Ever recover a dead hard drive?

[yellowstonesteve]

A friend of mine had a computer problem, so I went to check it out. As soon as he turned the box on, I told him to shut it off. I've heard this noise before, the hard drive crashed.
He has files on there he wants to keep, plus he has no OS disk (WinXP), so my question is, has anyone ever been able to revive a HD long enough to do a complete copy to a new one? I've read about freezing the drive, but what do I use to do a fast copy to a new disk?

[Cybouncer]

You can get a Pen drive/Jump drive and plug it into the USB. Try freezing it but that's never worked for me.

You could alwasy send it to a data recovery specialist but it may not work and it is very expensive.

[thelord68]

I have software that has let me recover data from drives that the big companies (OnTrack, etc.) were not able to for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they require an identical drive for parts (Maxtor) or they will not accept it based on the description of the problem. It usually runs over a $1000.

Your chances of getting a complete recovery (OS and all) are slim. I usually have decent luck recovering the data portion (My Documents, etc.) because the majority of the OS sits closer to the beginning of the drive and when it crashes, that is the first to go so the drive won't boot and the file table is shot, but the software can recreate that (as well as recover other deleted/lost files).

You need to take the hard drive out of the system and place it in an external USB cradle. Plug this into a working system and see if you can move any data off of the drive. If you can't access the drive, but Windows does detect it when you plug it in, then there is a decent chance of a partial recovery.

As far as WinXP goes, if you friend has a software key sticker, either on the case or somewhere else, then you can use any copy of the XP disk to reinstall, just put in your friend's key when prompted.

[sniper]

You can try installing a second hard drive and grab a copy of Knoppix ( http://www.knoppix.org/ ) Knoppix is a free OS based on linux that runs completely from CD and has great tools to recover data from problematic drives, there's a program included called DD which will do a direct copy of the raw data from the drive.
A couple links to help:
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-knopx.html?ca=dgr-lnxw04Knoppix
http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22731&highlight=data+recovery

[Sinn Fein]

I was able to recover a drive at work one by putting it in a usb chassis and putting it inside a freezer while I had it connected to my laptop. I was able to Ghost the drive onto an empty partition. Keeping it on ice kept the drive stable enough for the copy process.

I must admit I did look silly with a USB cable going into the freezer from my laptop, but it did work.

[Deadbent]

If the drive is recognized by the motherboard, but not in windows. You can probably recover data via software.
Or slapping it in a usb enclosure and hoping for the best.

Otherwise,
I was going to suggest freezing it a few hours.
Have your pc set up near the freezer too, because you've got about 2 minutes before your window of opportunity shuts.
(wrap it in a paper towel, then put it inside a freezer bag, eliminating any air from the bag. Don't want any condensation in it or anything.)

This method is shitty, at best. But has worked for some important drives of mine.

Worst comes to worse, and you've got 5 grand, you can send it to a data recovery company~




What you won't want to do, is keep it powered up while its not working though.

[BigBuffaloFan]

You also need to make sure it is not the power supply. If the power supply is failing or not giving enough power to the HD it can crash, BSOD, and make noise.

A lot of the other options that have been posted are good. Another last resot option is to find the exact same model HD and swap platters. I have never had to use this method but I know a few people who have. You need to be very careful when doing it.

[thelord68]

You also need to make sure it is not the power supply. If the power supply is failing or not giving enough power to the HD it can crash, BSOD, and make noise.

A lot of the other options that have been posted are good. Another last resot option is to find the exact same model HD and swap platters. I have never had to use this method but I know a few people who have. You need to be very careful when doing it.

As I mentioned in my post, some of the big companies ask you to send an exact match for the damaged drive. Unfortunately, the production run of any particular make and model is so short that the chances of finding a match for a drive older than say 6 months is small.

That said, I have had luck taking the controller board from a similar model, using it on the bad drive to grab the data off, and then reinstalling that controller back on its original drive.

As far as swapping platters, if you do it anywhere but a clean room, you're asking for trouble.

[Sparkstalker]

Pretty much any methods that don't involve disassembly and a clean room are a crap shoot. If the drive failed due to the bearings seizing, freezing it should work for a little bit, but unfortunately, today's higher RPM drives mean a shorter window for it to work. Sinn Fein's concept is probably your best bet if that's the case.

If it's any other mechanical issue with the drive, though, I'm afraid you're probably SOL...you can try something like SpinRite, but I've never been convinced of it's effectiveness...

[yellowstonesteve]

ok, it didn't work. this drive is extremely fucked, just makes a lot of noise. But I did find some free software to do an exact copy of it (had the drive been able to spin) at http://www.easeus.com/index.htm
the copy software is free in case anyone needs it.