Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geek Speak => Topic started by: vhfpmr on 03/08/2018 11:39:10
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I have an external Buffalo PNFU-3 HDD which has started going doolally, and everything I do is compounding the mess.
It started with a message HDD 'still in use' when I try to eject it. I circumvented that by shutting computer down, then unplugging USB.
Now I have it creating phantom files that aren't there and not listing files that are there.
Eg:
Folder FFF contains a file XXXA. If I search for XXX it lists two files XXXA & XXXB. If I open location for XXXB it opens FFF which only lists XXXA. If I try to open or delete XXXB it says "error: not contained in FFF".
FFF contents lists XXXA with correct date & time, but search lists both XXXA & XXXB with date & time from XXXB
So I tried emptying all other files from FFF into a temp folder TTT, then deleted FFF, & renamed TTT>>FFF. Now XXXA & XXXB are both appearing on search, but neither are in FFF.
I'm rapidly getting to a situation where I'm losing track of what's rubbish and what isn't. I daren't back it up because I don't know whether I'm copying drivel, I can't fix it myself, but I can't take it to a repairer because it contains confidential data.
Ironically, I only bought the HDD so that I could get confidential data off the computer in case it ever needed to go for repair.
Any suggestions welcome before I scrap it altogether and go with the backups. Thanks.
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Sounds like the file allocation table is corrupted. Do you actually need the data on the disk? Otherwise, deletion of the partition data and a reformat would be a good idea, followed by a disk surface scan / SMART test to see what the problem is...
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Any suggestions welcome before I scrap it altogether and go with the backups ...
Recuva (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recuva) is a free Windows data-recovery program, worth a try.
It can be set to recuva files even though you haven't deleted them ...
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You should recuva the data to a different drive than the source.
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Do please report back and let us know how it goes; at the very least it might help someone else in a similar predicament.
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OK, thanks all.
I have back ups, so I could reformat the dodgy disk , but as I'm not sure how long the problem has been developing or how extensive it is, I might have been backing up duff data. The HDD came with s/w pre-loaded, will I lose that if I clear it? If Recuva needs a different destination anyway, I need a new disk, so I might as well buy one and see what I can assemble from backups onto that. If I wait for a while to see what develops I can then have a go at salvaging the old one and keep it as a spare maybe rather than burn my boat in haste.
My first two disks were for backup, but as I mentioned, this one was to offload confidential working data, so it was spending protracted periods plugged into the computer unlike the others. I wondered if the original problem with ejection might have been precipitated because it stayed plugged in whilst Windows (7) went into sleep mode when the laptop was left unused. Should it matter? Also the light on the HDD sometimes continues flashing for a few seconds after the computer has confirmed it's safe to unplug. I didn't notice at first, so that might be another possibility. Even when I do wait, I sometimes hear a click as if the write head was active at the instant the computer switches the power off, I don't recall either of the previous drives doing that (also Buffalo).
It was becoming a nuisance for portability having the HDD dangling from the computer, so I've been toying with using an SDHC instead, so that it can stay inserted whilst I carry the laptop around. I'm using one as a read-only reference copy of the most useful data at the moment, but I now have the inconvenience of maintain two copies and still fitting the HDD when I need to write. I gather the write life of flash is limited, and assume SDHC ports don't have wear levelling like SSDs, but how limited?
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If you scrag the drive with a format, I fear you'll lose the software; but - buffalo might have a facility to re-download it for situations like yours - do check.
Another possibility is that there is a working partition and a recovery partition - have a look at the drive architecture. Sometimes they implement a recovery partition that is not routinely written but can be used to rebuild the architecture in the case of a corrupt main partition. Have a look at the website relating to the product to see if this is the case.
To be honest though, you'll not lose much by trashing the software and picking up a freebie; the web's awash with good sync software that's either free or cheap.
For peace of mind, I'd do a clean sweep on it and start again; otherwise you'll never trust it.
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I've been kicking this can down a longer road than Theresa May's road to Brexit. I bought a new disk, but before it arrived the backup one started doing the same thing. It had been trouble free for four years, but I'd always sat watching whilst it backed up. On one occasion I left the backup to run by itself, and when I came back it had finished, and the computer had gone into sleep mode. That was when that disk started misbehaving like the other one.
I've just been carrying on and hoping that I'll be able to get a working copy off somewhere if something fails. Much of it is backed up on a third disk, and the originals of the really irreplaceable stuff are on DVD too. I could spend hours assembling a new set of files on the new disk, but I'm not sure I can be bothered if that one's going to do the same as soon as I forget the computer until it sleeps.
Looking online, it seems a common problem, and most people seem to be doing as I have: shut the computer down in order to unplug. As I said above, it's a bit disconcerting that I can hear the head click at the last second when the computer power goes off though. Not much hint of an orderly shutdown there. Sometimes I've been able to reset it by switching the computer into sleep mode and back again, bizarrely.
I keep telling myself I'm going to pick through, and put some of the non confidential material back on the computer, but it's a bit like unbaking a cake, and it gets put off. Meanwhile, I have a merry-go-round: files get temporarily stored on computer in a 'Pending Transfer' folder, then onto HDD, then backup, then I make an SDHC read-only copy to leave in the computer for day to day reference (most of the usage is read only). I actually prefer the convenience of SDHC, if I thought the life was adequate, I'd use it as the main working copy.