🚀 go-pugleaf

From a total  non-expert (use at own risk)
I deleted my entire c drive (windows 98) trying to add NT to the mix, and
managed to restore the entire drive using a software program called MRECOVER
XL which was made to recover from damage from the CIH virus.  For my
purposes it worked perfectly, though there was a scary moment before
rebooting a few times and changing the bios settings back to their default
values when NO disks were detected on bootup.  Anyway the final result was a
very nice surprise.  Again, use at your own risk, as it was just a shot in
the dark for me. (tried a few commercial demos of data recovery software
with no positive results and LONG processing times.  This did the job in
minutes.
I have no idea if it would work in your case, but if you are desperate...
http://members.nbci.com/monirdomain/
look for mrecover xl at above site.
Robert
"preamp" <preamp@spamblock.dingoblue.net.au> wrote in message
news:3a973ada$0$25511$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au...
>
> I just installed Mandrake 7.2 and due to (I think) a stupid mistake of
> mine, I have lost a FAT32 partition. (no biggie, as it was a
> data/application volume only and I have backups of everything that can't
be
> reinstalled)
>
> What happened (again I think) is that I told the install to write the boot
> manager to /hda5 instead of /hdb5 (where Linux really was).  Anyway, now
if
> I try to mount /hda5 - this is the result...
>
> [root@localhost /root]# mount /dev/hda5 /mnt/temp -t vfat
> mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hda5,
>        or too many mounted file systems
>
>
> Windows (2000) thinks it is an unformatted partition.
>
> Is it gone for good...or it there a way to get it back?
>
>
>

run;

 # fdisk /dev/hda -l
 # fdisk /dev/hda
 Command (m for help): p
 Command (m for help): x
 Extended command (m for help): p

and report results.

Keith

sandy wrote:

> 
> run;
> 
>  # fdisk /dev/hda -l
>  # fdisk /dev/hda
>  Command (m for help): p
>  Command (m for help): x
>  Extended command (m for help): p
> 
> and report results.
> 
> Keith
> 
> 

OK, thanks...here are the results......





Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 525 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1   *         1       261   2096451    6  FAT16
/dev/hda2           262       525   2120580    5  Extended
/dev/hda5           262       392   1052226    b  Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda6           393       525   1068291    7  HPFS/NTFS
[root@localhost /root]#
[root@localhost /root]# fdisk /dev/hda

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 525 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
 
   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1   *         1       261   2096451    6  FAT16
/dev/hda2           262       525   2120580    5  Extended
/dev/hda5           262       392   1052226    b  Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda6           393       525   1068291    7  HPFS/NTFS
 
Command (m for help): x
 
Expert command (m for help): p
 
Disk /dev/hda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 525 cylinders
 
Nr AF  Hd Sec  Cyl  Hd Sec  Cyl    Start     Size ID
 1 80   1   1    0 254  63  260       63  4192902 06
 2 00   0   1  261 254  63  524  4192965  4241160 05
 3 00   0   0    0   0   0    0        0        0 00
 4 00   0   0    0   0   0    0        0        0 00
 5 00   1   1  261 254  63  391       63  2104452 0b
 6 00   1   1  392 254  63  524       63  2136582 07
 
Expert command (m for help):  

The partition is still in the partition table and look fine, but
you probably over-wrote the boot record at the start of
partition /dev/hda5 when you installed the linux boot loader.
Therefore, I believe if you write a standard FAT32 boot
record back to the beginning of partition /dev/hda5 you may
be able to recover the FAT32 filesystem.

Before you start playing with /dev/hda5 I suggest you try to
make a copy of the partition somewhere else (on /dev/hdb).
This may not work because of the bad boot record in
/dev/hda5 but try anyhow.

First make sure you have gnu "parted" on your distro.

If not download from;

http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/parted.html

Easiest way is to download the boot floppy version from;

/gnu/parted/bootdisk

directory and then "dd if=partboot.img of=/dev/fd0"

to a floppy to make bootable floppy version.

