New install accidentally corrupted HDD?

Issues & Assistance
1

I did a fresh install of the hyprland edition because I wasn’t using KDE anymore and wanted to free up some space. I backed up all my files to another HDD but when I was installing I didn’t notice that GRUB was set to install on the backup HDD instead of the SSD that I was installing garuda on. The install failed at the end because of some issue installing the bootloader and I didn’t really think anything of it until I restarted the install and noticed this issue. The new install went fine but now when I try to access the backup HDD I get an error :

Error mounting /dev/sda1 at irun/media/jt/HP: wrong fs type, bad option, bad Superblock on /dev/sda1, missing codepage or helper program, or other error.

And in dmesg

sda1: volume is dirty and "force" flag is not set!

I tried

sudo ntfsfix -d /dev/sda1

I was eventually able to mount the drive as readonly and I thought everything was ok. But now when I open most files they are empty and I am getting these errors

May 23 10:46:52 jt-precisiont3600 ntfs-3g[21330]: ntfs_attr_pread_i: ntfs_pread failed: Input/output error
May 23 10:46:52 jt-precisiont3600 kernel: sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#12 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_BAD_TARGET driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=0s
May 23 10:46:52 jt-precisiont3600 kernel: sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#12 CDB: Read(10) 28 00 52 96 2b 07 00 00 08 00
May 23 10:46:52 jt-precisiont3600 kernel: I/O error, dev sda, sector 1385573127 op 0x0:(READ) flags 0x0 phys_seg 1 prio class 2
May 23 10:46:52 jt-precisiont3600 kernel: Buffer I/O error on dev sda1, logical block 173196633, async page read

May 23 11:04:49 jt-precisiont3600 ntfs-3g[21330]: ntfs_attr_pread_i: ntfs_pread failed: Input/output error
May 23 11:04:49 jt-precisiont3600 kernel: Buffer I/O error on dev sda1, logical block 14381149, async page read
May 23 11:04:49 jt-precisiont3600 ntfs-3g[21330]: Failed to read of MFT, mft=300626 count=1 br=-1: Input/output error
May 23 11:04:49 jt-precisiont3600 ntfs-3g[21330]: ntfs_attr_pread_i: ntfs_pread failed: Input/output error

