A 500GB External HDD Went Unallocated but TestDisk Found 2TB Partitions
If a 500GB drive suddenly appears unallocated and a partition utility proposes a 2TB partition, do not write that proposal to the disk. A proposed partition larger than the physical media is not a trustworthy restoration plan.
In this r/datarecovery 500GB external-drive case, a user could view files with DiskGenius but could not afford paid export. TestDisk then suggested impossible sizes; follow-up discussion also raised concerns about SMART health.
File Visibility Does Not Make In-Place Partition Repair Safe
First confirm that Disk Management detects the correct full physical capacity. Unallocated describes the current partition map, not necessarily that the original file contents are gone. However, implausible partitions and abnormal read-health signals can indicate damaged metadata, false scan results, or a developing hardware problem.
Do not initialize, format, apply TestDisk writes, or run CHKDSK repair options against the source just to restore a drive letter.
Protect the Copy Before Trying Free Extraction
If the disk is unstable or reports read errors, stop repeated free scans and seek professional imaging if the files matter. If hardware access remains stable and the risk is acceptable, make a sector-level copy using a verified destination and an error-aware imaging process such as GNU ddrescue.
Inspect the image for original files, export priority data to separate storage using an appropriate free tool where possible, and verify exported files. Only after preserving the data should any partition-table repair on a disposable copy be considered.