SSD not in BIOS, I/O error, GParted - "unrecognized disk label" Partition Table

[cetan]

Summary:
Primary SSD w/ Linux Mint 20.3 not recognized after system freeze - possible damaged or corrupted Partition Table (or drive)
---------> Please recommend next steps. -- Thank you

Situation / Discovery:

• system freeze
• rebooted
• Linux Mint 20.3 on 2TB SSD now does not launch
• BIOS now does not show / recognize SSD

Booted system with recovery USB Linix Mint 19.1

Attempts and Results:
1) fsck

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sudo fsck dev/[missing drive]

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Input/output error while trying to open /dev/[missing drive]...

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The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4...

2) Linux Mint "Disks" Utility (gnome-disk-utility)
https://community.linuxmint.com/softwar ... sk-utility
Shows 3 Disks
A) 2.0TB - INTEL SSDPEKNW020T8 - VOLUMES = "unknown"
B) 16GB (the bootable drive)
C) 1.9GB Loop Device --- I don't know what this is

3) GParted
Shows "unallocated 1.86TB"
similar to:
Restore Damaged or Corrupted Linux Partition Table
https://interworks.com/blog/smatlock/20 ... ion-table/

This article states:

This suggests that the partition table is corrupt or no longer written to the disk.
Built into GParted is a great tool called TestDisk.

Selecting"right click" "Information" on 2TB drive above in GParted shows the following errors:

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Input/output error during read on /dev/[missing drive]

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/dev/[missing drive]: unrecognized disk label

Conclusions:
Since GParted and gnome-disk-utility recognize the drive - perhaps the partition table can be repaired

Question:
GParted has options to both "Create Partition Table" or "Attempt Data Rescue" under "Device"
I am not sure if I should attempt either of these options or try to load TestDisk or some other recovery utility.
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

I am also not sure how to use TestDisk from within GParted or how to use TestDisk while also using a bootable Linux Mint USB.
(GParted is already integrated)

Please advise. Thank you.

[pbear]

Never had to do this, so can't vouch for it from personal experience, but this article might help with the superblock problem.

By the way, the 1.9 GB loop device relates to the live session. It's normal.

[cetan]

@pbear - Thank you for your reply


Update

GParted
Regarding my previous suggestions...
"Create Partition Table" - Did not do this as it would delete all data
https://gparted.org/display-doc.php?nam ... tion-table

"Attempt Data Rescue" - GParted requires found partitions / file systems to attempt. My entire disk found by GParted is "Unallocated"
https://gparted.org/display-doc.php?nam ... ata-rescue

Entire Disk Device Shown as Unallocated ---> If entire device is shown as unallocated, GParted may not be able to perform data rescue.
https://gparted.org/h2-fix-msdos-pt.php ... nallocated

/dev/sda: unrecognized disk label
Two root causes for this message are as follows:

1) The device does not contain a partition table. - If the device does contain data then perhaps the entire device is formatted with a file system. It is also possible that the device is part of some other data structure ... In these situations there is no partition table to edit....

2) The type of partition table is not recognized by GParted.
In this situation you would need to determine what type of partition table is in use. Then you could seek out other partition management tools to edit the partition table.

I might try GParted "Attempt Data Rescue" if other options don't work. But it appears that it can take more than 48 hours to scan a 2TB.
https://serverfault.com/questions/96189 ... -scan-take

If that does not work, I may try PhotoRec - but Photorec cannot recover all file types and may not retrieve with original file names
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step

TestDisk
So cgsecurity(GParted) recommends to try TestDisk first.

I tried TestDisk - but it froze after hard drive was selected and enter pressed
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step

Perhaps due to size of drive ... but I did not know how long to wait.


Superblock backups

Steps I performed / attempted:

1) Display information on current blockgroups

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sudo dumpe2fs /dev/nvme0n1
dumpe2fs 1.44.1 (24-Mar-2018)
dumpe2fs: Input/output error while trying to open /dev/nvme0n1
Couldn't find valid filesystem superblock.

