Invalide media type readin drive D error message

[Stefan]

Hello,

I am getting the following error message when I boot up my computer
"Invalide media type readin drive D error message". The drive is
recognized by the BIOS hard drive detection, however when booting into
W98SE both my DVD and CD-ROM drive get detected but my second drive
creates the error message with the following choices provided; Fail,
Retry, Abort.

The drive still gets mapped in my W98 explorer, but I can't access the
drive. There is nothing that I can think off that I did that would
have caused the error. No new softwares downloaded or deleted, NAV was
up to date and I have a router hardware firewall that is up and
working.

The drive was accessible yesterday when working on the computer,
however I found the computer a little sluggish. The only problem I
noticed was that I could no longer access my Outlook pst file (located
on my D drive) so I decided to reboot to see if that would clear up
the problem. When I did, the error starter to present itself.
Scanned the computer for viruses and spyware without any results.

I can boot fine on my C: drive and all the applications work fine,
just that all my information is no longer accessible on my D:.

I'm thinking a FAT file corruption, but I don't want to make things
worse without getting some insight first.

Computer setup:
W98SE
PII 600MHz
128 Megs RAM

Thank for any help.

Stefan

 

[Zvi Netiv]

I am getting the following error message when I boot up my computer
"Invalide media type readin drive D error message". The drive is
recognized by the BIOS hard drive detection, however when booting into
W98SE both my DVD and CD-ROM drive get detected but my second drive
creates the error message with the following choices provided; Fail,
Retry, Abort.

The "invalid media type" error message is related with incompatible data in the
boot sector (not to confuse with the MBR). What could cause the problem is:

1. A corrupted BPB in the boot sector of the D: partition.
2. A bad partition table in the MBR of the second drive, that points to the
wrong sector (random data would reflect as a bad BPB)
3. Boot sector is located on a bad sector

The drive still gets mapped in my W98 explorer, but I can't access the
drive. There is nothing that I can think off that I did that would
have caused the error. No new softwares downloaded or deleted, NAV was
up to date and I have a router hardware firewall that is up and
working.

NAV could have been the cause too, especially if the boot inoculation option was
ON. What would happen is that for some reason, NAV misreports a modification of
one of the boot sectors and replaces it on user's confirmation (or
automatically, if this is how NAV was set).

The drive was accessible yesterday when working on the computer,
however I found the computer a little sluggish. The only problem I
noticed was that I could no longer access my Outlook pst file (located
on my D drive) so I decided to reboot to see if that would clear up
the problem. When I did, the error starter to present itself.
Scanned the computer for viruses and spyware without any results.

The scan was pointless. Even if it was a virus that caused the problem, once
damage is done to boot areas (MBR, boot sector, MFT / FAT, or root directory)
then attack the problem by data recovery methods, NEVER with an antivirus! Too
many users lost their data because they didn't realize that.

I can boot fine on my C: drive and all the applications work fine,
just that all my information is no longer accessible on my D:.

I'm thinking a FAT file corruption, but I don't want to make things
worse without getting some insight first.

First, the FAT isn't a file. Secondly, it isn't the FAT (to your luck!) but the
boot sector, or what points to the boot sector (the partition table in the MBR).
Lastly, if it was NAV indeed that "restored" a previous set, then it may have
damaged beyond just the two startup sectors.

Computer setup:
W98SE
PII 600MHz
128 Megs RAM

W98SE means that you most probably have FAT-32. Luckily enough, FAT32 provides
a backup boot sector, in case the main one is destroyed. Rests to see what is
the extent of the damage done, exactly to what part of the drive access chain,
and to restore / rebuild what's necessary.

The important thing is that you don't write to the bad drive anything, and
refrain from attempting disk repair utilities (don't even dare saying "scandisk"
when close to the drive) as you may convert a recoverable problem into full
blown disaster.

To analyze the drive you can download RESQ from www.resq.co.il/resq.php, extract
the files as per the instructions, then run RESQDISK /2 /ASSESS /FAT32 (legend:
assess drive 2 as FAT32). Post here the report file (it's plain text, and named
Resqdisk.rpt) for further instructions.

