Need help with HDD partition(s) not visible

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grgnbeers

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Oct 30, 2012
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10,510
I have a hard drive (WD3200AAKS) with Windows7, NTFS, which was used internally. To install Linux Zorin for a dual system, I successfully resized the existing partition and allocated sufficient space to accommodate the new OS. I do not remember which disk utility I used for that. At some point I was asked to determine where the paging (?) file location should be and what size. According to some information online, it could not be on the same partition as the new OS, and one of the tips was to choose the windows partition for it, which I did - and have been since unable to open anything on that HD with any disk/partition utility in another Linux or Windows system.
When I connect it externally via USB, my Linux (and WinXP) system detects it correctly as "320 GB Hard Disk: PavilionWin7 Local Disk". Its properties are given as PavilionWin7 Local Disk, Type:folder (inode/directory), Contents: nothing. Yet from total capacity of 320 GB it shows 217 GB free and 103 GB used. So I figure all the data is still there somewhere.
The Ubuntu (Zorin) disk utility tells me, among others, the Partition Type: HPFS/NTFS (0x07) and also checking the filesystem produces error detail "Device is mounted and no online capability in fsck tool for file system".
GParted shows it as NTFS, 298GB size, used 96 GB and unused 202 GB,flag: boot. Unallocated partition 1.34 GB.
I have not tried a Linux Live CD to see if I can access the data.
Can this be fixed? I mean to save the data at least, if not the Win7 install. Because when I open it now, there is nothing - blank, white page with "no content".
I would be greatful for any help with this, many thanks in advance.
 
Solution
A
Next time you install Linux, allocate a separate small (2gb) partition for the swap file. What you did was probably that your setup tried to put the swap on top of NTFS partition.

Try some recovery software (plenty of posts here with recommendations). As long as you don't use that drive at all, you should be able to recover most of it.
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Alabalcho

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Jan 13, 2011
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Next time you install Linux, allocate a separate small (2gb) partition for the swap file. What you did was probably that your setup tried to put the swap on top of NTFS partition.

Try some recovery software (plenty of posts here with recommendations). As long as you don't use that drive at all, you should be able to recover most of it.
 
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grgnbeers

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Oct 30, 2012
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10,510


Thanx, Alabalcho - I actually put the swap file on top of the NTFS partition deliberately, because it was a recommendation I had found online. That rendered the HDD unusable, so it has not been used since. I shall follow your advice, thank you!
 
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grgnbeers

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Oct 30, 2012
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10,510


Like I said, thank you for your effort, but I need a more in-depth advice than to look for recovery software. I have already tried ( 2nd time around even before posting here) 5 different partition/disk utilities both on a winXP system and on Ubuntu system with the problem HDD connected via USB. Not one could show any meaningful ( to me) info, let alone files to recover. Just read my 1st post.
I know, taht I can just format it and not look back - there is not much on it that I really care about. I am sick and tired of Windows, including the overpriced crap "energy efficient" ones on my house and will use Linux from six months ago on.
I just want to know why I cannot undo one step in a stupid Linux installation that concerned choosing a windows partition for a swap file, or whatever the terminology is. All the files ( I believe) are still on the disk, and I just want to solve this problem to LEARN. Is all.

 
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