2) File system check - here I was hoping to have the partition equivalent like the example (e.g. sda4) but instead had to use the entire drive equivalent (e.g.sda) nvme0n1

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sudo fsck -v /dev/nvme0n1
fsck from util-linux 2.31.1
e2fsck 1.44.1 (24-Mar-2018)
fsck.ext2: Input/output error while trying to open /dev/nvme0n1

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem.  If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
    e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
 or
    e2fsck -b 32768 <device>

3) Find Superblock Backups - Here I am pleased to see that Superblock backups are found --- I am also pleased because it appears the drive is operational and that there is data on the drive that can be accessed

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sudo mke2fs -n /dev/nvme0n1
mke2fs 1.44.1 (24-Mar-2018)
Creating filesystem with 500099670 4k blocks and 125026304 inodes...
Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
	32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
	4096000, 7962624, 11239424, 20480000, 23887872, 71663616, 78675968, 
	102400000, 214990848

My main concern is that it is the "entire drive" rather than the specific partition (as per the example) --- But it found the Superblock backups so that must be where they are being stored

My next step is to try the backups

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sudo e2fsck -b <block number> /dev/nvme0n1 

My only hesitation is that I don't know if using e2fsck and restoring superblock backups will make Photorec recovery more difficult.
It may be better to use Photorec first to recover data since last backup.

My sense (based on nothing in particular) is that it won't affect the ability of recovery tools and if e2fsck works and makes drive bootable - then no recovery tools will be required.

wish me luck

[pbear]

No promises or warranty, but if it were me I'd restore the superblock. Data recovery would be my last resort.

[cetan]

[ Correction to Subject Line--- SSD is recognized in BIOS ]

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mint@mint:~$ sudo e2fsck -b 98304 /dev/nvme0n1
e2fsck 1.44.1 (24-Mar-2018)

... Attempt to switch to backup Superblock just hangs (see above)

Is it possible to run smartctl or nvme commands on the SSD to get more info? (while booted from the recovery Linux Mint on USB)
Or will those only work if installed on the SSD itself?

https://www.thomas-krenn.com/en/wiki/SM ... h_smartctl
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Solid_state_drive/NVMe


dmesg output is as follows:

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mint@mint:~$ sudo dmesg | grep -i nvme0n1
[    5.256852] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    5.256854] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    5.391173] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    5.391174] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    5.528379] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    5.528381] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    5.661476] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    5.661478] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    5.796199] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    5.796201] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    5.932488] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    5.932490] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    6.065704] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    6.065706] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    6.065716] Dev nvme0n1: unable to read RDB block 0
[    6.198725] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    6.198747] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    6.331951] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[    6.331955] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[    6.466147] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 24
[    6.466150] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 3, async page read
[    6.736234]  nvme0n1: unable to read partition table
[   10.972299] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[   11.104817] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[   11.104823] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 500099668, async page read
[   13.752102] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[   13.902176] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[   14.103356] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[   14.142566] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 8
[   14.344711] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[   14.344714] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 500099668, async page read
[   14.368172] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  209.691397] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  209.824389] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  209.824403] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  209.957313] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  209.957327] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  458.070308] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[  458.201518] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[  458.201532] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 500099668, async page read
[  458.334743] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  458.467528] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  458.467541] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  458.606923] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  458.606939] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  458.743695] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  458.743710] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  458.876532] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  458.876548] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  459.009536] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  459.009552] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  459.191753] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  459.191768] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  459.324643] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  459.324660] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  459.457652] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  459.590624] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  459.994888] Dev nvme0n1: unable to read RDB block 0
[  460.661254]  nvme0n1: unable to read partition table
[  714.170590] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[  714.301686] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 4000797344
[  714.301705] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 500099668, async page read
[  714.454605] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  714.587576] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  714.587591] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  714.720541] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  714.720558] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  714.904721] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  714.904737] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.042422] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  715.042438] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.175626] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  715.175645] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.308766] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  715.308782] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.441589] print_req_error: critical medium error, dev nvme0n1, sector 0
[  715.441604] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.574724] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.708058] Buffer I/O error on dev nvme0n1, logical block 0, async page read
[  715.708134] Dev nvme0n1: unable to read RDB block 0
[  716.382985]  nvme0n1: unable to read partition table

[cetan]

I am having some trouble interpreting the drive results error logs. (smartmontools) & (nvme-cli)

According to smartmontools (smartctl) the drive is healthy (passes the "SMART overall-health self-assessment test result").

