1 important problem that needs a serious fix. (Acer Aspire E5-575G)

aphanic

Done, if this one isn't able to see your drive I'd need to see pictures of what you see in the BIOS, or switch to Linux and hope the drive is visible there. Or even better, switch the drive to a different computer and see if it's visible over there.

I changed the programs from their place to another one, they should now be in X:\Program Files\ instead of visible from the drive itself. That way I could compress the thing a bit more.

https://mega.nz/file/tQ9z1JaR#pUCxkJJ9PQISerqQ_TTYTWsN_x2fiS_UXmHsmQR46uA

TF21045

> information tab
It's in AHCI

> For Linux I'd put some pictures to guide you
Sure.

> https://mega.nz/file/tQ9z1JaR#pUCxkJJ9PQISerqQ_TTYTWsN_x2fiS_UXmHsmQR46uA
Wheres the file extension?

TF21045

It's still not showing my disks...
Let's go to Linux and gimme some images for guide.

TF21045

Hm, it's been an hour waiting...

aphanic

I'm on the clock chief, I do have a job I have to attend to, this support I'm giving over here in the community forums comes afterwards I'm afraid.

For Linux you'd need to download the ISO image of GParted Live I linked you to above, and burn create a bootable USB stick with it with Rufus, same as what you did with the Windows one:



Then boot from it the usual way and select the first option in the boot menu when presented with it:



After a while you'll be asked if you want to change some things with text and all, you can leave it all by default and just press Enter:





And after a while you'll be at the graphical interface, it's basic af, but it's meant to be. This live Linux environment has only one goal which is partitioning disks and working with that.



At the top right, where you see "/dev/nvme0n1" is where you select the disk you want to work with, see if the internal disk is present there. If it is great, if it ain't.. we need to get the disk out of the laptop for sure.

The main issue with your problem is that in real life with all the tools a technician would have it's quick and easy to troubleshoot, but remotely it's complicated because of the steps that need to be performed. Think that right now I don't even know the health of that disk (that's what CrystalDiskInfo or GSmartControl was for), which makes it complicated.

And because I couldn't see the partitioning layout yet I don't know the partition that was converted to RAW, much less how. We'll get there hopefully, but it'll take a while working over the community forums.

Anyway, if the disk is located properly, what you may need to do is try to find partitions:



It's that "Attempt Data Rescue" part of the Device menu. You'll need to wait, but it would scan the whole disk looking for partitions.

Right now I don't have a screenshot to show you of what is shown after the scan is done if a partition is located, but if none of them are, this is what you'll see:

TF21045

idk where's the link for the Gparted live
(the link above is Macrium 2)

nevermind I found one online-
oh..

aphanic

It kind of got lost in all of the things, but it was here:

aphanic said:

[...]

And if all else fails, we'll switch to Linux, GParted Live for example should be able to scan and recover partitions as well and the image also fits in a 1 GB drive.

[...]

Get the "gparted-live-1.1.0-5-amd64.iso" one.

TF21045

Uhmm...

aphanic

So either the disk is damaged or it's not properly connected.

Try to remove it and plug it in again, see if that makes any difference. Otherwise you need to use a different computer for sure, you have to start ruling things out. If the same happens in the other computer it means the disk is messed up, if it doesn't it may mean that what is messed up is the laptop. Who knows.

Do you have any SATA to USB adapter or something? So you could plug the disk via USB?

TF21045

The disk should be fine if its detected to BIOS. Lets go back to Macrium with no software...

aphanic

The firmware detecting it doesn't mean much, it means the controller of the disk is able to rely some information, the disk itself could be destroyed to shreds inside and still be identifiable.

I'm afraid without proper diagnostics there's nothing else I can do, I need data to assess the thing. the SMART attributes of the disk off of CrystalDiskInfo, GSmartControl, HardDiskSentinel, etc. that's what tells you how the disk is doing, if it's actually busted or not.

And then the usual runs, either partition analysis, or data recovery, but we need to be able to access the disk. I insist, get it to a different computer if that is at all possible if you're unable to see it in your machine.

TF21045

I remember last time the clean version of Macrium bootable shows my disks....
(irdk if something has been modified on your tools tho)

> the disk itself could be destroyed to shreds inside
I don't hear scratching s**ts while listening to it.

I'll try the DISKPART Method...

aphanic

Do as you wish, it's hard enough to give directions for a system we're not seeing and much more when you're not listening to what it is said, so I will not be providing any more guidance, unless proper data is provided, I'm sorry.

DiskPart requires the disk to be "visible" too and the Macrium build I sent you is able to see disks either in SATA or RST mode since there's drivers for both, but you're free to create it yourself if you have another functioning machine.

Either way, best of luck.

TF21045

OH no.. this is what I meant.. it's like in RAW

Commodore_1995#

I agree with colleague @aphanic, when he says you should connect the hard drive to another computer:

https://youtu.be/DtLNiuD_0jw

Then, send a screenshot, using the crystaldiskinfo program, to check if there is a defective sector of the hard disk and the health of the hdd. If the hard drive is recognized correctly, then the problem may be with the e5-575 sata connector. But it is much more likely to be a hard drive failure.

TF21045

Well I kinda tried the macrium clean and It showed the disks

TF21045

Bruh did I just-
BRUH HOW DO I REVERT-
(my f--king fingers on my phone are sweaty.. ugh)

Commodore_1995#

I really advise to connect the hard drive to another computer.

aphanic

Yes, a partition doesn't lose its filesystem signature without something changing it. And as I said, you're probably looking at a data recovery kind of scenario so minimizing what the OS is able to do to the drive is paramount.

That's why the DiskPart command to manually state that the partition was an NTFS one was risky, not only were you writing on the disk itself but then you'd be giving Windows free reign over it. It's its default partition of sorts so it could be doing all sorts of things on the background like trying to repair it without you knowing it.

For example, a quick format of a drive in Windows 7+ already makes it different in regards to which files can be recovered compared to older Windows versions because of the default size for the $MFT file. Some data recovery programs can scan the disk for lost partitions, those that have just been erased from the partition table and even recover them in-situ (risky though), others try to search for the mirror of the $MFT file which doesn't sit at the beginning of the partition but its location also depends on what formatted the partition (i.e. which program, which OS).

It is a tough thing to troubleshoot remotely, but you have to go step by step and rule things out.

For example, you were hesitant to put that drive in another machine, when that would be my first choice specially if I had a way to run a full version of Windows in that machine with that drive also plugged in (as a secondary drive, or via USB for example), because that doesn't limit you at which programs you can use, you have the full range of Windows APIs to use and any program will work there.

GSmartControl may not work in a PE environment, CrystalDiskInfo would be able to show you data on the disk itself (how long has it been used, if there were any problems during transfers, if there is any relocated sector, etc.). R-Studio would also be able to show SMART data and perform its operations as usual. Even Hard Disk Sentinel would be able to provide you with insights on the disk or allow you to perform surface tests (although that may be a paid feature).

But all in all, you have to rule possible things out, and if the disk turns out to be in tip top shape maybe even consider formatting or resetting the OS you have in the computer it originates from for example. Because there's no telling what caused the partition to become RAW, how or if it'd possible to happen again.

The safest course of action, aside for making a bit by bit copy of the disk and work on that image instead of the disk instead, is to run a data recovery program and restore the data it finds onto a different disk. It may not be possible, depending on your situation, but it's the advice I have for you. It's what I would do.