See documentation at;

http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/USER

If you made the floppy boot then insert the floppy and reboot
the computer.  If you parted is under Linux then boot Linux.
Please double check all my commands below. Then run;

parted

enter commands;

select /dev/hdb
print

Now look and find some space to make a new partition to hold
a copy of /dev/hda5.  Enter command;

mkpart PART-TYPE fat START END

PART-TYPE is one of: primary, extended, logical and START, END
are the start and end in Mbytes of some free space on /dev/hdb to hold
the copy of /dev/hda5 (needs to be about the size of /dev/hda5).  Now
enter;

print

Look at the number of the new partition you just created.  Now copy
/dev/hda5 into the new partition.  Enter;

cp /dev/hda 5 NUM

NUM is the number of the partition on /dev/hdb that you just created
Note that the selected drive, /dev/hdb, is the copy-to drive.  If this
works then reboot and see if Windoze or Linux can use the partition
you just copied to on /dev/hdb.

Report back the results.

Also, report a "ls -l /boot" (the original boot record from /dev/hda5
may be backed up in this directory).

Keith

Firstly...thanks for all this help. I do appreciate it.


<snip good stuff>

> 
> NUM is the number of the partition on /dev/hdb that you just created
> Note that the selected drive, /dev/hdb, is the copy-to drive.  If this
> works then reboot and see if Windoze or Linux can use the partition
> 

I will attempt to copy it as soon as parted finishes downloading.


> Also, report a "ls -l /boot" (the original boot record from /dev/hda5
> may be backed up in this directory).
> 
>

Meanwhile...  my /boot directory contains the following :-

[dklock@localhost bootdisk]$ ls -l /boot
total 952
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           23 Feb 26 16:57 System.map -> 
System.map-2.2.17-21mdk
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root       216464 Oct  5 21:24 
System.map-2.2.17-21mdk
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root         6132 Oct  3 19:18 boot-menu.b
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root         4380 Oct  3 19:18 boot-text.b
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Feb 24 23:03 boot.0345
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           11 Feb 24 22:35 boot.b -> 
boot-menu.b
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          612 Oct  3 19:18 chain.b
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root         4096 Feb 24 23:03 grub/
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          431 Feb 26 16:58 kernel.h
-rw-------    1 root     root        35328 Feb 24 23:03 map
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          129 Feb 24 23:03 message
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          640 Oct  3 19:18 os2_d.b
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          256 Feb 24 23:03 us-latin1.klt
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root           20 Feb 24 23:03 vmlinuz -> 
vmlinuz-2.2.17-21mdk
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root       665029 Oct  5 21:24 
vmlinuz-2.2.17-21mdk 



Darryl

No luck...

Both a 'check' and a 'copy' of hda5 result in ...

Error: Could not detect file system.

So, how do I write a standard FAT32 boot record to it?  (or was that boot 
record in my /boot?  I have my doubts about that, as I reinstalled linux a 
few times as I experimented with various options, so the mistake was 
probably made on an earlier install - and I never noticed until later)


Darryl

Hi bud

I'm assuming that the lost partition had windows 2000 on it.  If this is the
case, then...
Boot from your windows 2000 cd-rom
Hit "R" for repair system
Select the Repair Console
type "help" at the command prompt
there should be a command called "bootfix" or "fixboot" or something like
that......run it
this should rewrite the Windows 2000 bootsector for you
after that write the Linux boot loader to the correct volume

Bryce




"preamp" <preamp@spamblock.dingoblue.net.au> wrote in message
news:3a973ada$0$25511$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au...
>
> I just installed Mandrake 7.2 and due to (I think) a stupid mistake of
> mine, I have lost a FAT32 partition. (no biggie, as it was a
> data/application volume only and I have backups of everything that can't
be
> reinstalled)
>
> What happened (again I think) is that I told the install to write the boot
> manager to /hda5 instead of /hdb5 (where Linux really was).  Anyway, now
if
> I try to mount /hda5 - this is the result...
>
> [root@localhost /root]# mount /dev/hda5 /mnt/temp -t vfat
> mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hda5,
>        or too many mounted file systems
>
>
> Windows (2000) thinks it is an unformatted partition.
>
> Is it gone for good...or it there a way to get it back?
>
>
>

"preamp" <preamp@spamblock.dingoblue.net.au> wrote in message
news:3a9a135a$0$25468$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au...
>
> No luck...
>
> Both a 'check' and a 'copy' of hda5 result in ...
>
> Error: Could not detect file system.
>
> So, how do I write a standard FAT32 boot record to it?  (or was that boot
> record in my /boot?  I have my doubts about that, as I reinstalled linux a
> few times as I experimented with various options, so the mistake was
> probably made on an earlier install - and I never noticed until later)
>

There is a backup boot record here;

-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Feb 24 23:03 boot.0345

Now is this the time and date that you re-wrote the /dev/hda5
boot record?

