Windows 7 My backup folder simply disappeared from my external hard drive

[hamnickel]

Hello, everyone!

I really need some help this time.

Last week I've reinstalled my Windows 7 because my notebook was slow and I wanted to went back to the factory setting.

I've picked my Seagate external HD (2TB) and moved everything I had into a folder called "[Acer]".

Well, I had some problems with external hard drives this year, I've lost many information from an external HD, and I found out that it was because I've connected this HD in a Macintosh. I really DON'T KNOW WHY, but every folder that I had opened in my Macintosh went CORRUPTED in Windows 7, with no chances to repair the files.

Since then, I haven't plugged my external hard drives into my Macintosh.

I don't know if it's a Windows 7 problem or a problem with my Seagate HD, but the quantity of issues that I had with this external HD since then was crazy. Every time I disconnected this HD and then connected again, Windows asked me to repair and scan the files. And the amount of time to scan everything was, like, one and a half hour... so it was bugging me a lot.

But the real problem is: yesterday I've plugged my external HD and my backup folder (called "[Acer]" simply disappeared from the drive.

I've tried to run "chkdsk E: /F", with no success.

Now I'm running a "chkdsk E: /R", and it will take me a lot of time, and I'm really not positive to recover my backup folder.

All the old folders are there, everything is fine, but this folder disappeared, only this folder (and everything that were inside of it) disappeared.

I've also tried Recuva (Recuva - Download) to recover my folder, but it haven't found it.

Does anyone have ANY CLUE on this? What I have to do?

I'm desperate! I'm freaking out. I had some very important files in this folder.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

Have you run a search for the Acer folder or some of the files in it?

I ask this because we had a case only a few days ago where a user couldn't find folders on his hard drive, but when he ran search the folders came up in the search window and he could access them.

I don't think you are going to find them but it's worth a try.

I don't know what happened to your backup folder, and other then what I've already suggested I don't have any idea of what else you could try.

Perhaps you could try plugging it into another computer and see if it makes a difference.

I know you don't want to hear this advice now but never save only one backup of important files especially when you know you are going to remove them from your hard drive.

You would be better off with two 1 TB drives then 1, 2 TB drive.
Once you have made a back up, copy it to the other drive as well.

And I wouldn't switch an external drive back and forth between an Apple and a PC.

You can't be too safe.

Mike

 

[hamnickel]

Hello, Mike!

First, thanks for your patience and sympathy... I really appreciate your help!

Answering your question:

— I've tried to search for this folder... no success

— I've plugged my external HD into another notebook running the last Ubuntu release and I couldn't find the folder.

Right now I'm running a "chkdsk E: /R". 10 percent complete. It seems that it will take forever, but I'm hopeless... (No! I'm lying: I'm hoping that it will do the trick).

Does it ever happened to anyone else?

What could it be?

I'm sure that I'm not crazy, that I haven't moved this folder by mistake. It simply disappeared!!!

It could be a virus?

Maybe if I take my external HD to a specialist... would he able to recover this folder?

This is bizarre. I've never had any problems with hard-drives and backups. But external hard drives seems to be a very unsafe place to put your files in.

Thanks again, Mike!

 

[hamnickel]

[SOLVED] My backup folder simply disappeared from my external hard drive

Well, well, well!

I'VE FOUND IT!

I've searched for a folder that was inside the folder that disappeared.

Now the content is in: E:\found.004\dir0002.chk

It seems that I have access to all the files and sub-directories.

Well, if this happens to anyone... try to look at this path...

THANKS!

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

So it was like the case I mentioned earlier, he could find files in the folder too.
It must be that the address of the folder is somehow obscured.

The address you show sounds like the data was "found" by the search software you used earlier.

Mike

 

[Trouble]

Usually folders named found followed by a number containing files with a .chk extension indicate that the files were recovered by the chkdsk utility and is likely an early indicator that the drive might be failing or minimally contains some bad areas.