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I have an WD MyPassport external HD that won't even mount anymore. I have tried several things (most of which suggestions from this forum), such as using testdisk, mkfs.ext4, mkfs.ext3, mkfs.ntfs and etc. At this point, as you can see, I don't really care about the files anymore. I would just like to be able to use my HD again. Any help is appreciated.

PS.: some outputs you might find useful

$ sudo mount /dev/sdb /media/wd/
mount: /dev/sdb: can't read superblock

$ sudo dumpe2fs /dev/sdb | grep superblock
dumpe2fs 1.42.9 (4-Feb-2014)
dumpe2fs: Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read while trying to open /dev/sdb
Couldn't find valid filesystem superblock.

$ sudo fsck /dev/sdb 
fsck from util-linux 2.20.1
e2fsck 1.42.9 (4-Feb-2014)
fsck.ext2: Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read while trying to open /dev/sdb
Could this be a zero-length partition?

The command sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb outputs nothing. The "zero partition" part cought my eye, but I don't know what to do with it.

TomCho
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3 Answers3

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If it won't mount more then likely you have a bad sector (which is why you can't access your files), It's cheaper just to replace the hard drive then to spend time fixing it if that is the case, I would unscrew the case and just buy a 3.5inch drive and replace it. It's pretty simple to do that.

Reuben deVries
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  • I see you're assuming that I live in a developed country, where these things are cheap. This is not the case (unfortunately). So I would reeeally like to avoid throwing out this hard drive if possible. – TomCho Mar 05 '15 at 18:35
  • How much is your time worth? Find an hourly rate multiply it by the amount of time you've spent on this issue then find out if it's cheaper then replacing the hard drive. I know my time is worth about $25.00 an hour so I know working on a hard drive for more then 4 hours doesn't make a whole lot of sense. – Reuben deVries Mar 06 '15 at 21:50
  • I understand your reasoning, but you're leaving out the learning part. – TomCho Mar 07 '15 at 16:17
  • But if your paritition is messed up then your hard drive is dead. You can't revive something that is dead. – Reuben deVries Mar 07 '15 at 16:19
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Try mounting the first partition /dev/sdb1 instead of the device /dev/sdb Likewise for the other commands, use the partition. Now while it is possible to have created the disk without partitions, that's not likely, but if you did, then include the loop option in the mount command -- ie. treat it like a big file.

The partitionless disk you created should be mounted with a loop option, something like:

sudo mount -text4 -oloop,rw  /dev/sdb /mnt/somewhere

Haven't done that but once, so might have left something out. The above assumes an ext4 type filesystem, use the type you used when you created the filesystem on the disk.

ubfan1
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  • Thanks for the tip, but there are no partitions in this disk. It's one whole thing. I didn't get the include loop part in case it doesn't have partitions. – TomCho Mar 04 '15 at 01:35
  • Thanks for the edit. I didn't really understand your command, though. The -text4 is not accepted by mount (neither -t ext4). The only way I could make the command work was with sudo mount -o loop -w /dev/sdb /media/wd/, and the answer was the same: mount: /dev/loop0: can't read superblock. – TomCho Mar 04 '15 at 23:26
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Use the following command to completely wipe the first GByte of the disk:

Warning: The command dd is the abbreviation of Disk Destroyer! Use with care!!!

sudo dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/XdY bs=512 count=1G

where X and Y are the correct parameters for the disk (Probably s and b) If I were you, I would remove all hard disks from this computer, except the faulty one, boot from a LiveCD and then execute the command!

P.S. Some people don't understand that re-using an old disk can be a life saver. Read here and then look at the number of upvotes per answer! ;-)

Community
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Fabby
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  • This worked! I don't get how, though. I followed your command exactly (with count=1G) and it ran almost instantly. Naturally I thought it hadn't worked but then I checked the HDD and it was mounted! I could even access the data. Can you please explain what happened? – TomCho Mar 14 '15 at 17:57
  • Don't thank me! ;-) If you like my answer, just click the little grey ☑ under the "0" now turning it into beautiful green. If you do not like my answer, click on the little grey down-arrow below the 0, and if you really like my answer, click on the little grey checkmark and the little up-arrow... – Fabby Mar 14 '15 at 17:59
  • I'm as surprised as you! It should have destroyed the first GB of data on your disk. Can you ask a new question, refer to this one and post a screen shot of gparted of that disk? and then leave a comment with the new question below here? – Fabby Mar 14 '15 at 18:00
  • Don't worry, I was already going to mark your answer ;) I was just curious as to how it worked. I didn't think it was worth a new question though. I wouldn't even know how to precisely formulate it without telling the whole story! – TomCho Mar 14 '15 at 18:02
  • Post a link to the screenshot then here in the comments and give me an upvote! ;-) – Fabby Mar 14 '15 at 18:06
  • That is a good idea, except that I already formatted it as an ext3 partition, fearing that I wouldn't have the same luck when I connected the device again! – TomCho Mar 14 '15 at 19:42
  • We'll never know now! ;-) – Fabby Mar 14 '15 at 19:47