I recently sent my 3TB external hard drive for repair after it wouldn't power on due to a damaged cable. After replacing the cable, it would power on but kept rebooting. Eventually, I took it to a tech repair shop where they placed it in a new enclosure. The drive was recognized, but it only showed one partition of 350GB as empty, while the technician mentioned there are two other partitions, each over 1TB, which they couldn't access. I've never created any partitions; I always used it normally with just one folder containing nearly 2TB of files. This is concerning, and I have a few questions: Can a drive create partitions by itself? Is it normal to suddenly see three partitions when I previously only saw one? Is it possible my data is spread across these partitions? And should I be worried about being scammed? I'd appreciate any insights or advice on this.
2 Answers
I work in data recovery and it sounds like you might have taken your drive to a place that isn’t really specialized in recovery. It’s not strange to see multiple partitions, especially if the drive had issues previously. The critical thing is knowing how to retrieve the data from those partitions. I’d recommend looking for a dedicated data recovery specialist for the best shot at getting your files back.
From what you've described, it's unlikely that a hard drive can create partitions by itself. As for seeing multiple partitions, that's not uncommon if the drive has been formatted or repurposed. However, a good data recovery technician should know how to identify and access the most recent partition that holds your files. Invest in a better external drive and remember to back up your important data regularly to avoid these headaches in the future!
Yeah, I totally agree. I've learned the hard way how crucial backups are. So if you can, definitely look into cloud options too!
I had a similar situation once! Trust me, going to specialists made a huge difference. Good luck!