ntfs HD with io errors

[Polytropon]

On Mon, 16 Apr 2018 10:07:38 -0400, Ernie Luzar wrote:
> Have a 3TB ntfs HD with i/o errors.
> 
> ntfs-3g does read it, but a ls command of 2 different directories get 
> error msg about i/o errors and nothing is listed.
> 
> Is there a way to fsck this HD to fix it?

This depends on the actual reason for the error message.
As it has been suggested, Spinrite can do a great job
to "re-activate" broken disks, at least for copying
their content once. Also check the tools in "ntfsprogs",
one might be able to repair the file system... but I/O
errors often indicate hardware failure. Have you tried
to get a smartctl report for the disk yet?



> There is only 600GB of data on the 3TB HD. Looking for way to copy the 
> data to a 1TB ufs HD.



> What will dump command do with i/o errors?

With dump, you can only process UFS file systems (as
input); NTFS does not support it.



> Can dd command skip over unused space?

I think it can. You can also try dd_rescue or ddrescue
which can handle I/O errors much better than stock dd,
for example by using a dynamically adjusted block size
for reading, or performing several attempts on a failed
block.



> Any other ideas?

Find out if you have a hardware error or a filesystem
inconsistency.

Oh, and give Spinrite a try, it's really a great tool.
Why isn't it on my list?! ;-)

In worst case, use magicrescue to get at least the data,
in case you might not be able to get the sorting information
(directory hierarchy and file systems lost).




-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...