However, it seems like there are a fair number of media errors. I don't have a frame of reference if this is many or not.
Others have many more errors (23,372) on functional drives https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/co ... rrors_and/

I also don't know how to interpret the codes in the results.
For example:
status_field : 0x281(Unknown) <--media error? (what type)
parm_err_loc : 0xffff <---(where?)
lba : 0xee7752a0 <---(where?)


the smartmontools error log failed, and thus was unable to provide additional info

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Read Error Information Log failed: NVMe Status 0x02

...apparently this is due to either "Invalid Field in Command" or that for smartmontools "NVMe support is considered as experimental."
https://www.smartmontools.org/ticket/1404
https://www.smartmontools.org/wiki/NVMe_Support

So I used nvme-cli. And got a little more info. But "0x281(Unknown)" is also not very informative.
https://nvmexpress.org/open-source-nvme ... -nvme-cli/

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mint@mint:~$ sudo nvme smart-log /dev/nvme0n1
Smart Log for NVME device:nvme0n1 namespace-id:ffffffff
critical_warning                    : 0
temperature                         : 28 C
available_spare                     : 100%
available_spare_threshold           : 10%
percentage_used                     : 0%
data_units_read                     : 3830697
data_units_written                  : 3092128
host_read_commands                  : 127751101
host_write_commands                 : 52250246
controller_busy_time                : 1016
power_cycles                        : 157
power_on_hours                      : 5526
unsafe_shutdowns                    : 75
media_errors                        : 9077
num_err_log_entries                 : 9077
Warning Temperature Time            : 0
Critical Composite Temperature Time : 0
Thermal Management T1 Trans Count   : 0
Thermal Management T2 Trans Count   : 0
Thermal Management T1 Total Time    : 0
Thermal Management T2 Total Time    : 0

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mint@mint:~$ sudo nvme error-log /dev/nvme0
Error Log Entries for device:nvme0 entries:64
.................
 Entry[ 0]   
.................
error_count  : 9077
sqid         : 4
cmdid        : 0xbf
status_field : 0x281(Unknown)
parm_err_loc : 0xffff
lba          : 0xee7752a0
nsid         : 0x1
vs           : 0
.................
 Entry[ 1]   
.................
error_count  : 9076
sqid         : 4
cmdid        : 0xbf
status_field : 0x281(Unknown)
parm_err_loc : 0xffff
lba          : 0xee7752a0
nsid         : 0x1
vs           : 0
.................

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mint@mint:~$ sudo smartctl -x /dev/nvme0n1
smartctl 6.6 2016-05-31 r4324 [x86_64-linux-4.15.0-20-generic] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-16, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Number:                       INTEL SSDPEKNW020T8
Serial Number:                      
Firmware Version:                   002C
PCI Vendor/Subsystem ID:            0x8086
IEEE OUI Identifier:                0x5cd2e4
Controller ID:                      1
Number of Namespaces:               1
Namespace 1 Size/Capacity:          2,048,408,248,320 [2.04 TB]
Namespace 1 Formatted LBA Size:     512
Local Time is:                      Fri Jun 17 23:18:22 2022 UTC
Firmware Updates (0x14):            2 Slots, no Reset required
Optional Admin Commands (0x0017):   Security Format Frmw_DL *Other*
Optional NVM Commands (0x005f):     Comp Wr_Unc DS_Mngmt Wr_Zero Sav/Sel_Feat *Other*
Maximum Data Transfer Size:         32 Pages
Warning  Comp. Temp. Threshold:     77 Celsius
Critical Comp. Temp. Threshold:     80 Celsius

Supported Power States
St Op     Max   Active     Idle   RL RT WL WT  Ent_Lat  Ex_Lat
 0 +     5.50W       -        -    0  0  0  0        0       0
 1 +     3.60W       -        -    1  1  1  1        0       0
 2 +     2.60W       -        -    2  2  2  2        0       0
 3 -   0.0300W       -        -    3  3  3  3     5000    5000
 4 -   0.0040W       -        -    4  4  4  4     5000    9000

Supported LBA Sizes (NSID 0x1)
Id Fmt  Data  Metadt  Rel_Perf
 0 +     512       0         0

=== START OF SMART DATA SECTION ===
[b]SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED[/b]

SMART/Health Information (NVMe Log 0x02, NSID 0x1)
Critical Warning:                   0x00
Temperature:                        28 Celsius
Available Spare:                    100%
Available Spare Threshold:          10%
Percentage Used:                    0%
Data Units Read:                    3,830,697 [1.96 TB]
Data Units Written:                 3,092,128 [1.58 TB]
Host Read Commands:                 127,751,101
Host Write Commands:                52,250,246
Controller Busy Time:               1,016
Power Cycles:                       157
Power On Hours:                     5,523
Unsafe Shutdowns:                   75
Media and Data Integrity Errors:    9,077
Error Information Log Entries:      9,077
Warning  Comp. Temperature Time:    0
Critical Comp. Temperature Time:    0

[b]Read Error Information Log failed: NVMe Status 0x02[/b]

Monitoring the Health of NVMe SSDs - Jonmichael Hands, Intel
https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorag ... -NVMe-SSDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISK9U1FP1j0