Can this disk be repaired? Does it need to be?

[r270 at mrt4.com]

Suggestions:

1. Dump Win7 and use ext4.

2. If that's impossible, use FAT32 (if the file size limit is not an issue) -- it's been around forever and is widely compatible and reliable. If you're only using it to warehouse backup data, you really don't need the features of contemporary file systems. 

3. If neither of those work for you, use separate drives for each OS.

You should get another drive anyway because the issue may be H/W related and you can use the second drive to isolate the problem. Using USB3 it should only take a couple of hours to transfer the data.

Ronald Smith
r270 at mrt4.com

================

On Thu, 4 Dec 2014 12:24:13 -0500
Bruce Labitt <bdlabitt at gmail.com> wrote:

> Have an SSD formatted to NTFS.  I had intended to use it between linux and
> Win7 as a backup.  It worked for a while in both OS.  Yesterday Win7 asked
> if I wanted to repair the disk.  Since there are directories and file names
> that are not windows safe, I declined.
> 
> Later in the day, I reconnected the disk to my win7 machine, and the
> computer could not recognize the drive.
> 
> *Location is not available*
> E:\ is not accessible
> The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable
> 
> It asked if I wanted to format the disk.  Umm, no.
> 
> Later in the evening, I connected my SSD to my linux laptop.  It opened the
> SSD and files within it without problem.
> 
> I looked at the disk in gparted, and it showed a non-descriptive !, and
> something about not being able to read it, suggesting I install ntfsprogs
> and ntfs-3g.  However, ntfs-3g is already on my laptop (and clearly
> running, along with fuse).  *The "!" is just that the disk is unmounted.*
> gparted also showed a green box, and a key icon next to the SDD name
> /dev/sdc1.
> 
> Is this fixable?  Am I headed to uncertain doom?  Seriously, is there a way
> to get back to having win7 recognize the disk again?  Or should I get yet
> another disk, transfer the cross-platform compatible files and directories
> and start all over again?  Should I use a different file format?
> 
> Any suggestions?  Thanks.
> 
> Ubuntu 14.10.  i7, 32GB Ram, 240GB SSD main drive, Crucial 1TB SSD in
> Inatech USB3 housing.