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The hard drive on my old laptop conked out a few months ago, and like an idiot I didn't back it up, even though I had a feeling it was coming.
I don't want to get most of the stuff back, but unfortunately there were a few files that I really need to get to.
Does anyone have any data recovery services that they'd recommend, based on price and reliability? I don't want to pay top dollar, but I don't want to end up with some fly-by-night company, either.
Suggestions?
Josh
Nothing in the US. Sorry.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...
A former colleague of mine had the same thing with his media center PC. He and his wife used it for holiday fotos, reports, documents, ...
And they didn't back up anything because new computers don't crash, right?
A data recovery lab charged 80 euros for making a list of retrievable files.
It cost him another 800 euros to actually get the files he wanted to have.
We made fun of him for some time. :D
I realize that this is not what you want to hear, but for what this might cost you, you could have bought 1 or 2 fancy high end razors.
Of course it depends on how many files you want back, and how much the recovery lab charges. Maybe it will not be 800 euros but it will definitely not be cheap.
Will the drive spin up at all? You might be able to recover some of the files by using an external USB adapter if the drive spins but wasn't able to boot the machine anymore.
Dave,
Can you describe this a little more? Are you saying that sometimes you can plug into a drive with another computer and pull data off? The computer won't boot, but the drive does seem to spin. It makes a clicking noise, which I know isn't good...
Bruno, I know I'm going to pay through the nose for this... I think I know someone else who had this done for around $500 US, which is a lot less than your poor friend had to pay. :)
Josh
One of these adapters can be very handy for that type of work as well as imaging a replacement HDD when you need to upgrade to a larger one. If your bad drive will spin up well enough to mount, you should be able to read the directory tree and might even be able to repair it somewhat with the standard windows utilities.Quote:
Originally Posted by JoshEarl
I've heard some people say they had good luck with freezing a bad HDD before attempting a recovery when all else failed. Can't remember why that helps sometimes but it's commonly mentioned on the PC forums.
Good luck :tu
In lieu of using a recovery company, I suggest the following.
You shouldn't have to worry about further data corruption since most live CDs will only read NTFS (a common windows file system, and the one most normal users have), BUT it won't write to them. Voila, you're even safe there.
- Burn a copy of one of the many 'Live' Linux distributions, Ubuntu, Knoppix etc... onto a CD (If you don't want to, or can't do this for whatever reason, I'll be happy to make one for you). In a nutshell, Live Linux distros boot the entire OS off the CD, without any installation required. Almost all of them can then read the other drives on the machine, including the drive with the hosed copy of windoze.
- Next, insert a USB drive (just a bit larger than what you figure you have in files that you need to recover). Let Linux recognize the USB drive.
- Last, copy the files you want to save from the windows drive to the USB drive.
Give it a try, or let me know if you need a CD (Linux Live CDs are available as free downloads from all the major linux distribution houses).
Good luck Josh,
John
If the drive is making an abnormal clicking sound taking the others advice and making further access attempts will quite possibly cause more damage.
Without knowing the reason for the drive failure it is of course difficult to say for certain but if you really really want the data back I would strongly suggest you avoid making further attempts at accessing it and send the drive out for recovery.
If the drive was sounding healthy and spun up ok then a linux boot cd is an excellent recovery option.
If the drive, as you indicate, sounds unhealthy you are taking a bit of a risk though.
-Geoff
First of all, STOP everything.
There is a program, spinrite, by GIBSON that will go thru your drive and recover whatever CAN be recovered. It may TAKE 36 HOURS to run, but it is VERY good. Look it up on internet.
As an aside, there used to be a recovery program called DISKFIX or something like that. I renamed it DISKF*** because when I ran it it would continue to only recover part of the disk, then if I ran it again, it would recover less and less.
Good luck
Jerry.
http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm
The price depends on how much files you need. As I understood it, if you only need some files, you pay only a couple of hundreds.
If you want to recover most of the entire disk, you can go up to 1000 $.
The only thing you can try is to put it in a plastic bag, seal it and put it in the fridge with as little air in it as possible. Leave it overnight and try again.
This might give you a couple of minutes in which you can access the disk.
But if the drive makes a clicking sound, this means it has physically crashed, and the head is touching the plates.
Each time you hear a click, the disk is hit.
If you really really want to have that data back, send it off to recovery because anything you do will likely damage the disk further (because of the clicking)
If the drive is clicking, the meter is ticking.
LOL
Seriously, I had exactly the same thing happen. Fortunately the area that was damaged was where the OS resided. I used a program called R-Studio to recover the data. I put the laptop HD in a PC and ran the program. Recovered all my data.
NOTE: I would not suggest doing this unless you are willing to lose ALL the data on the drive. Otherwise send it to a DR service.
Your mileage may vary. J.
