Using mkdosfs by mistake
 

Hi, by mistake i use the command:

sudo mkdosfs -F 32 -I /dev/sdb1

using a live cd kali distribution trying to format a usb stick, when i reboot my PC my hard drive (using windows 10) showed the message: No boot partition found.

Am kinda freaking out.

I have these choices until now:

1) ask in linux forums for help -now trying it-

2) use windows cd to try to repair MBR

3) recover as much files as i can with an undelete or unformat program (suggestions welcome)

I have done nothing to my hard drive, i disconnect it from the pc and am using a back up now until i figure this out.

Thanks for any help!

While you have done option #1, I can tell you that options 2 and 3 are nothing you can do.

You have re-initialized the file system.

Perhaps a forensic disk recovery company can do this, however it is expensive and my impression is that as soon as they have been told that the disk has had either a new file system initialized, formatted, or repartitioned - many of them will not take on the work and cite that the job is largely impossible.

Well, my Hard Drive was full disk True Crypt encripted, after putting my password the boot partition error appear and i just freak out.

I just put it as a slave disk, use true crypt to mounted without pre-boot authentification and voíla!! all files are there.

So i guess it's just the MBR that's damaged right?

Am backing up everything right now, any ideas to make it bootable again?

And sorry I was not thinking that it was a disk with multiple partitions, however this does make sense and therefore it really mattered which partition you affected with this file system create command.

Glad to hear. Suggest you copy all your data off of that disk. You could try a repair installation. You'll need the install media for the main OS which managed the MBR in the first place. Since you said Windows 10, perhaps there is a boot menu and a restore option where information is stored on a hidden partition for this purpose. Meanwhile, doing this action could be destructive to the existing file system, hence why I recommend you get all your data copied off of the disk.

Thanks, that's what am doing right now, copying everything off the disk and having zero problems, all files are fine (am so happy!).

So i guess yes, i will try after finishing the backup to restore the OS with the installation disk, thanks!

P.S., guess i just found another plus to having full disk encryption on the HD :)

I think what you found is that you ruined /dev/sda1, but the MBR and other partitions are still OK.