On Friday, 1 January 2021 01:01:11 GMT Mark Preston via GLLUG wrote: > Hi all and I wish you all a happy New Year, > > I was trying to create a bootable persistent Linux Mint 20 USB stick > with EFI support from a linux mint20 .iso downloaded from the internet. > but something went wrong and...now I get an unallocated hard drive message. > > I would like to know how to repair / fix an unallocated hard drive, if > possible, preferably without losing the data on it. > > The computer was was purchased in 2015 from dnuk.com and came as follows: > > Deskstar D540 R3 > sda1 100GB ext4 / > sda2 8 GB swap > sda3 1700 ext4 /home > Raw capacity 2000 GB > Intel core i5-4430 > GFX Controller NVIDIA GT 610 > I might have reduced / to 10 GB, but I can't remember for sure. It was > running Linux Mint 19.0 and originally Debian 7.7 > I've also had the following: > Bad magic number in super block error > > I'm hoping to make it bootable again and return to using it as before, > if possible. It seeems to be advisable to copy the dev/sda disk to > another hard drive using GNU ddrescue. Something like ddrescue > --no-split /dev/sda /media/usbdrive/image /media/usbdrive/logfile onto a > 4 TB portable drive maybe. Just in case anything else goes wrong and so > I'll have a copy of what's on the hard drive. > > Then maybe use parted rescue START END to rescue lost partitions one at > a time near START and END. > > Any suggestions as to how to proceed and hopefully restore the existing > data on the "unallocated space" would be welcome. > > I've used a Knoppix 8.6 USB stick to boot the computer and had the > following: > > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ df > Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on > rootfs 1980020 52 1979968 1% / > /dev/sdb1 4916840 4521048 395792 92% /mnt-system > tmpfs 3170304 0 3170304 0% /ramdisk > /dev/cloop 9459128 9459128 0 100% /KNOPPIX > /dev/cloop1 2262876 2262876 0 100% /KNOPPIX1 > /dev/cloop2 148074 148074 0 100% /KNOPPIX2 > /dev/mapper/KNOPPIX-DATA 25545968 43032 25502936 1% /KNOPPIX-DATA > unionfs 25545968 43032 25502936 1% /UNIONFS > tmpfs 20480 3240 17240 16% /run > tmpfs 10240 4 10236 1% /UNIONFS/var/lock > tmpfs 102400 76 102324 1% /UNIONFS/var/log > tmpfs 2097152 4 2097148 1% /tmp > cgroup 12 0 12 0% /sys/fs/cgroup > udev 20480 0 20480 0% /dev > tmpfs 2097152 0 2097152 0% /dev/shm > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ fdisk -l > Disk /dev/ram0: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram1: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram2: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram3: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram4: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram5: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram6: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram7: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram8: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram9: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram10: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram11: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram12: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram13: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram14: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/ram15: 4 MiB, 4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/cloop0: 9 GiB, 9686220800 bytes, 18918400 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > > > Disk /dev/cloop1: 2.2 GiB, 2317352960 bytes, 4526080 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > > > Disk /dev/cloop2: 144.8 MiB, 151781376 bytes, 296448 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > > > Disk /dev/zram0: 2.9 GiB, 3046658048 bytes, 743813 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > > > Disk /dev/sda: 1.8 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors > Disk model: ST2000DX001-1CM1 > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes > Disklabel type: gpt > Disk identifier: 855C35AB-DF58-4AD0-A242-58BC6E6BD581 > > > > > Disk /dev/sdb: 29.1 GiB, 31205621760 bytes, 60948480 sectors > Disk model: Cruzer Glide 3.0 > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > Disklabel type: dos > Disk identifier: 0x1661d69a > > Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type > /dev/sdb1 * 2048 9854975 9852928 4.7G c W95 FAT32 (LBA) > /dev/sdb2 9854976 60948479 51093504 24.4G 83 Linux > > > Disk /dev/mapper/KNOPPIX-DATA: 24.4 GiB, 26159874048 bytes, 51093504 sectors > Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ fsck -y /dev/sda > fsck from util-linux 2.33.1 > e2fsck 1.44.5 (15-Dec-2018) > ext2fs_open2: Bad magic number in super-block > fsck.ext2: Superblock invalid, trying backup blocks... > fsck.ext2: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sda > > The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4 > filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an > ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the > superblock is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate > superblock: e2fsck -b 8193 <device> > or > e2fsck -b 32768 <device> > > Found a gpt partition table in /dev/sda > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ mke2fs -n /dev/sda > mke2fs 1.44.5 (15-Dec-2018) > Found a gpt partition table in /dev/sda > Proceed anyway? (y,N) N > > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ fixparts /dev/sda > FixParts 1.0.3 > > Loading MBR data from /dev/sda > > This disk appears to be a GPT disk. Use GNU Parted or GPT fdisk on it! > Exiting! > > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ gdisk /dev/sda > GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.3 > > Partition table scan: > MBR: protective > BSD: not present > APM: not present > GPT: present > > Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT. > > Command (? for help): ? > b back up GPT data to a file > c change a partition's name > d delete a partition > i show detailed information on a partition > l list known partition types > n add a new partition > o create a new empty GUID partition table (GPT) > p print the partition table > q quit without saving changes > r recovery and transformation options (experts only) > s sort partitions > t change a partition's type code > v verify disk > w write table to disk and exit > x extra functionality (experts only) > ? print this menu > > Command (? for help): p > Disk /dev/sda: 3907029168 sectors, 1.8 TiB > Model: ST2000DX001-1CM1 > Sector size (logical/physical): 512/4096 bytes > Disk identifier (GUID): 855C35AB-DF58-4AD0-A242-58BC6E6BD581 > Partition table holds up to 128 entries > Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 33 > First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 3907029134 > Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries > Total free space is 3907029101 sectors (1.8 TiB) > > Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name > > Command (? for help): i > No partitions > > Command (? for help): b > Enter backup filename to save: /home/knoppix/Desktop/KNOPPIX/gptData > The operation has completed successfully. > > Command (? for help): ^C > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ swapoff -a > swapoff: Not superuser. > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ sudo swapoff -a > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda > GNU Parted 3.2 > Using /dev/sda > Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands. > (parted) help > align-check TYPE N check partition N for > TYPE(min|opt) > alignment > help [COMMAND] print general help, or help on > COMMAND > mklabel,mktable LABEL-TYPE create a new disklabel > (partition > table) > mkpart PART-TYPE [FS-TYPE] START END make a partition > name NUMBER NAME name partition NUMBER as NAME > print [devices|free|list,all|NUMBER] display the partition table, > available devices, free space, all found partitions, or a > particular > partition > quit exit program > rescue START END rescue a lost partition near > START > and END > resizepart NUMBER END resize partition NUMBER > rm NUMBER delete partition NUMBER > select DEVICE choose the device to edit > disk_set FLAG STATE change the FLAG on selected > device > disk_toggle [FLAG] toggle the state of FLAG on > selected > device > set NUMBER FLAG STATE change the FLAG on partition > NUMBER > toggle [NUMBER [FLAG]] toggle the state of FLAG on > partition > NUMBER > unit UNIT set the default unit to UNIT > version display the version number and > copyright information of GNU Parted > (parted) ^C > > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ ddrescue --version > GNU ddrescue 1.23 > Copyright (C) 2018 Antonio Diaz Diaz. > License GPLv2+: GNU GPL version 2 or later > <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html> > This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. > There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. > knoppix@Microknoppix:~$ > > Thank you, > -- > Regards, > Mark Preston
Hello Mark Preston, Would it help to use "lsblk" to list all block devices and "blkid" to list all UUID's then edit /etc/fstab to include the drive? (man fstab) I use Debian and prefer to allocate partition space on a HDD for installation of a later distribution, giving it any name such as "/next", plus a shared "/srv", then when I use the "/next" partition I will include both "/srv" and the previous (as "/old") to be used without reformatting. Both the original "/next" and the "swap" will be re-formatted and given new UUID's but I am able to edit /old/etc/fstab to the new values as read from the new /etc/fstab. I am able to create folders/directories on /srv symlinked from /home/user as /2ndhome, and grub should show both installations as bootable. -- Chris BellX -- GLLUG mailing list GLLUG@mailman.lug.org.uk https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug