Drive is missing (one) folder but is the largest folder.

[Dottonedan]

1tb External Drive is missing (one) folder but is the largest folder. Everything else I've store don that drive is available but one biggest and 2nd most important is missing.


I tried to re-mount it,
I shut down the PC and re started,
I un plugged the external and re connected.


all other folders come up (as they have been) except that one. The kicker is, the drive (used space) shows no change as if it's recognizing the space used...but no access to it. Is that a permission, directory issue etc?  How to I test or clean up or restore a drive without losing everything on it?

[balloonguy]

If you are on a mac you can try this.
http://download.cnet.com/DiskWarrior/3000-2094_4-39989.html
Good luck.
Matt

[Dottonedan]

I checked that out. Seems like what I'd need, (if on a Mac). Alas, I am on a PC.

[blue moon]

right now, you should be shutting down that drive and unplugging it. You should figure out what you are going to do next before plugging it back in. Anything you do with it now increases the potential of losing the data!!!

pierre

[Frog]

Have you tried the Search function?
I would not be surprised to see that you inadvertently dragged it into another folder, which would also explain why the same amount of space is used up.

[Gilligan]

Could it simply be marked "hidden"?

By default hidden files are turned off so you won't see them.  I like to leave mine on but there will be more "visible" clutter and that bothers/confuses some users.

The other thing in a similar vein is the possibility of a virus that did essentially the same thing.  Though I honestly lean less towards that being the case due to the fact that that virus likes to hide EVERYTHING and cause some serious panic in most users.  It's not a "tough" virus but it needs to be removed correctly.  ASSUMING it is even that virus and I don't think it is... just a thought.

As Pierre said though, any writing to that drive could be causing further loss of data that might be semi-easy to recover.  First thing to do would be to check the drive to make sure it's not failing.  Then if the files aren't "hidden" or some other variation due to virus or what not.  Then I'd suggest you have somebody run some data recover software on that drive and see.  If you accidentally deleted it or something like that has occurred... it won't be fun or pretty when you get the data back but it might be your only hope.  I have seen where usually that software will only return back a recovery folder with 0000001.jpg 0000002.jpg for all the jpg's it recovers.  This would include from ANY and EVERYWHERE including old partially deleted files.  It's a HUGE mess with no structure.  But it is what it is.

*edit* Frog has a valid point as well... depending on your pointing devices it's VERY easily to accidentally click as you pass over something and let go and in the process drag and drop something into something else.  If it's on the same drive it SHOULD not take long for the OS to make a change to the pointer as it doesn't actually move the data.  In linux this takes place instantly... but linux is a beast.

[inkman996]

I'm with Frog our embroidery operator constantly "loses" whole folders only to figure out she accidentally dragged and dropped into another folder.

Like Andy said if you know the main folders name simply run a search on that drive if found look at the properties of that folder to see where it is located.

[ScreenFoo]

If you don't find it right away--try running "scandisk" from the run window (Win+R)  If you come up with a lot of nasty error language, Pierre's advice is spot on--turn it off until you have a game plan.

Then (if you want to do it right AND cheap,) it's time to start learning something about that beast Linux...   

[Gilligan]

Yeah, I've had drives that won't even show up or mount on windows (will say "no partition would you like to format?"  HELL NO!)... drop that sucker in a linux box and poof, it not only mounts flawlessly but I can read and write all day to it.  Nothing wrong with it, just Windows has lost it's ability to communicate with it's own file system.  Yet the reverse engineered linux version of NTFS can do it.  *sigh*

[jasonl]

you should have 2 externals that mirror each other or eventually, YOU WILL LOSE DATA!

[Dottonedan]

Sad news today or at least form this particular computer repair company.


I'm told that my folder was some how saved (as a file) that they cannot open.  They then said that it's possible that it was backed up on my computer and somehow saved as a file in the process. Darned you Pierre!!   Kidding.


I think it did actually only begin to give me these (can't find that folder) types of problems....at about the time I enacted the auto backup every night.  I may have done that process incorrectly.  They also thought that the external drive was going bad since it made this semi loud noise.  It's made this noise from the git go and I've had this external for maybe over a year So I doubt it's going bad.


So,  currently, unless I can get some good news from one of you guys/gals, my folder is gone forever. 


This is my STOCK ART folder. Years of files/images and most recently in the last 2 years was kicked up a notch. I still have some original files frmo before I moved everything onto the external, but those are beyond the last two years. Only recently, did I get reminded that I should back up the back up. When I did, it was too late. That folder was gone.


Anyone know of any other way to find/open this file?  Could I restart to one of my saved back ups?  Lets say, if I can open one from 2 weeks ago maybe?