Here is my garuda-inxi

System:
  Kernel: 6.9.1-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.1.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
    root=UUID=ace14c83-5832-41ee-b63f-8b4f4078505d rw rootflags=subvol=@
    quiet loglevel=3 ibt=off
  Desktop: Hyprland v: 0.40.0 with: waybar tools: avail: swayidle,swaylock
    vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Dell product: Precision T3600 v: 01
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 7 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Dell model: 08HPGT v: A01 serial: <superuser required>
    uuid: <superuser required> BIOS: Dell v: A18 date: 06/25/2019
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Xeon E5-2665 0 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Sandy Bridge
    level: v2 built: 2010-12 process: Intel 32nm family: 6 model-id: 0x2D (45)
    stepping: 7 microcode: 0x71A
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 tpc: 2 threads: 16 smt: enabled cache:
    L1: 512 KiB desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 2 MiB desc: 8x256 KiB
    L3: 20 MiB desc: 1x20 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1199 high: 1200 min/max: 1200/3100 scaling:
    driver: intel_cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 1197 2: 1200 3: 1200
    4: 1200 5: 1200 6: 1200 7: 1200 8: 1200 9: 1200 10: 1200 11: 1200 12: 1200
    13: 1200 14: 1200 15: 1200 16: 1197 bogomips: 76610
  Flags: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Barts PRO [Radeon HD 6850] vendor: Gigabyte driver: radeon
    v: kernel alternate: amdgpu arch: TeraScale-2 code: Evergreen
    process: TSMC 32-40nm built: 2009-15 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s
    lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s ports: active: HDMI-A-1
    empty: DP-1,DVI-D-1,DVI-I-1 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:6739
    class-ID: 0300 temp: 48.0 C
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.0
    compositor: Hyprland v: 0.40.0 driver: X: loaded: radeon
    unloaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: r600 gpu: radeon
    display-ID: 1
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 model: LG (GoldStar) 27MP75 built: 2014 res: 1920x1080
    hz: 60 dpi: 81 gamma: 1.2 scale: 1 size: 600x340mm (23.62x13.39")
    diag: 690mm (27.2") ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 640x480
  API: Vulkan v: 1.3.279 layers: 4 device: 0 type: cpu name: llvmpipe (LLVM
    17.0.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 24.0.7-arch1.3 (LLVM 17.0.6)
    device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland
  API: EGL Message: EGL data requires eglinfo. Check --recommends.
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel C600/X79 series High Definition Audio vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:1d20
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Barts HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6790/6850/6870 / 7720 OEM]
    vendor: Gigabyte driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s bus-ID: 03:00.1
    chip-ID: 1002:aa88 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.9.1-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api tools: N/A
  Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off tools: aucat,midicat,sndioctl
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.0.6 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network vendor: Dell driver: e1000e
    v: kernel port: f040 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:1502 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Broadcom BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0 driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
    rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-4:3 chip-ID: 0a5c:21e8
    class-ID: fe01 serial: <filter>
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.0
    lmp-v: 6 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c0104
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.13 TiB used: 186.93 GiB (16.2%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST1000DM003-1CH162
    size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> fw-rev: CC47 scheme: MBR
  ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 model: SATA SSD size: 223.57 GiB block-size:
    physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: <unknown> tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 61.2 scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 223.57 GiB size: 223.57 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 8.49 GiB (3.8%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
  ID-2: /home raw-size: 223.57 GiB size: 223.57 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 8.49 GiB (3.8%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
  ID-3: /var/log raw-size: 223.57 GiB size: 223.57 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 8.49 GiB (3.8%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
  ID-4: /var/tmp raw-size: 223.57 GiB size: 223.57 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 8.49 GiB (3.8%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.57 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 16 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 46.0 C mobo: 0.0 C sodimm: SODIMM C gpu: radeon
    temp: 48.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): cpu: 1031
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.57 GiB used: 2.27 GiB (14.6%)
  Processes: 319 Power: uptime: 9h 24m states: freeze,standby,mem,disk
    suspend: deep avail: s2idle,shallow wakeups: 1 hibernate: platform
    avail: shutdown, reboot, suspend, test_resume image: 6.22 GiB
    services: upowerd Init: systemd v: 255 default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1446 libs: 400 tools: pacseek,paru Compilers:
    gcc: 14.1.1 Shell: garuda-inxi default: fish v: 3.7.1 running-in: foot
    inxi: 3.3.34
Garuda (2.6.26-1):
  System install date:     2024-05-22
  Last full system update: 2024-05-23 ↻
  Is partially upgraded:   No
  Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
  Windows dual boot:       <superuser required>
  Failed units:

I really hope that this is recoverable.
If you need any more details let me know.
Thanks in advance!

2

I would recommend that you boot the HDD with Windows and try repairing it with Windows tools (for example with chkdsk). NTFS is a proprietary file system and is not 100% supported by Linux. If you don’t have access to a Win PC, you can also boot a WinPE with a USB stick and do this using cmd.

Looks like the mft is corrupt. If you don’t have a backup of the HDD, take an image of it and try to recover the files using data recovery tools. Do the whole thing on Windows.

2 Likes
3

At one point the drive wasn’t even showing up on my system at all. Then I tried booting windows and it wouldn’t boot. I ran the windows recovery tool and it said it failed, but then when I booted back to linux the drive was at least visible again, but I couldn’t mount it.

I tried booting a copy of Rescatux and running the disk repair utility there. I booted back to Garuda and I was able to mount the drive and access files. I managed to recover some config files and some pictures, but once I tried to transfer a lot of files at once it hung and wouldn’t transfer and now it’s back to where I sarted.

I don’t have another drive right now, but I’m going to get one in the next day or so to make a copy of this and try to recover things before any more damage is done.

4

I agree with you. If you get stuck with ntfsfix and various mount options, then either try with windows or create an image.

It gets stuck when copying if the attributes/name/location and other information of the corresponding file are no longer available in the mft. That’s why you should make a 1:1 image of the HDD and try to rescue the files from the image.

Let’s see what the general condition of the Seagate HDD looks like. Post the output from:

sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda
5

I got an old HDD from a friend today and I was going to make the copy but then I realized that the drive was mounted and the files were accessible. So I copied the most important files from it. I got most of them off of there before it stopped working.

Now here is the output

Smartctl open device: /dev/sda failed: INQUIRY failed

Not good I’m guessing.

I’ll try to make the copy tomorrow.

6

That just means that the drive was offline.

7

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