Need a method/utility to access backup FAT32 - VANITY

[Marak]

I have a disk volume where the first copy of a FAT32 volume is corrupt. I would like to copy the backup copy of the fat over the original. The system is win2k.

Any thoughts on tools or procedures that could accomplish this?

[Marak]

I will be offline for a bit as I try to make a ghost image of the drive, but I appreciate any thoughts anyone might have. Thanks!

[MineralMan]

Go here. It isn't free, but I wouldn't trust a free utility for this job anyhow.

http://www.stellarinfo.com/recovery-software.htm

[theDentist]

Not sure this will help, bujt when my laptop (as I type on it now) got clobbered by a virus, one of the guys at the office used a Linux product (free to doanload) called Knoppix to recover ALL my files. It was very time consuming, but I was able to fully recover. You burn it to a CD and boot off the CD. Then you can copy files from the hard drive to another PC. You cannot edit files, delete them etc. Pretty much copy only. Check it out. I hope it helps.

[Paleo Conservative]

You are doing the right thing by doing an image backup of the corrupt FAT-32 volume first.

I hope the FAT-32 volume is not the bootable volume on your computer. I only use FAT-32 volumes on Win 2K machines as a way to transfer data from older computers. Once you get your computer fixed, you should consider converting to NTFS.

[Calpernia]

I use DriveWorks by V Communications

Very happy with that software.

[Paleo Conservative]

Do you have Norton System Works? The Norton Disk Doctor program can fix many of the problems on existing partitions. There is an option to run the utilities from the installation CD without installing the program first.

[Nick Danger]

Am I reading this right? You have two partitions on this drive, both Fat32, one is a backup copy of the other?

I'd use Partition Magic to hide the first one, make the second active, and then boot it.

[backhoe]

Lots of info here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1143957/posts
Everything on my hard drive got destroyed
May 28 2004

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

GREAT resource and free (and paid) email newsletters...

http://www.langa.com/

[solitas]

Not sure this will help, bujt when my laptop (as I type on it now) got clobbered by a virus, one of the guys at the office used a Linux product (free to doanload) called Knoppix to recover ALL my files. It was very time consuming, but I was able to fully recover. You burn it to a CD and boot off the CD. Then you can copy files from the hard drive to another PC. You cannot edit files, delete them etc. Pretty much copy only. Check it out. I hope it helps.

Knoppix is a CD-based implementation of BSD Linux with a GUI and all the features of a standard system.
You sure as hell CAN edit and delete files if you don't know what you're doing!
If you _do_ make a CD and boot from it: see just how easy it works, how secure, and think about NOT going back to a micro$oft OS...

http://www.knoppix.net

[FierceDraka]

You know, I think I'll download that for kicks. Thanks for the link.

[supercat]

Are there any free utilities that can convert a 2-gig drive into a simple 512-bytes-per-sector image file? I'd like to attempt some data recovery on a drive I've had laying around for awhile (I had a backup but some files weren't usable) and was thinking it would be easier to copy the whole thing as an image and work from that.

Alternatively, does anyone know what functions one must use in windows to perform raw sector reads? Given those, I could probably write my own image extractor.

[general_re]

dd if=/dev/hda1/ of=image

;)

[general_re]

Assuming it's mounted as hda1, that is...

[supercat]

[quote]Assuming it's mounted as hda1, that is...[/quote]

How easy would it be to boot up under linux and perform that operation with an NTFS volume as the destination, without having to install other stuff on the hard drive or otherwise mess with things?

[XBob]

1 - Can't vouche for it currently, but a program called 'Partition Magic' was the best available for such things about 2-3 years ago. It was highly recommended for such things and mixed up fat32, but they can be a real problem, if you have saved/recorded new data using older fat tables. I got screwed up moving up to fat32, and now it is out of date.

[general_re]

Booting to Linux is no problem - you could use one of the many fine boot-CD distros such as Knoppix. The catch is that they'll support NTFS reads with no problem, but writing to NTFS partitions is still considered not quite ready for primetime. Actually, that may be an understatement - NTFS writes under Linux are, IMO, not safe at this point, insofar as there's a chance of corrupting the filesystem if you try. If you have a FAT32 partition that you can copy the image to, that would probably be a safer way to go.

[dennisw]

bttttt

[Concerned]

PALEO CONSERVATIVE WROTE TO MARAK: "You are doing the right thing by doing an image backup of the corrupt FAT-32 volume first."

PC ADDED: "I hope the FAT-32 volume is not the bootable volume on your computer. I only use FAT-32 volumes on Win 2K machines as a way to transfer data from older computers. Once you get your computer fixed, you should consider converting to NTFS."

How do you SAFELY convert a FAT32 drive and files into an NTFS drive and files? I have a Sony GR370 laptop with partitioned drives from the factory---C is FAT32 and D is NTFS. I HATE being FORCED to have a partitioned-drive computer because it means I have to have SPARE space on BOTH drives to get programs to run.

My 30 GB computer is virtually full (and I don't even save music on it)!!!!! Until recently, it was so full, I couldn't even run Norton to defragment it. Running Norton made it worse. I bought Partition Magic, but I haven't tried to use it. My system is so corrupted from FINALLY having gotten enough things cleaned out so I could defragment, I have not been able to get my printer to work right. I tried to delete and reload the driver, but the system is so corrupted, it won't let me do it.

I was thinking about backing up and wiping the computer, then trying to make it into ONE drive, but I am concerned about changing ANYTHING about the formatting. I have TONS of filings, pleadings, correspondence, evidence, etc. compiled for a lawsuit I filed for civil fraud and civil conspiracy to commit fraud.

The repeatedly stalled, three year old case is FINALLY at the climax, and we expect that our interlocutory summary judgment against the entities involved will be allowed to be severed from the rest of the case to become final. The "bad guys" are expected to be HEAVILY sanctioned for defying the court, lying to the court to get extended time (with no intention of obeying the Court's order to perform), then defying the court again, repeated lawyer swapping, forum shopping, wrongful removal to the bankruptcy court, contempt of court, etc.

BOTTOM LINE: I absolutely cannot afford to have that data lost and/or screwed up.

Any thoughts and/or suggestions?

[general_re]

What you really want to do is convert C: to NTFS and then merge C: and D: so that you only have one partition. You can do that, but it'll take some planning and preparation.