Regards, Zvi

 

[Stefan]

Thanks Zvi,

I'll follow your instructions and post the info.

Any comments on using Tiramisu software from Ontrack?

Thanks again for any and all help provided.

Stefan

 

[Stefan]

Well this is what the Resqdisk.rpt had after running the software.
Let me know if anyone can make heads or tales with all of this.

Thanks,

Stefan

Resqdisk.rpt file below this point-------------------


29 Sep. 2004 21:49
Evaluation Copy *************************************** CHS mode
W9x
******************* * R e s Q d i s k 576 *
********************
* Hard Disk Rescue and Recovery *
Disk 2 * * Copyright (c) '90-04 NetZ Computing *
SeeThru *
ExtBIOS * * Virus Control, Disk & Data Recovery * ON
F9 *
********* ***************************************
*********
* Drive *
AltHelp *
*********
*********

^2:FAT-32*
CHS address: Cyl 0 Head 0 Sector 1
*********
*********************** Setup Diagnostics
************************
* Disk Type: WDC WD200EB-00CSF0
*
* BIOS/CHS IDE/LBA data
*
* Number of Heads: 255 16
*
* Number of Cylinders: 1025 16383
*
* Sectors per Track: 63 63
*
* Disk Capacity in Mbytes: 8040 19092
*
* IDE Access Time: 19 msec
*
* Total sectors on drive: 39102336
*
******* Use Space to toggle between IDE and Ext.BIOS mode
********
Disk 2, Master Partition Sector, F6 for Layout



29 Sep. 2004 21:49
Evaluation Copy *************************************** CHS mode
W9x
******************* * R e s Q d i s k 576 *
********************
* Hard Disk Rescue and Recovery *
Disk 2 * * Copyright (c) '90-04 NetZ Computing *
SeeThru *
ExtBIOS * * Virus Control, Disk & Data Recovery * ON
F9 *
********* ***************************************
*********
* Drive *
AltHelp *
*********
*********

^2:FAT-32*
CHS address: Cyl 0 Head 0 Sector 1
******************** Partition Table Layout
**********************
*
*
* Partition Starting Ending Reserved Total
*
* Boot Type Head Cyl. Sec. Head Cyl. Sec. Sectors Sectors
*
* 12 1 0 1 254 1023 63 63
39086082 *
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*
*
*
******* Press Alt+B to see as boot sector, Alt+M to edit
*********
Disk 2, Master Partition Sector, F6 for Layout



29 Sep. 2004 21:49
Evaluation Copy *************************************** Extended
W9x
******************* * R e s Q d i s k 576 *
********************
* Hard Disk Rescue and Recovery *
Disk 2 * * Copyright (c) '90-04 NetZ Computing *
SeeThru *
ExtBIOS * * Virus Control, Disk & Data Recovery * OFF
F9 *
********* ***************************************
*********
* Drive *
AltHelp *
*********
*********

^2:FAT-32*
Checking cylinder 2433 for FAT pair
******************************************************************
* No second FAT copy found. Ignore!
*
* --------------------------------------------------------------
*
* First FAT-32 copy starts on sector 25559464, Cyl 1591
*
* No second FAT copy found. Ignore!
*
* --------------------------------------------------------------
*
* First FAT-32 copy starts on sector 36612248, Cyl 2279
*
* No second FAT copy found. Ignore!
*
*
*
******************************************************************
Searching for existing FAT partitions on drive 2


The software stopped scanning at the 2433 cylinder mark, had to hit
escape to continue with scan.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Well this is what the Resqdisk.rpt had after running the software.
Let me know if anyone can make heads or tales with all of this.

Yeah right, you actually expect us to untangle that mess?

