Sorry if this is not the place to ask I also tried on a different instance as well

I bought an adapter to retrieve old files from ancient hard drives and I didn’t save the stuff from one I had looked at. Now though when I plug it in it will only read as an android file system? It has 2 disk images now, one is labeled Presario D: which shows up as an android backup or something but all folders are empty. The other is Local Disk E: and if I click it it literally just locks up my file explorer to the point I have to restart the PC.

Any thoughts or ideas?

I may have plugged it into an android phone at some point? Not sure though.

OQB @WhyIHateTheInternet@lemmy.world

  • cm0002@literature.cafeOPEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    @WhyIHateTheInternet@lemmy.world

    When it comes to old drives, you may very well only get one good read out of it before its gone for good. (Or at least solidly in a very pricey data recovery service territory)

    If you have the means to do so, consider a data recovery service first and foremost if you can’t afford it or don’t want to proceed on

    So the first thing you want to do is make a byte-by-byte raw image of the drive(s) with a tool like this https://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/

    BUT you will need a destination drive that’s at least the same size as your source. So if your old drive is 500GB you’ll need a destination that has 500GB free or more. Id personally go a tad bigger because ya never know and remember this might be the last time you get a good read

    Second it sounds like you did plug it into android and it tried adding in it’s default folders, but 1) it probably picked up the 500MB or so tiny boot partition windows makes 2) it only adds folders, it doesn’t wipe partitions.

    So in both your data is probably fine BUT

    It does sound like your drive isnt particularly healthy, so until you’re ready to make that image keep it offline and disconnected

    Once you have the image, you do all your work from there and keep your source drive safe until you’re 100% you don’t need it anymore

      • BlueÆther@no.lastname.nzEnglish
        2·
        1 day ago

        AFTER you have the disk image my goto tool would be photorec, but there are other tools

        I would go for at least 2x the free space as the old drive, the first 1x is for the drive image, the second is for recovered files.

        • phanto@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          23 hours ago

          Hear, hear! Spent so Goddamn much time trying to recover a 256gb drive onto a 500gb drive when I had a stinking 1tb drive sitting in the next room! Just thinking about it makes me owe the swear jar another 2$!