0
Disk /dev/sda - 1000 GB / 931 GiB - CHS 121601 255 63
     Partition               Start        End    Size in sectors
>  HPFS - NTFS              0  32 33 12876  51 39  206854144
   Linux                    0  32 33 121094 253 55 1945389056
   Linux                  429 254 18 120588 194 54 1930350592
   HPFS - NTFS          12876  84  9 33399  41 50  329699328 [DOCUMENTS]
   HPFS - NTFS          12876  84 16 33399  41 50  329699321
   HPFS - NTFS          33399  74 20 59022  11 61  411629568 [PICTURES]
   HPFS - NTFS          33399  74 27 59022  11 61  411629561
   HPFS - NTFS          59022  44 31 89745 254 45  493578240 [AUDIO n VIDEO]
   HPFS - NTFS          59022  44 38 89745 254 45  493578233
   HPFS - NTFS          89746  32 15 121601  57 56  511752192 [SOFT n OTHERS]
   HPFS - NTFS          89746  32 22 121601  57 56  511752185
   Linux Swap           120588 227 24 121601  57 56   16263168
Structure: Ok.  Use Up/Down Arrow keys to select partition.
Use Left/Right Arrow keys to CHANGE partition characteristics:
*=Primary bootable  P=Primary  L=Logical  E=Extended  D=Deleted
Keys A: add partition, L: load backup, T: change type, P: list files,
     Enter: to continueubuntu@ubuntu:~$ 
NTFS found using backup sector, blocksize=4096, 105 GB / 98 GiB
Parto
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Arafat Hussain Mollik
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  • Have you tried installing and using testdisk...? – Zuko Sep 17 '14 at 12:24
  • Note that testdisk (and anything else you use to attempt data recovery) should be installed in a live CD/DVD/USB environment, not in the Ubuntu system installed on disk, as writing more to that partition will likely make it much harder--or impossible--to recover data from it. – Eliah Kagan Sep 17 '14 at 23:46

1 Answers1

3

You are not going to like my answer.

  1. ABYD i.e. "Always backup your data!"
    (We know from your post, it is too late. Sorry but your fault).
  2. It won't be simple; you are going to have to learn the hard way or pay for data recovery service from people who know what they're doing.
  3. Forget the urgency, this is going to take hours on end.
  4. If you really stomped your previous NTFS file system with a fs based on ext3 or ext4, you probably are going to need to dig deep into your TB drive to recover the data that still is there, provided you have not gone on using that drive.
  5. The way to go:
    • don't use your HDD, i.e. don't write anything on it. In fact the best would be to take it OUT of your machine and to temporarily make an external drive out of it, for the sake of data recovery.
    • become familiar with the likes of testdisk, photorec and foremost.
      There are other free packages out there. Just stick with one at a time and two in a row. It usually is enough, provided you choose them for their complementarity. Photorec is format and fs independent. I recommend using it in conjunction with testdisk.

-Follow-up 1-
If you use TestDisk on your HD with the data to be recovered (vol A), for instance by recovering lost partitions, etc., you might screw up your existing Lx partition table(s) on that drive, so I urge caution !. To avoid that I would recommend:

  • acquiring a new volume (vol B) on which to store yr recovered data, i.e. the data to be recovered from yr 1TB HD (vol A).
  • the new storage volume must big enough for a complete recovery of your data, plus 15%, plus 20 GB for a new Lx OS on it. That is so you can operate faster than you would from a burned DVD containing a Live Lx on it. Evaluate how many GB of data are to be recovered to work out how big volB must be.
  • replace your present 1 TB HD (vol A) inside your machine with the new drive (vol B).
  • format and install Lubuntu 14.04 (lighter) or Ubuntu Desktop 14.04 (bigger) on it, as well as Photorec and TestDisk.
  • optional: include a partition on vol B with the same format as the one previously adopted by you for your data under Win 8, although normally both PhotoRec and TestDisk ought to write Win data recovered from vol A onto any sane Lx format on vol B.
  • mount vol A as an external volume (learn how to mount a volume in Lx/Ux from the console or just use the Disks application in the GUI to identify and mount it)
  • disable any time-based suspend/hibernate setting you may have on your OS. It might interfere with the data recovery as recovery is likely to last...
  • launch PhotoRec .. run your diagnosis with it so it may tell you how much time it will need to recover your files. Note that if you have a lot of data or your data is very fragmented, recovery time may either be infinite (i.e. data unrecoverable, at least in part) or run in the hundreds of hours. You will know only when PhotoRec starts.

Please report in this thread on your progress.

Cbhihe
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