unable to view Folders with data in 450+ GB's in WD 1TB External HDD

kuldeep891 · May 4, 2016

I have 1TB WD Elements HDD External, Used it in a LG television in a hotel in Netherlands Now, When i tried using it on my PC many of the folders with data more than 450 GB's went missing.

also tried answer from @Ian Mathew provided in below link ,
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263317-32-files-external-they-hidden

1. click start>>run>>type in "cmd"
2. type the location of your flash drive.. e.g. "d:", "e:", "f:", etc..
3. type "dir /ah"
*you will now see the files/folders with hidden attributes
4. type "attrib [name of file/folder] -r -a -s -h"
*if you're going to unhide files, you should type the whole name plus the extension (format).. example "attrib party.jpg -r -a -s -h"
**if you have folders with 6 characters and above, type the first 6 characters then "~1".. example for folder named "birthday"
"attrib birthd~1 -r -a -s -h"
-->When i run "dir /ah" on cmd i get below:

K:\>dir/ah
Volume in drive K is WD_1TB
Volume Serial Number is 1AEA-6007

Directory of K:\

File Not Found

--> When i run "attrib -h -r -s /s /d k:\*.* " i get below :

K:\>attrib -h -r -s /s /d k:\*.*

Access denied - K:\System Volume Information\IndexerVolumeGuid
Access denied - K:\System Volume Information\WPSettings.dat

I am unable to understand the issue here...Please suggest what is to be done here.

Solandri · May 4, 2016

The System Volume Information folder is used by Windows, so it's normal to get access denied errors if you try to modify files in it. It does not contain your data.

My first guess would be the TV either overwrote the drive's file table, or reformatted it. The fact that you still have a hidden System Volume Information folder suggests the former, as only Windows creates that folder (though I suppose it's possible Windows wrote it when you plugged it into your computer). I would give the standard file recovery tools like Recuva a shot.

https://www.piriform.com/recuva

Understand that depending on the filesystem used on the drive, the first letter of the filename of any recovered files may be missing or changed, and/or the filenames may be truncated. Certain files may be completely unrecoverable. Be sure to copy any recovered files to a known good drive. Do not copy or write anything to the external drive, do not format the drive - doing so may erase parts of files making them unrecoverable, or make the entire drive unrecoverable.

Stuff like this is why I *really* wish external HDDs came with a read-only switch. That way you could plug it into an untrusted device (TV, someone else's computer, etc) with no fear of it somehow mangling the data on the drive or giving you a virus. I know it's possible - I have a SATA to USB 3 adapter with such a toggle. It's used by law enforcement to examine evidence drives without risk of modifying the files.

USAFRet · May 4, 2016

"My first guess would be the TV either overwrote the drive's file table, or reformatted it. "

This would be my first thought as well.

kuldeep891 · May 12, 2016

@solandri
Thanks for suggesting the software. Recuva did helped and I did recover my data worth 480GBs, though it tool full 2 days in the recovery but worth the time.

Thanks again!

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unable to view Folders with data in 450+ GB's in WD 1TB External HDD

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