Ntfsresize, a Unix utility, facilitates non-destructive resizing of NTFS file system that are used by Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, and NT 4.0, on hard drive partition. This tool supports all NTFS versions used by 64-bit and 32-bit Windows. But some users have discovered that at times, the tool can corrupt the hard drive partition and make it unmountable. The reason for corruption can be interruption of an ongoing process or incompatibility concerns, which can ultimately bring data loss. Thus, it is essential to have a brief idea of the symptoms and Hard Drive Recovery methods to recover from such problems.

Running ntfsresize is possible for those not having Unix installed, using Linux Live CDs. When you run such utilities, it is advised to backup your data first. Partition corruption has been observed mostly when you perform manual resizing of NTFS partition created with Windows Vista. In such cases, the log report created while NTFS partition resizing might contain the following entries at the end:

debian:~# ntfsresize -i -f /dev/sda1 ntfsresize v1.12.1 (libntfs 8:1:0) ERROR(5): Opening '/dev/sda1' as NTFS failed: Input/output error This software has detected that your NTFS is corrupted. Please run chkdsk /f on Windows then reboot it TWICE! Important, don't forget the /f parameter! Afterwards you can run ntfsresize. No modification was made to NTFS.

fjp@debian:~$ ntfsfix /dev/sda1 Mounting volume... FAILED Attempting to correct errors... FAILED Failed to startup volume: Permission denied Volume is corrupt. You should run chkdsk.

After the above sequence of events takes place, your Windows Vista partition remains no longer accessible.

Resolving Partition Corruption

As the error message mentions, you should try running chkdsk to detect and solve the given problem. Another resolution can be to recreate corrupted partition and restore lost data from last available backup.

But in case, none of the two solutions work for you, you can use a third-party Hard Drive Recovery utility to scan the hard drive and recover data. These Hard Drive Data Recovery tools have competency to extract all files and folders that you consider as lost after deletion or hard drive formatting.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a feature-rich data recovery utility with simple design and safe scanning algorithms. It has various recovery features that include resume recovery, disk imaging, cloning, masking, and even e-mail recovery. This Hard Drive Recovery software is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000 and supports file systems like, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5.