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I've been using the external hdd since before I started using Linux Mint, and thought that it was NTFS, but until now I've never had any difficulty accessing any files in either Linux or Windows. I also think that I didn't partition the hdd.
I also ran TestDisk on the hdd which told me the following:
The errors you are getting lead to following conclusion. It was partitioned (I guess Windows even cannot read a hard drive if it is not partitioned). The partition table has been damaged. What else is damaged we do not know yet. Restoring the partition table is relatively easy with testdisk utility. When partition table is successfully restored we can look further and see whether data on sdb1 is still intact. But restore the partition table first.
I've been trying to restore the partition table using TestDisk, but it seems to be taking a tremendous time to scan the disk. What would be a reasonable time to scan a 1gb external disk? I left it scanning overnight, and after 12 hours it had read 10% of the disk. I didn't expect it to happen in five minutes, but five days seems extreme.
elizabeth@elizabeth-R520-R522-R620 ~ $ smartctl -t long /dev/sdb
The program 'smartctl' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install smartmontools
elizabeth@elizabeth-R520-R522-R620 ~ $ sudo apt-get install smartmontools
[sudo] password for elizabeth:
E: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock - open (11: Resource temporarily unavailable)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), is another process using it?
The answer to the last question is 'not that I know of'; I've only got the terminal and LQ open.
I'd set an update that had stalled, so that's sorted, and the smartmontools are now installed.
Code:
elizabeth@elizabeth-R520-R522-R620 ~ $ smartctl -t long /dev/sdb
smartctl 6.2 2013-07-26 r3841 [i686-linux-3.16.0-38-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-13, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org
/dev/sdb: Unknown USB bridge [0x1058:0x0810 (0x1049)]
Please specify device type with the -d option.
Use smartctl -h to get a usage summary
I've been trying to enter the -d option but cannot find a one-word device type that is accepted. Any suggestions, please?
You happen to have one of those USB to SATA interfaces that do not give full access. To check this drive out you need to take it out from enclosure and hook it up to a SATA controller.
What I got 2 WD passports I just read that eSATA thing,not full access, that it just what it is suppose to do. it is just another type of port to connect HDD's faster throughput then USB 2.0. I pluged my 3TB WD passport into my eSATA Port (Usally use my 3.0 port) and it works fine.
2. you need a special plug type to use eSATA. So mine is actually plugged into it but it is them eSATA/USB ports. just the same eSATA is not suppose to limit any access to a drive.
Hello, everyone. I have an e-sata port on my laptop, so I've plugged the Passport into that, but it's not accessing any files. I took the disk out of the enclosure, but it has one of the connections that won't take a sata connector. Is it time to admit defeat?
Hard drives start developing bad sectors for different reasons, but in most cases it is caused by a physical shock. In your case you want to know whether there is any useful life left in this drive. Probably not. Is it worth to invest more time in this and try to figure it out? Well, it is up to you. You could walk into a repair shop and have them to hook up the drive to a desktop computer and run tests on it. You could buy a USB to SATA adapter that gives you full access to the drive so you can run tests in your own.
Thanks, Emerson, to you and everyone else that's tried to help me with this problem. I'm now waiting for a usb to sata adapter, which I'll have a try with when it arrives. I'll continue to fiddle about with the hdd before I finally give-up. If it's unsuccessful I'll see if I can re-format it and re-partition it.
Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. It's been frustrating to lose the files that were on the hdd, but fortunately not critical, and it's been a very useful and interesting exercise following your instructions for the terminal.
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