Data Recovery

[Arta]

Little question, dunno if i'm barking up the wrong tree here

I have a HD that's pretty dead. The BIOS autodetects it just fione and fills in the relative numbers, but it reports a primary HD failure on boot. It's not detected by fdisk/scandisk/dos/windows. I'd really like to get some data off the drive if possible, but with it not being detected by dos, i figured things like tiramisu would be largely useless...

Any ideas how i can get this thing working again?

 

[The Helper]

Set it up as a secondary drive and see if you can access it like that.

 

[Arta]

tried that no beans

 

[Dabom]

Put the hard drive in a plastic bag, and place it in your freezer for an hour, allowing everything to constrict. Then, pop it back into your case. Since it's dying/dead, don't worry about the heat stress.

Depending on how much data is on the drive, you should have enough time transfer everything you need to. If not, and if this works for you, you can always have another go at it.

I'm not responsible for any damage, but I <i>highly</i> doubt the drive will be harmed.

There's always the option of bringing the drive into a computer shop, too.

 

[Gunslinger]

Highly doubt it will be damaged?

If you freeze a hard drive, then take it out to let it thaw, the temperature change in both directions will damage it. There is no question about that.

 

[Dabom]

He was looking for options, and I threw an idea out. A buddy of mine went through that procedure twice to recover all the information he needed. I mentioned the heat stress factor.

 

[NoNameRequired]

To avoid the heat stress, you could put it in the fridge first.
You could also gradually increase the power in the freezer.

Just a wild guess, but maybe the jumper settings are incorrect ?

 

[Rapmaster]

dude arta knows PHP

if you know PHP then you OBVIOUSLY know about jumpers


j/k

 

[Arta]

Originally posted by Dabom
There's always the option of bringing the drive into a computer shop, too.

I <i>am</i> a computing shop

lol

i would be happy to freeze it if there was some explanation or reason why that would work? I've heard other ppl say freezing it works too, but i can't imagine why it would.

 

[Dabom]

You're not a computer shop if you don't have the technology/equipment to safely fix the physical features of the drive. Hehe

The cold air causes the components to shrink, and that's my detailed explanation.

 

[Arta]

No computer shop will do that, at least not here, you'd need to go to a data recovery specialist to get it done. It was like that in Australia as well (i worked for one) and i'm pretty sure it's like that in the states too.

 

[t'kron]

One of the reasons that there are MINIMUM as well as maximum operating tempratures is a follows

If your hard drive is frozen and you try to access it, it's possible for condensation to form on the hard disk surfaces. The tolerance in the drives is such that any condensation may cause damage to the hard drive surface doing irreparable harm to the hard drive.

 

[Swilo]

Local comp shop by me does data recovery, they only charge you $10 if they can't get anything off, but $75 if they can. Of they're a repair/retailer instead of some crappy place like bestbuy/compusa.

 

[Arta]

like, they get back erased files and formatted drives and stuff? I do that too. Not stuff where the drive is physically damaged though, and no one does that for $75, they charge like $600 hehehe

 

[Guest]

ok first disassemble the drive, then place components in dishwasher, then wash on the pot/pans cycle 2x.. allowing for heat dry.. when thats done, fully lubricate the drive platters with powdered graphite and lubricate the arms and working levers with wd40. reassemble drive and place in microwave at 90% powerlvl for 3 1/2 mins. reinstall HD and recover data

 

[Nelson]

that was me.. guess I cleared my cookies ;P

 

[Dabom]

In a sterile, dust-free room.

 

[Swilo]

Not just lost files from a format, they actually sucked info off my old drive which totally nuked itself.
I get super bonus discount for my dad knowing the owner, who also happens to be the president of the school board at home...

 

[Wargasm]

tried low level format yet ?

 

[Arta]

nah wargs i wanna get the data back not destroy it forever lol

as for nelson.. yeah funny joke