help before formatting

[fc.studio]

On unzipping some files on my A600 2MB with Compact Flash HD, I had a crash (no disksafe installed). My HD has DH0: with personilzed WB2.1, DH2: with Classic WB GAAE, and DH1: (not bootable) for games/utilities.
Unfortunately now, I can boot from DH0: or DH2: or from floppy (!!!) DF0: only when, in the ealy boot-menu, I disable DH1:. If I don't disable it I get a "DH1 program failed error #800000004 Wait for disk activity to finish" and all ends. I believe it has a validate error.
A1200 repairs itself errors like this with first long waiting boot loading. Unfortunately A600 doesn't (? Kickstart 37.350 Vs. 3.0+).
Therefore I tried ValWait in StartUp-Sequence but with no success.
I would like to use utility like DiskSalv or similar, but since I'm forced to disable DH1, then I can't view this partition and so I can't fix it.
I can backup DH0: and DH1: to a compact flash using the PCMCIA port, then format all and reinstall them, but I would like to know if someone here in the forum can suggest me something before formatting.

[thomas]

I could think of different methods. For example if you think that Kick 3.0 could validate the partition, you could put the HDD into your A1200, let it validate and then put it back into your A600.

If removing the HDD is not an option or if it does not work in the A1200, either, then you should follow these steps:

- boot with DH1 deactivated
- use HDToolbox to change DH1's DosType to something the file system does not recognise, for example 454f5301 (instead of the original 444f5301).
- reboot
- use DiskSalv in Salvage mode to copy all files from DH1 to your CF card
- use HDToolbox to change DH1's DosType back to 444f5301 and format it (this will be a challenge, see below)
- copy all files back

Now, formatting DH1 is a challenge because you cannot format it while it is disabled, you cannot format it while the DosType does not match and you cannot format it if it has crashed. Perhaps DiskSalv can repair it. If not, do it like this:

- run HDToolbox, select DH1 and shrink it by one or two cylinders. This way the file system should be unable to recognise it, but is still covers almost the entire space.
- format the new partition. Use normal format, not quick. This will wipe all information which was stored on the partition and could have made the file system crash.
- run HDToolbox again and change the partition back to its original size
- format it again (quick is sufficient this time).
- copy all files from the CF card back

Note that after each change with HDToolbox, a reboot is required.

I hope I gave you some ideas.

[fc.studio]

Before you suggested me, I have already tried to use my 2nd A1200 to see if it could validate the HD Compact Flash but, I don't know the reason, it works with standard 2,5" Hard Drive but doesn't want to operate with ANY compact flash as it did before! Mmmmm????? Well, I'll try to solve this later.

About the A600 I've fixed it following, partially, what you wrote:

- I disabled DH1.
- I booted my personal WB2.1 setup from DH0, obviously DH1 was "hidden".
- I run HDToolBox.
- I read again the Compact Flash, results: a new Hard Drive known and "changed" message appeared.
- I went in the partitions section and I deleted and recreated them with the same lenght and in the same position.
- I went back to the HDToolBox main menu, I saved new settings, then I went to exit.
- I booted from a floppy with auto-mount compact flash driver and without disabling DH1. This time the A600 regularly read the floppy and reported only a "read/write error on dh1". However it let me to access to Workbench. With my great surprise original partition names were there, and DH0 and DH2 had their original contents.
- I did not check the contents in DH1, I immediately run the Format utility in the WB2.1/System drawer to format DH1 with standard option, (not quickly).

Now it's all OK. Obviously DH1 is empty, but now it works regular and I did not have to re-install DH0 and DH2.

Here I thanks you Thomas for all your suggestions.

However I don't know how exactly HDToolBox works. I'm enough sure that with A1200 (that is with HDToolBox v3.x and not v2.x) I lose ALL partitions when I delete/change/create partitions in positions not involving other of them. But I could be wrong.

[thomas]

I'm enough sure that with A1200 (that is with HDToolBox v3.x and not v2.x) I lose ALL partitions when I delete/change/create partitions in positions not involving other of them.

You don't loose partitions you don't touch.

You might loose all data if you use different partitioning programs. For example you loose all partitions if you use HDInstTool on a HDD which has formerly been partitioned with HDToolbox. But this is because HDInstTool is faulty. Usually you shouldn't loose anything.

Additionally with any partitioning program you only edit the partition table, not the contents of the partitons itself. So even if you loose all partitions, there are programs like RDBRecov or RDB-Salv which can search the entire HDD for existing data and tell you where partitions were, so you can recreate everything. You cannot loose files by using HDToolbox. In the worst case you only hide them.