Need to Recover some data...

[dragflameson]

My Uncle had a WD 120Gig external hdd.

It seems to have went bad as in it powers up and all and seems fine, but its just not being recognized by the computer... any computer for that matter. We tried it on his laptop as well, same thing :(

The thing is he has a bunch of family pictures and some other important doc's on that hdd that he needs to try and get off it. What can we do??

BTW - He did call WD and explained the problem, they said it was bad and they're sending him a new one, but he really needs to try and recover this stuff himself before he pays like $500.00+ to get it done professionally.

Is there anyway to take the hard disk out and hook it up to the computer as an internal hdd or anything at all???

Thank you!

Edit: Quick update...

DEVICE CANNOT START. CODE 10.

It's not booting at all, thats the error message displayed.

[Sterling_Aug]

For $179 you can get a suite of utilities that WORK.

We use them at where I work to retrieve data from hard drives that even the computer BIOS will NOT recognize.

You want Get Back Dat NTFS or FAT

http://www.runtime.org/

[dragflameson]

Thanks Sterling_Aug :D

He is a little skeptical of how this program can actually work though before he spends the money ;)

Can you give me (us) a brief explanation of how it basically works please, I'm interested to know as well!

Our main wonder is that if the computer isnt even recognizing the HDD at all how will any program be able to get into to it and recover anything??

I also told him to check the BIOS to see if the HDD is at least posting.

Thanks again Sterling

[Steve R Jones]

I didn't read much, but these type of software either work off a bootable floppy or you pop the drive in another machine. (working machine and install the recovery software there)

[dragflameson]

Originally posted by Steve R Jones
or you pop the drive in another machine. (working machine and install the recovery software there) Just as a slave? And that would be only if it posts at start-up, no?

[crossedup]

Is there anyway to take the hard disk out and hook it up to the computer as an internal hdd or anything at all???

I have a 12 GB USB HD here that I can take out of the enclosure and hook up directly, id guess that one is the same, even if it is a bit newer.

They are usually just a regular 3.5" HD in an enclosure. See if you can open it up and get the drive out or get a look at it. The board part of the USB enclosure might have gone, drive might be fine.

[Sterling_Aug]

I use BartPE bootable Windows XP I made for work and I installed Get Back Data on it. We have recovered data from drives that the BIOS did not even recognize.

It does work. Trust me.

[Baddog]

You can download the trial version of GetDataBack. If it works for you, you can save the files with a payed version. WHAT EVER YOU DO..Do not save the files to the drive you are trying to recover. The program has worked excellent for me.:cool:

[dragflameson]

Okay, I'm going to try that trial version I think.

Thank you guys... I'll let you know how it goes ;)

[Sterling_Aug]

The trial version wouldn't let me save the data, only view it.

[dragflameson]

Sterling_Aug, we called that company that sells that software... after he (my Uncle) explained the problem they told us it wouldn't work and the drive is basically worthless now, unless we sent it to a data recovery place (which starts at around 500.00+ to recover data in our situation)

Sorry, I dont know how I did, but I did forget to leave out a pretty important part... the hard drive makes this very loud horrible sounding clicking noise :(

They said there must be a bad scratch in it or somethin like that. Oh well, he may decide to send it out, but may just take the loss.

WD is sending him a new one, but he is just going to sell that new one on eBay and get a Maxtor now since he'll never trust WD hdd's again, thank God! :)

But again, thank you for all your help guys, I'm sure that software works just as great as you say it does, and now I know about it if I ever have a problem like this agian :D :t

[Sterling_Aug]

A clicking hard drive is the kiss of death!

I would never buy a Maxtor drive. WDs are the best overall for the money, but IBMs are usually the best quality. Maxtor/Quantum is the lowest quality out there. We have at least one Maxtor fail each week at work and Dell sends Western Digitals as replacements.

[dragflameson]

Wow, really... I've personally never had any problems with any of my Maxtors (and I have 6 of my own, and used many others in other builds) and only had problems with my 1st two hard drive's I've ever used (once I 1st got into building my own) and they where both WD's lol.

[Baddog]

I had a 2001 Maxtor take a dump on me last week. Lasted 3 years or better. Not to bad I guess.;)

[Sterling_Aug]

I guess it comes and goes.

