Hard Disc Recovery?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: HKG
Hard Disc Recovery?
Does anyone have any details of any reliable companies that try and recover data from defunct hard drives at a reasonable cost. Just had one fail and although most of it was backed up there were a few items I would like to recover.
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: manchester
there are many companies that will do the job for you. beware it aint cheap. hope your data is important?
bear in mind that the companies will usually be using the same SW that you can find on the net yourself. also they wont gaurantee to get 100% of your data back. so you may end paying a lot for nowt much.
see other threads re the knoppix cd disk. for example.
bear in mind that the companies will usually be using the same SW that you can find on the net yourself. also they wont gaurantee to get 100% of your data back. so you may end paying a lot for nowt much.
see other threads re the knoppix cd disk. for example.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
First thing to try. Stick it in a static bag, then a waterproof bag, and put it in the freezer for 4-6 hours. Not a joke, it revives drives up to 50-70% of the time. (loosens stuck heads, shrinks bearings to free them etc).
Reattach and, if it works, recover your data. Sometimes they´ll continue to work for months or years, other times they´ll fail again when they warm up.
Some recommend putting them inside an aluminium USB caddy and leaving it inside the freezer till the data is saved. Depends if you have one and a USB lead long enough......
Reattach and, if it works, recover your data. Sometimes they´ll continue to work for months or years, other times they´ll fail again when they warm up.
Some recommend putting them inside an aluminium USB caddy and leaving it inside the freezer till the data is saved. Depends if you have one and a USB lead long enough......
'nough said
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From: Raynes Park
I've used this software quite successfully http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm and charged my clients an appropriate amount of money 
Bludger extraordinaire
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: London/Frankfurt
Please be a little more specific about how it failed.
The solutions go from partition recovery programs, through ORAC's tried & tested freezer solution (I was doing that with a motherboard about 18 years ago) to a knock from a hammer and onto a proper recovery company with a clean room which should cost a grand.
BOFH
The solutions go from partition recovery programs, through ORAC's tried & tested freezer solution (I was doing that with a motherboard about 18 years ago) to a knock from a hammer and onto a proper recovery company with a clean room which should cost a grand.
BOFH
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From: manchester
bear in mind that the freezer solution and the drop it on the floor method is a one time only, bite at the cherry.
better to try data recovery methods first. assuming the bios is still recognising the hdd?
better to try data recovery methods first. assuming the bios is still recognising the hdd?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
bear in mind that the freezer solution and the drop it on the floor method is a one time only
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From: Bristol,UK
A colleague has used http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk/, it cost £400. The drives electronics had fried.
?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
Anti-static bag. The type of bag you get your motherboard, hard disk, video card in, Stops static building up which can ruin electronic components. ordinary plastic tends to build up a charge.
Dont worry if you haven't got one, just earth yourself first, touch a radiator or pipe, and wrap it in some newspaper instead.
Dont worry if you haven't got one, just earth yourself first, touch a radiator or pipe, and wrap it in some newspaper instead.
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From: Up in the air
Remember the grey bag that the electronic parts for a computer came in? Thats an anti-static bag.
Like ORAC says its not a big deal but if you have one around, use it. Otherwise just be careful and ground yourself before touching anything electronic, do not touch the circuit side of the hard drive and do not touch the terminals, both coming and going out of the freezer.
Then after walking back to the computer, touch something metal (like a desk frame) and the computer case before working on the unit. Those of us who work on computers from time to time have a wrist strap that clips onto the computer frame to ground ourselves.
Like ORAC says its not a big deal but if you have one around, use it. Otherwise just be careful and ground yourself before touching anything electronic, do not touch the circuit side of the hard drive and do not touch the terminals, both coming and going out of the freezer.
Then after walking back to the computer, touch something metal (like a desk frame) and the computer case before working on the unit. Those of us who work on computers from time to time have a wrist strap that clips onto the computer frame to ground ourselves.
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From: EuroGA.org
This may be stating the obvious but often it isn't the HD that has packed up.
I have just had a PC die on me, with "classical" HD failure symptoms. In fact it was a duff motherboard. I bought another (exact same type) MB on Ebay, a new power supply (on Ebay too) for good measure, and replaced the MB and the PSU. Everything is now perfect.
HD data recovery firms are very expensive; a few hundred quid upwards.
A proper backup solution is the only way. I use a DDS4 tape drive; the tapes hold about 13GB each.
I have just had a PC die on me, with "classical" HD failure symptoms. In fact it was a duff motherboard. I bought another (exact same type) MB on Ebay, a new power supply (on Ebay too) for good measure, and replaced the MB and the PSU. Everything is now perfect.
HD data recovery firms are very expensive; a few hundred quid upwards.
A proper backup solution is the only way. I use a DDS4 tape drive; the tapes hold about 13GB each.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: HKG
No joy unfortunately.
I put the damaged drive into a smartdrive, into the freezer for 24hrs, then connected by firewire to my laptop.
Message 'You have inserted a disk containing no volumes that Mac OS X can read."
Thanks for the ideas guys.
Rgds
I put the damaged drive into a smartdrive, into the freezer for 24hrs, then connected by firewire to my laptop.
Message 'You have inserted a disk containing no volumes that Mac OS X can read."
Thanks for the ideas guys.
Rgds
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: London
I suggest you use Data Recovery Wizard, which is an easy and convenient tool to recover your lost data, files, folders, ect. And you can know more about this product at: www.easeus.com
