OK - an update on this. Might be helpful for someone.
4TB disk(WD Red) was being used for storing of some of my DVD\BR rips (about 500). Disk was 99% full. Windows was showing it inaccessible in a RAW format. No backup.
I tried TestDisk, and it reported both the primary, and Mirror MFT were corrupt. Whilst I could use PhotoRec to scan for file sigs which did enable me to recover DVD rips in a working form (albeit with no file names). Larger HD MKVs (20gig+ each) would only be partially recovered, and playback was not right.
I ran a comprehensive scan using GetDataBack Simple (the replacement to GetDataBack NTFS), which using the same file signature approach, reconstructed the original directory structure. You can recover the files using this tool (if you have a license - although it's possible to recover without if you have half a brain).
Looks like I'll get everything back. File names and all.
So, 2 questions;
- I just ordered some new drives. Plan was to have a primary\sec backup, and not RAID. I need some software that can backup a fileset from drive a to b (only the diff), on a schedule. This should be simple enough - and I presume there is some free software to do this?
- As the issue was a corrupted MFT, SMART data looks ok, and the drive appears to be mechanically sound, would you keep the disk? If it's also part of a resilient pair, does this sound plausible? Or should it be binned? It's about 2yrs old.
