You made a serious mistake.
You made a serious mistake.
cfdisk only defines partition limits, it doesn't resize the filesystem underneath. Reversing that action should succeed if nothing was altered between the old partition end and the new one. For better results, use a higher-level utility such as gparted that handles multiple steps automatically. Alternatively, consider a Windows tool like minitool partition wizard—though NTFS support on Linux isn't reliable. Always back up before proceeding.
I recorded information about the available free space. However, I’m still unsure if I damaged my data; it might have been the NTFS or partition metadata that was affected. I ran a data recovery tool, which found most of the files and even some that were meant to be deleted. I’m not confident the recovered data is complete. It would be better to fix the metadata instead of just retrieving files. Clearing the new partition and reconnecting it to its parent NTFS partition might help. chkdsk isn’t working because it reports the filesystem is RAW.
I retained 30 GB of available space, removing only 2.5 GB. I also allocated 2.2 GB to a new partition. It seems my actual data remains well-preserved. I’m looking for a method to correct the metadata, since it’s likely intact there. If that doesn’t help, I may need to recover the data.
Yes, the type of storage matters a lot. Setting up or arranging a partition on an SSD often triggers TRIM, which clears unused space but doesn’t affect the filesystem itself. With an HDD, you might need to delete the partition and restore it as it was originally, which could work if metadata was saved at the end—something that’s fairly typical though I’m not certain about NTFS details.
Good news. I adjusted the partition in Linux and it now works properly. You were right, only the metadata was affected, not the actual data. It's surprising how sensitive Linux can be. I wasn't overly worried at first since the partition didn't contain highly sensitive information. I might have missed a few files, but I don't recall them being there or deleted.
Please note this setup for Windows. If you encounter any issues, it might be due to this installation. Good luck!