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trashed partition table

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esromneb

Programmer
Mar 30, 2002
76
US
Hi, before we start here's a layout of how my hdd was:
[58 fat32][1400 ntfs][2000 fat32][4000 2 linux partition]

um, so ya, I was using partiton magic 7 to move more space from my 14 gig xp partition to my 2 gig 98 partition. The thing reboots, starts working, resizes (I think) then crashes. I restart xp and 98 are hosed. Um, I think that it resized the partitons but then didn't rewrite the partition table, or something, but anyway, stupidly I tried to reinstall 98. that didn't work. Um, and it's a hp laptop without a floppy so I was using the windows cd to boot into dos. Um, and then the pos decided to start formatting my WHOLE HDD. So it started and I saw it and turned my comp off. So right now I'm pretty sure I lost the 2 gigs on my 98 partiton, but that's ok. I just need to know if I can get my ntfs partiton back. I've used 2 different programs with limited success. One is "active partition recovery" It sees the 58 meg fat32 partition @ the begining of my drive, and the ntfs and the extended part for the linux partitions, but when I tell it to write and then set the ntfs as active, it doesn't come up. Um, I also have MBRwork, which I ran, um first I cleared the partition table, then did a "detect ms format partitions" or something, and initially I had it look for 4 partitions, b/c I was unsure what it would find. I let that run all night and it was still running in the morning. I rebooted, changed it to looking for three, and let that run while I was at school, came home, it was still working. So I rebooted and changed it to look for 2 partitions (I think that's all that's left) um, ya, it's still running... So my questions are:
1) If you've used MBRwork before, how LONG does it take to run? more than 6 hours?
2) If I write my partition table with active partition recovery (which comes up with the correct values) is it possible to access my ntfs stuff off of there (it doesn't boot)
3) What else can I do?
thanks in advance. (now that only like 1 person has read this far) ^_^
-ben
 
sounds a bit of a mess!

1. Don't know
2. I thought you said it wouldn't 'but when I tell it to write and then set the ntfs as active, it doesn't come up'. The problem is knowing what are correct values for partitions (as you don't know how much PM did).
3. Was going to suggest using PM rescue disks - but you haven't got a floppy drive. What's on that first 58GB partition (ie, is there an operating system? If not, you could try installing XP on it - could then install PM and see if it can make any sense of what it half did). Could also try data recovery apps (use Google to find them - there's a free one here but don't think that will work with a damaged ntfs partition).

Sorry I can't be more helpful.
 
um, sorry, I forgot to say that the first 58 gig partition is really only 58 megs ^_^ Um, I'm lame and I didn't want to learn how to use lilo, so I was using boot magic instead, and it requires that you have a fat32 partition first thing on your drive. Um, So it's only 58 megs, and I have recovery tools there. I might try putting ntfsdos on there and seeing if I can read my ntfs partition. I was thinking about it and...I think that the ntfs partition might really be hpfs!? I don't know, it's a hp pavilion zt1235. Does anybody know what the default partition type for that model is (or that series?). I think I might try using active partition recovery to write my partition table, and then use a suse liveeval disk that I have to change the partition table so that it's a hpfs, b/c I'm pretty sure that's what partition magic said it was... and um...does anyone know wtf hpfs is? I heard that it was made for drives from abuot 200 - 400 megs, but seeing as mine's 20 gigs, ya..... thanks in advance (Again)
-ben
 
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