Thanks,

Stefan

Resqdisk.rpt file below this point-------------------


29 Sep. 2004 21:49
Evaluation Copy *************************************** CHS mode
W9x
******************* * R e s Q d i s k 576 *
********************
* Hard Disk Rescue and Recovery *
Disk 2 * * Copyright (c) '90-04 NetZ Computing *
SeeThru *
ExtBIOS * * Virus Control, Disk & Data Recovery * ON
F9 *
********* ***************************************
*********
* Drive *
AltHelp *
*********
*********

[snip]

 

[Zvi Netiv]

Well this is what the Resqdisk.rpt had after running the software.
Let me know if anyone can make heads or tales with all of this.

You could have widen your editor's right margins to 80, or disabled wrapping,
and spared me time for reformatting your post. But I suspect that this is too
much to expect from a top poster!

Resqdisk.rpt file below this point-------------------

29 Sep. 2004 21:49
Evaluation Copy *************************************** CHS mode W9x
******************* * R e s Q d i s k 576 * ********************
* Hard Disk Rescue and Recovery *
Disk 2 * * Copyright (c) '90-04 NetZ Computing * SeeThru *
ExtBIOS * * Virus Control, Disk & Data Recovery * ON F9 *
********* *************************************** ********* ^2:FAT-32*
* Disk Type: WDC WD200EB-00CSF0
* BIOS/CHS IDE/LBA data
* Number of Heads: 255 16
* Number of Cylinders: 1025 16383
* Sectors per Track: 63 63
* Disk Capacity in Mbytes: 8040 19092
* IDE Access Time: 19 msec
* Total sectors on drive: 39102336

The above identifies the drive and shows that the drive settings in the BIOS are
correct and that the drive is detected properly.

CHS address: Cyl 0 Head 0 Sector 1
******************** Partition Table Layout
*
* Partition Starting Ending Reserved Total
* Boot Type Head Cyl. Sec. Head Cyl. Sec. Sectors Sectors
* 12 1 0 1 254 1023 63 63 39086082 *
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
******* Press Alt+B to see as boot sector, Alt+M to edit
Disk 2, Master Partition Sector, F6 for Layout

The partition table in the MBR of disk 2 looks fine, and the numbers fit the
previous table. The above also indicates that the first and only partition on
the drive occupied all its space.

Here is where the bigger problems start. First, a healthy drive would report
here the boot sector, which is missing in your assessment report. The reason
for such omission is that no boot sector exists.

Checking cylinder 2433 for FAT pair
******************************************************************
* No second FAT copy found. Ignore!
* --------------------------------------------------------------
* First FAT-32 copy starts on sector 25559464, Cyl 1591
* No second FAT copy found. Ignore!
* --------------------------------------------------------------
* First FAT-32 copy starts on sector 36612248, Cyl 2279
* No second FAT copy found. Ignore!
*
******************************************************************
Searching for existing FAT partitions on drive 2

This one is even more troubling: RESQDISK doesn't find a valid FAT pair on the
drive.

The software stopped scanning at the 2433 cylinder mark, had to hit
escape to continue with scan.

It could be due to a bad sector, but this is the least of your problems.

The real bad news are that critical areas of your second drive were overwritten,
which exclude simple and straightforward recovery. Depending on the extent of
the damage. it could still be possible to recover fully, but it's impossible to
tell without further inspection.

Tiramisu is now sold as EasyRecovery, by Ontrack. ER can successfully recover
only files that were contiguous (unfragmented) at the time disaster struck. By
the very nature of the problem, the larger the file is, lesser is the chance
that the file is contiguous. The largest files your have been working on
recently, like mailboxes, are also the most fragmented.

Now here is the paradox: If both copies of the FAT were damaged, then a
recovery program like ER isn't worth its salt as your most important files are
fragmented and cannot be recovered (they'll appear as if they are recoverable,
but they'll contain garbage due to discontinuity) . If OTOH the second copy of
the FAT survived intact, then you are better of by copying FAT 2 over FAT 1 to
recover fully, and you don't need ER.

The only case these programs are worth the expense is when your important data
is unfragmented, due to recent defragging, which is almost never the case.

Regards, Zvi

 

[Stefan]

You could have widen your editor's right margins to 80, or disabled wrapping,

and spared me time for reformatting your post. But I suspect that this is too
much to expect from a top poster!

