hfs+ recovery - every file is blank

[deskmonkey]

I've got a failing 3TB LaCie drive with lots of bad sectors. The disk stopped mounting so I did a disk image with R-Studio (Windows version) and then ran a scan.

The scan finds the HFS+ partition and 91,000+ files. The folder/file structure is there and every file retains the original attributes and correct byte size. Each file has a green check for strong possibility to recover but when I try to preview or check the hex view, every file is blank.

I've also installed the latest Mac version in demo mode and the scan shows the same results - all the file structure is there but none of the files contain any data.

None of the file content shows the Bad Sector replacement string in the HEX viewer.

Is this a bug? I've seen mention of a bug for drives that have previously been formatted as NTFS and then reformatted as HFS+.

I've also tried creating another disk image using Disk Drill on my iMac running High Sierra. Once I converted the DMG to IMG I ran another scan on Windows and Mac with R-Studio Recovery with the same result. Disk Drill was able to recovery some files from the DMG and IMG files but only in RAW so lost all the folder/file structure.

Any recommendations on how to handle file recovery from an unmountable HFS+ R-Studio .DSK, Disk Drill .DMG or generic .IMG?

Apologies for mentioning a rival app but it was the only thing I had to hand for image creation on the Mac.

Thanks,

Andy

[RForce]

I can't speak to your issue with R-Studio, but would gladly say that Disk Drill is one of the worst data recovery applications out there.

If your Seagate drive has lots of bad sectors, you may want to image it with something better designed to image drives with bad sectors, such as ddrescue or hddsuperclone. The programs work around the bad zones, log bad sectors and allow for multiple pass imaging to get the cleanest recovery possible. Just be careful, as the 3TB Seagate drives are horrible for head crashes and failures.