Accidently deleted partition data :(

[yasirassassin]

hey guys am using linux mint and i was trying to convert my fat32 partition to ntfs by using kde partition manager and when i changed it and i unfortunately didnt read the msg that my data would be removed and i pressed ok then every thing went just like hell uhhhhhhhh my data is gone i tried to recover my deleted volume using acronic disk director in windows but it does not recover anything because it recovers only if the partition is delted and space is empty found but in my case i changed my fat32 type into ntfs so i cant recover my previous partition pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee help me what to do plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[bigj231]

You can try dd to recover the raw data, but don't expect any miracles. I have also had good luck with TestDisk recovering data from corrupted partitions. If it did a full format, everything is probably gone. Consider everything that you recover is a gift. Expect to lose everything when doing any kind of disk partitioning, and then you'll never have a problem.
I wish you luck. Remember, Google is your friend.

[srs5694]

I'd like to begin by clarifying the difference between partition data and filesystem data, since the right thing to do in your situation depends critically on understanding this distinction and knowing which type of data you modified.

A partition is defined by a few bytes in a partition table that describe where on the disk the partition begins and ends and a few other details about it, such as a type code. For instance, translated to English, the partition data might be "the partition begins at sector 2048 and ends at sector 7,239,327 and consists of data for a Microsoft OS." Traditionally, Linux has used fdisk and related tools to manipulate partition data; but most users today do this job with GParted or other GUI tools, most of which also manipulate filesystem data. Damaged partition data can often be recovered using TestDisk or similar tools. When recovered, you'll get everything back. Unfortunately, I suspect that you did not merely damage your partition data.

A filesystem is a complex data structure that resides inside a partition or other carrier (like a logical volume in an LVM setup). Examples of filesystems include FAT, NTFS, and ext4fs. You were attempting to convert from one filesystem to another, but such an operation is almost certain to create an empty filesystem in place of whatever had been there before. In such a situation, your only hope for recovery is to use a file-level recovery tool such as PhotoRec; partition-level tools such as TestDisk are useless if the filesystem data have been damaged or destroyed. PhotoRec can recover individual files, but some files will almost certainly be lost, and PhotoRec might not recover filenames, so you could end up spending a lot of time sifting through your files to identify them. I've heard that some Windows data-recovery tools can sometimes recover filenames from badly damaged FAT or NTFS volumes, but I don't know the details.

Based on your description, it sounds like you tried to convert FAT to NTFS, which is a destructive operation on the filesystem level, so I suspect you need to look for a filesystem-level solution. (There's a very slim chance that you just changed the partition type code; but if that were the case you'd have seen little or no difference from Linux, since Linux ignores partition type codes for most purposes.)

[blockhead]

before doing anything with partitions always make a backup first and make sure you have a tested way to restore that backup in case anything goes wrong. I know this does not answer your question, but they say an oz. of prevention is worth a lb. of cure, right?

[catweazel]

i was trying to convert my fat32 partition to ntfs by using kde partition manager

I'm sure you don't need to be told now that converting fat32 to NTFS is fraught with many dangers, isn't a job for the faint-hearted, is a nightmare process that shouldn't be undertaken even under Windows, and that you should always have a backup.

Unfortunately the advice you've been given so far on how to attempt a recovery is all wrong. In short, you've lost the lot.

[catweazel]

I'd like to begin by clarifying the difference between partition data and filesystem data, since the right thing to do in your situation depends critically on understanding this distinction and knowing which type of data you modified.

No it doesn't. He will now have 4k clusters so he's lost the lot. End of story.

[srs5694]

I'd like to begin by clarifying the difference between partition data and filesystem data, since the right thing to do in your situation depends critically on understanding this distinction and knowing which type of data you modified.

No it doesn't. He will now have 4k clusters so he's lost the lot. End of story.

I stand by my statements.

Edit: I just ran a test: I zeroed out a USB flash drive, partitioned it, created a FAT filesystem on it, and copied a bunch of files to it. I then used mkntfs on the partition to convert it to NTFS, thus erasing all the files. I was able to recover most of them with PhotoRec -- but as I wrote in my earlier post, the filenames were lost. Had this been "real" data, it would have taken a lot of effort to sort through it all; but for important enough data, it might be worth the effort.

[yasirassassin]

hey guys thanks for ur replies well i used testDisk and ended up with nothing it just recovered 120 mb data out of 25 gb i did a deeper scan and it showed that no files found perhaps corrupt something ....
now tell me should i give photorec a try ???


and guys there is also another problem that every time i scan testdisk it removes my linux bootloader and starts window automatically so i always have to reinstall bootloader for my linux why is this problem happening ?