Sorry for this, lesson learned.

The above identifies the drive and shows that the drive settings in the BIOS are correct and that the drive is detected properly.

Some good news.

The partition table in the MBR of disk 2 looks fine, and the numbers fit the
previous table. The above also indicates that the first and only partition on
the drive occupied all its space.

Here is where the bigger problems start. First, a healthy drive would report
here the boot sector, which is missing in your assessment report. The reason
for such omission is that no boot sector exists.

Not so good. Any ideas why this would be?

This one is even more troubling: RESQDISK doesn't find a valid FAT pair on the drive.

It could be due to a bad sector, but this is the least of your problems.

The real bad news are that critical areas of your second drive were overwritten, which exclude simple and straightforward recovery. Depending on the extent of the damage. it could still be possible to recover fully, but it's impossible to tell without further inspection.

Regards, Zvi

Ok, so from what is being said it looks like recovering my data is not
going to be an easy task. What further inspection would be needed to
figure out what needs to be done in order to recover the most of my
data?

Thanks for the information concerning Tiramisu. Looks like Ontrack
not only changed the name of the software but the price as well.

I downloaded the demo version of Restorer2000 from www.bimart.net to
scan the drive and see what is would provide as information. The
software was able to map my drive structure and show me all my files.
This is encouraging as it looks like I may be able to recover most of
my data.

Any comments on this software?

Again thank you for all your help with my problem.

Stefan

 

[Zvi Netiv]

Sorry for this, lesson learned.

Rests to be seen ...

[...]

Ok, so from what is being said it looks like recovering my data is not
going to be an easy task. What further inspection would be needed to
figure out what needs to be done in order to recover the most of my
data?

The critical info for a go no-go decision is whether the second copy of your
FAT, as well as root directory, survived being overwritten. From your previous
post one can calculate the partition geometry parameters for the reconstruction
of the boot sector, and the recovery of copy 1 of the FAT. From the total
number of sectors in the partition, your cluster size should have been 32
sectors per cluster, and each FAT copy should contain 9534 sectors.

According to that, the second copy of the FAT should start on sector 9,629 and
the root directory should start on sector 19,163. Here is how to verify.

Start RESQDISK from either DOS or a DOS box. Switch to the second drive by
pressing the + key, then press ^P to toggle from CHS to "extended" mode. Press
now ^B and RESQDISK will start searching for potential boot sectors and FAT
markers. Press Enter to skip to the next one. If FAT copy 2 is intact then it
find a FAT marker on sector 9629.

For the root directory, reset RESQDISK to look at sector 0 (press Esc, then
'Home') when still in extended mode. Press ^F and type "recycled", without the
quote marks, and then Enter. The search should stop on sector 19,163 or a few
sectors later. With the "up" arrow key go back till you reach the first sector
of the root. Its number should be that mentioned above.

If both tests pass successfully, then the drive can be returned to full
functional state, with all its data on it. If the data on it is really
important then I recommend that you make an exact clone of the corrupted drive
and work on the clone.

The recovery itself consists in the reconstruction of the boot sector, and the
copying of copy 2 of the FAT over the first copy. The procedure is identical to
the one used to recover from the CIH virus (Chernobyl) trashing and described in
details in www.resq.co.il/recover.php

For the actual recovery, you can use the free features of RESQ, plus third party
software for what requires the registration of RESQ. Or you could register RESQ
and do the entire recovery with it, cloning included.

Thanks for the information concerning Tiramisu. Looks like Ontrack
not only changed the name of the software but the price as well.

I downloaded the demo version of Restorer2000 from www.bimart.net to
scan the drive and see what is would provide as information. The
software was able to map my drive structure and show me all my files.
This is encouraging as it looks like I may be able to recover most of
my data.

Any comments on this software?

They all work on the same principle, i.e. reconstructing a virtual FAT in
memory, and my comments on the method's limitations, in my previous post, apply
to all. If blind recovery is your only left option, then take the one that
costs the less and you won't be disappointed on the expense.

Regards, Zvi