Thanks for all the advice, guys. I'm still considering my options here.
There are only a few files I really care about, so maybe a data recovery service wouldn't be that expensive.
I'm still waiting for Lou to come along and tell me how Windows sucks. :)
Josh
Sure, Lou will tell us about how much windows sucks, but at least there are people/ programs that can retrieve most of our data... Mac disk fixes are more costly
AND
MACs and APPLE really suck! the users think they are great because the systems cost more but other than graphics rendering i see no advantage to them.
Well, I have Apple stock so take this for what it is worth. Windows uses DLL's which basiclly mean things work great till you start deleting programs. Then, if you do not have a really good undelete for that program, Windows asks you if you really want to delete such and such. If you are really sure and say yes, you find out that other programs are sharing that file and you are screwed.
The ONLY way Windows knows how to fix a problem is to "reinstall windows". Now THAT is a serious operation taking a day or so.
When my Daughter started college I went against the advise of the day and bought her an apple. NEVER touched it . My son, he got Windows, and let me tell you , I was ALWAYS trying to get it to work.
One day my daughter was deleting a program off her apple She grabed it, and took it to the "trash" folder, and that was all.
If you like to play with the computer , get Windows, if you would rather have other types of play, get an apple.
Jerry
Then there is Linux...
But I don't want to open that can of worms...
J.
Guys, you totally rock.
So I made a Linux Live CD as directed by John (Namdas). It booted right up, and I was able to access the files I wanted and pull them onto a USB drive. :y :bow :tu
I was totally prepared to spend $500 to get this stuff back. It's like payday!
SRP is the best resource ever--better than the Internet at large, because you can ask questions of people you at least know a little bit.
So once again, thanks for everything. I'm a happy, happy man.
Josh
another thing you may want to think about for future reference is a prog called GetDataBack
I have used it to recover data from FORMATTED drives in the past.
Incidentally, if you ever sell a computer, flashdisk or whatever on ebay, be sure to erase the disk with a secure eraser. Preferably something government approved.
Do anything less than that and the buyer can retrieve your data from it.
And if you really really really want to keep your data from falling into the wrong hands, the only option is to physically destroy the platters of the disk.
And I don't mean scratching the platters, I mean removing the top layer with a belt sander and then shred what's left, or even better: melt it.
I know this seems far fetched, but I know of a company that works for various 3 letter acronym government agencies. They gave a couple of examples of disks from which they retrieved data.
1 example was a harddisk that was retrieved from the challenger explosion. The disk was bent almost 90 degrees, and the platters were exposed and charred.
They retrieved 95 % of the data on the disk.
Their advice was that the only guaranteed way to keep them from reading your data is to melt the platters.
Anyway, I am glad things works out for you.
It certainly would have sucked to pay all that money.
The files I was concerned about actually belonged to my wife, who was thrilled to get them back. I mentioned that, since I'd just saved at least $500, I thought I deserved to reward myself with a Robert Williams custom.
She didn't go for it. :D She's been wonderfully understanding with my straight razor hobby, but that would be going a bit far.
Josh
You realise there is a down side to sucessfully doing this yourself dont you? :pQuote:
Originally Posted by JoshEarl
Your wife will be telling all her friends (bragging about hubby) how good you are with computers and stuff... I think you can work out what happens next...
This is already happening in another area... I'm getting decent at photography, and my wife has given "gift certificates" for baby photo shoots and such to friends and family. I got a big kick out of it; it's nice to have a wife that appreciates you, especially when the boss doesn't...
Josh
Sorry I'm late, guys.....
Windows Sucks the Chrome Off Trailer Hitches
.....thanks for the opportunity to add to this thread.
-whatever
-Lou
I'd like to note that the scheme Josh used is something I do when Windows boxes break (friends/family). If a Mac does, I simply boot it from an external Firewire drive with a system disk on it or using OpenFirmware, copy the files and then try a repair on the disk and/or OS. I'm with Lou. Get a Mac!
Lou,
You really have to be quicker next time. We think you're slipping.
Apologies to the Mac guys out there, but I've tried both and vastly prefer my Windows computers. I've been using my Windows laptop at work without problems for the last six months, but the Mac-based graphic designers I work with have their Mac technician in a least once a week. They have this ongoing feud with the two printers in our office that's quite hilarious for me. :D
I thought the Mac was really cool until I realized nothing worked right... :)
Ducking behind my Linux Live CD for cover...
Josh
*shudder*Quote:
Originally Posted by JoshEarl
Sorry bad flash back to supporting a mixed Windows/Mac network envrionment...
We cried mercy in the end, the boss caved and pruchased some printers JUST FOR THE Macs...
Just dont get me started on integrating a standard TCP/IP network with bloody Apple wireless networking... :gth