Data Loss in Windows if MFT size crosses 4 GB Size

The metadata about each data and metafile on the NTFS partition is stored at MFT ie; Master File Table , in NTFS file system . So, MFT is an important data structure for NTFS file system. But, if the entries exceeds 4 million, there is a chance MFT damage and you come across also data loss situations. In such situations, Windows Data Recovery is required to get your valuable data back.

If we store more files on the NTFS file system partition which already has over 4 million files, you may encounter file corruption. This behavior might be shown in any of the below given ways:

• Deleted files are not removed from the drive. They continue to remain at the same location.
• Files and directories that you haven't removed can not be accessed any more.
• You encounter a pop-up messages, which states that the hard drive or its data structures are damaged and you need to run Chkdsk to fix the problem.

After this , some of your significant files or directories may become inaccessible and you come across data loss.

Reason of this problem:

This issue arises when the size of MFT goes beyond 4 GB in size. This may also happen happen if you store over 4 million files on your Windows hard drive. When you remove any file whose master file table entry is beyond 4 GB point in such circumstances, an error in the calculations results into the incorrect entry to be pointed as available.

If the same entry contains information about other files, and you add new files to partition just after deleting the files, entry can be re-used resulting into the file referenced to be lost.

The Windows Data Recovery Software can be used to extract lost data. The Windows Recovery tools scan the affected drive with advanced scanning techniques and recover windows data from it. With read only conduct and user friendly interface , these applications are absolutely safe and easy to use.