You usually get what you pay for, and Maxtors drivers are usually cheaper than everyone elses. It makes you go hmmmm.

[pootietang]

Try this free software;
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm
Set in different computer and or mabe take the drive out of the case and put inside you system if poss.

or which is good but not free
http://www.diydatarecovery.nl/


let us know how it goes...:t

[dragflameson]

Originally posted by pootietang
let us know how it goes...:t I already did... the drive is dead :(

There isnt anything we can do now besides ship it out and pay like 5 or 6 hunderd+ which is not going to happen since the data on it isnt worth that much. Oh well, !@#$ happens, right?

[Rob R.]

Another option is to download Knoppix and burn it onto a CD. Boot from your newly burned Knoppix CD and recover anything that isn't toast.

[Baddog]

You have one last hope....The freezer trick....it has worked before.

[dragflameson]

I dont think it would work though, it doesnt even post anymore. You turn the computer on and all you see is a black screen with a blinking cursor :(

It's pretty much over and done with now, but I do have this thread bookmarked because there is a lot of excellent software listed here which makes a good reference for any future problems like this :)

What's the freezer trick Baddog??

[Baddog]

Wrap the drive in a freezer bag, have the cables attached to the drive. Put a wire tie or a zip tie around the open end of the bag to seal it off. Put it in the freezer over night. I would not waste time mounting the drive in the computer, I would just connect the cables (making sure the drive would not ground on anything).
The times that this has worked, the drive will run for about 30 min to a hour. So you will have to work quickly before the drive heats up. :t

PS: I would suggest slaving it into another computer if you could...remember to change the jumper.

[dragflameson]

Cool, I'll keep that in mind too! But you think that would work on a drive in the same condition this drive is in where it makes that loud clicking noise and doesnt even post at start up?

But yeah, maybe doing that freezer trick as a slave might work...

Edit: What about condensation?

[Baddog]

, I extracted his HD from the iMac, wrapped in paper towels and put it in his freezer for an hour. The idea is that the cold causes components in the HD to contract thereby allowing the platter to spin freely without getting "stuck" and seizing the HD. When I put the now quite cold HD into the iMac, it spun up! long enough for me to get his data moved to his new iMac. Yay!http://www.mrbarrett.com/mt/archives/2002_02_10.html

You can try the “freezer trick” if the drive is acting flaky and/or not much else has really been helpful in getting data off the drive. First, let the drive reach about room temperature before proceeding. A sudden change in temperature is not all that healthy for a drive. Afterward, put the drive in a freezer bag (a Ziploc bag will do if there aren’t any freezer bags handy) and squeeze out all the air (leave a little space at the opening of the bag for the air to escape). This is so you avoid condensation while the drive is put into the freezer. Leave it in there for an hour or so. Finally, take it out and slave it to another machine and try to copy over any data you want. This process may need to be repeated a few times in order to copy over everything you need.

What the freezer trick does is cool down all the components of the hard drive. It will cool down the overheating chips on the hard drive’s circuit board (which is a known problem with some models of Maxtor Quantum drives), and as well as allow the platters contract a bit, making it easier for the heads to read the data, thus decreasing read errors. All this “trick” does is buy some time in order to recover your data. In other words, the drive will need to be replaced. If it is still under warranty, RMA it back to the manufacturer.

One more-or-less unconventional last resort to get a hard drive working again is to gently tap the drive on the edge of a table a couple times. It may help in dislodging possible materials sticking to the platters, but slamming it too hard will damage it, and you will be left with a mechanically inoperable hard drive, and can be a very iffy situation to be covered under a warranty.

http://www.pcmech.com/show/harddrive/664/7

> i have also had luck putting the harddrive in a sealed bag and putting it
> into the freezer for approx 30 mins. This has worked for me on 4 unbootable
> harddrives out of 6.
>
> Jaime
>
>
HA, You're kidding...right?
I don't think I'd risk the freezer avenue until I was certain I had my
data back.
http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?threadID=347837

[dragflameson]

Very interesting... We're going to try it.

Thank you Baddog :D

[Baddog]

If you are not going to send it off what do you have to loose.:D

[dragflameson]

Yeah, he needs to send it back to get the refund or whatever though.

But we're going to try it :)

There are no jumpers on it, again it's a external USB drive. It should just set itself as a slave automatically if there is already a master when it goes to boot, no??