MFT lost/corrupt. Data recovery possible?

Hey there, I was wondering if anyone can help me with this problem.

Before I state the problem I'll list my system setup. I'm running an 80GB IDE HDD as my main drive (C:\) with Windows XP installed and a second 200GB SATA drive (D:\) setup as a storage drive.

Recently I left my computer to degrag the second drive (D:\) and when I came back it had a message on the screen saying something like "D:\$MFT could not be saved bla bla bla" with only an OK option. After I clicked that another message came up saying the same thing about the root (D:\$.).

After that I noticed a decrease in the computer's performance and I could no longer access the secondary drive (D:\). Now I'm frustrated because I have valuable work files from the past few months on that drive that I never backed up. I absolutely need those files back and I hope I'm not lost here. Not to mention it would be nice to get back everything I haven't backed up in the past few months.

In Windows Explorer/My Computer the drive still shows up but no longer has a name (I named it before) and will also freeze the computer if I try to access it. The BIOS reads it fine but appications like Disk Manager or when I choose to open a file, the D:\ drive will not show up. CHKDSK does not solve anything nor do a few free data recovery programs. They do long scans and have errors reading almost every second sector with no results of recovered files.

I'm wondering is there any way to recover these files off this drive, any way to restore the index MFT? If I format this drive is there still a way to recoverd lost files or is this hard drive pooched?

I hope supplied enough information. I would really appreciate if anyone could help.

Thanks,
Tim

cyburai

Newbie Poster

1 post since Oct 2005

Reputation Points: 10

Solved Threads: 0

6 Years Ago

cyburai,

Do you still require help? Forget Windows tools, you're wasting your time. I don't know much about how Windows controls hard drives so I don’t know how to fix the problem, but it's worth a shot to replace any corrupt Windows system files.

To do this, insert your Windows CD into the CD-ROM drive. GO to the Windows command prompt, and type: sfc /scannow.

If that doesn't work, you'll need to get your hands on some recovery software. I recommend GETDATABACK, but there are plenty of options out there.

J_Search

Posting Whiz in Training

285 posts since Aug 2005

Reputation Points: 27

Solved Threads: 6

6 Years Ago

Try attaching the HDD in another computer and see if you can access your files there...

goldeagle2005

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