How does that work?  Will my current files be able to be saved as well?  Like all my stuff I did during these two weeks?

[blue moon]

Sad news today or at least form this particular computer repair company.


I'm told that my folder was some how saved (as a file) that they cannot open.  They then said that it's possible that it was backed up on my computer and somehow saved as a file in the process. Darned you Pierre!!   Kidding.


I think it did actually only begin to give me these (can't find that folder) types of problems....at about the time I enacted the auto backup every night.  I may have done that process incorrectly.  They also thought that the external drive was going bad since it made this semi loud noise.  It's made this noise from the git go and I've had this external for maybe over a year So I doubt it's going bad.


So,  currently, unless I can get some good news from one of you guys/gals, my folder is gone forever. 


This is my STOCK ART folder. Years of files/images and most recently in the last 2 years was kicked up a notch. I still have some original files frmo before I moved everything onto the external, but those are beyond the last two years. Only recently, did I get reminded that I should back up the back up. When I did, it was too late. That folder was gone.


Anyone know of any other way to find/open this file?  Could I restart to one of my saved back ups?  Lets say, if I can open one from 2 weeks ago maybe?


How does that work?  Will my current files be able to be saved as well?  Like all my stuff I did during these two weeks?

]


if the local guys can't help you, I'd talk to Gilligan. He seems to have the tools and the know how to fix it. The only reason I did not mention him before is I was think you'd be able to get it done locally.

pierre

[Gilligan]

Sorry, been out of pocket for a few days.

We do the filming and dvd production for a Summer Rock Camp that my friend's music school puts on every year.  It's pretty amazing, they take these kids 8 years to 17 years old and teach them a hand full of songs over the course of a week and then they put on this big concert on a big stage for their parents.  Biggest stage setup yet and biggest crowd yet... I showed up Weds to get some footage of the teachers teaching and I was too late... the kids already knew their parts were just running through the songs and fine tuning things.

Impressed more and more every year!


OK, back to Dan and his Delima.  What software was making this backup?  Does the local company have this information?  Do you think this local company is knowledgeable?  I know our local Best Buy is a bunch of idiots and I'm sure it's the same all around.  Some local shops will know a good deal, some will be faking their way through things.

Dan, worse comes to worse, we have a local data recovery place here in town (they have clean rooms and all)... these guys are contracted by law enforcement and such to recover files.  They take drives from fires and all sorts of things.  Now, that being said... they aren't cheap.  They have told me that if I can't fix it and I'm bringing it to them then to tell the customer to expect at least $800 bucks... but it can go up to $2k.  Granted, this is usually when they have to repair a drive in the clean room.  If your drive is working and they just need to try to recover the files it might be on the cheaper side.

They will give me an estimate for free being in the industry vs someone walking in off the street.

If you are interested in doing that, you could ship me the drive and I could bring it over to them.  Once they recover anything they put it on their network and you would be able to download it and have it right away (as well as getting your drive back after of course).

These are the guys:
http://www.pcrecoveryllc.com/

[Chadwick]

Everything said before.

And, ( I had to think a bit...how the f*ck did he manage that? I was asking myself .. )

I'd imagine, Dan, that what you did, is you tied the folder to a specific application, in this case, your backup software.
I'm not saying I'm right here, but I imagine your backup software does some sort of compression of the data.
That may be proprietary to the software, and as such can not be accessed through normal means of data access..windows and all.

Don't get crazy here, but I'd try this, VERY carefully.
Try to get the backup data restored to a DIFFERENT( important! ) folder/location than the original,
and see if it isn't proper again. I'd bet the folder is tied to your backup BS software or something similar.

I never use backup software.
I'm not uber geek, but it ain't too peanut butter and Jam'n  hard to copy data to a backup either..
You don't need some bs software promise to help you out for that.

Hope you get it sorted.
If you were next door, it wouldn't be too hard to fix at all, I imagine, sitting in front of it,
but..this is a bit more difficult to achieve the same results on a forum.
If you keep posting, I'll keep watchin and add anything I can to hopefully help,
as I'm sure e3veryone else will.

Don't download anything that claims it will help in the meantime though, k?
Windows is like the wild west compared to mac's closed world, of which you were accustomed too.
Be careful with what you use for software, and how you use it.

I don't think your data is gone, it's simply locked for one of several reasons which we haven't figured out yet.
Cheers.

[Dottonedan]

The backup is just the normal windows 7 backup. Nothing outside the normal system. I may have done it wrong some how. This is the (ONLY) folder to do this but it had tons of stuff in it. So it might have been hard to keep track of?