If yes then;

dd if=/boot/boot.0345 of=/dev/hda5

If no, then you can still backup /dev/hda5 before going further
using a raw copy command.  First make another partition
on /dev/hdb that is the SAME size as /dev/hda5 then;

cp /dev/hda5 /dev/hdbNUM

NUM is the number of the new partition.

Now what you want to do is re-write the first 512 bytes of
/dev/hda5 with what would normally appear in a FAT32
filesystem.  I don't know exactly what is there but if you
create another FAT32 filesystem (may need to be the
same size) then boot linux and (please check dd argument
below because I'm doing from memory, which isn't very
good);

dd if=/dev/hdbNUM of=/tmp/boot_record bs=512 count=1

bs is block size and count is number of blocks.  Check size
of file by;

ls -l /tmp/boot_record

Should be 512 bytes.  If everything OK then copy this boot
record to /dev/hda5;

dd if=/tmp/boot_record of=/dev/hda5

Now reboot and see if /dev/hda5 is OK.

Keith

"Bryce Tanner" <bryceman@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:3a9a5f5e$1@news.iprimus.com.au...
> Hi bud
>
> I'm assuming that the lost partition had windows 2000 on it.  If this is
the
> case, then...
> Boot from your windows 2000 cd-rom
> Hit "R" for repair system
> Select the Repair Console
> type "help" at the command prompt
> there should be a command called "bootfix" or "fixboot" or something like
> that......run it
> this should rewrite the Windows 2000 bootsector for you
> after that write the Linux boot loader to the correct volume
>
> Bryce
>
<snip>

I don't beleive this will work unless the partition affected is in
what MS calls the "system partition".  This is the partition
marked with the boot flag in the partition table.

Keith

Bryce Tanner wrote:

> Hi bud
> 
> I'm assuming that the lost partition had windows 2000 on it.  If this is
> the case, then...

No, it wasn't a boot partition at all. Win2k is on /dev/hdb1.


> Boot from your windows 2000 cd-rom
> Hit "R" for repair system
> Select the Repair Console
> type "help" at the command prompt
> there should be a command called "bootfix" or "fixboot" or something like

Yes, I think it is 'fixmbr'


> that......run it
> this should rewrite the Windows 2000 bootsector for you
> after that write the Linux boot loader to the correct volume
> 
> Bryce

This works on /dev/hda1 (I know because after trying grub as a bootloader 
there, I put the Win2K one back again so as not to confuse the other users 
of this computer  :-))


Darryl

sandy wrote:

> 
> There is a backup boot record here;
> 
> -rw-r--r--    1 root     root          512 Feb 24 23:03 boot.0345
> 
> Now is this the time and date that you re-wrote the /dev/hda5
> boot record?
> 
> If yes then;

Nope...  it was much earlier than this I fear......


> 
> Now what you want to do is re-write the first 512 bytes of
> /dev/hda5 with what would normally appear in a FAT32
> filesystem.  I don't know exactly what is there but if you
> create another FAT32 filesystem (may need to be the
> same size) 

I did this... /dev/hda6 and I made it identical in size.


>then boot linux and (please check dd argument
> below because I'm doing from memory, which isn't very
> good);

It's better than you think :-)


> 
> dd if=/dev/hdbNUM of=/tmp/boot_record bs=512 count=1
> 
> bs is block size and count is number of blocks.  Check size
> of file by;
> 
> ls -l /tmp/boot_record
> 
> Should be 512 bytes.  

Yep...fine.


>If everything OK then copy this boot
> record to /dev/hda5;
> 
> dd if=/tmp/boot_record of=/dev/hda5
> 
> Now reboot and see if /dev/hda5 is OK.
> 
> Keith


You're brilliant my friend.... it has worked perfectly!!!!

I can't thank you enough for the amount of trouble you have saved me.  
(Although I thought it would be easy to rebuild if we failed, I was wrong.  
I had Net Nanny installed there, and due to it's protection against 
interference, it was not going to let me reinstall it anywhere else until I 
uninstalled the non-existent files. I could not do that because it would 
not accept the admin password - I think because it could not verify it 
against the missing data)

Anyway, thanks again.