Data recovery for dead hard-drive?

[Jim R]

I'm very thankful that I've just had them die but never actually be dead.

Wish I could learn how to do that myself!

Sort of like Elvis?

[Shawn]

Time Machine works well (I have it feeding a 1TB disk) and gives me comfort. but I still use the stick routinely.

Is there a Time Machine equivalent for the PC?

There are tons of backup programs available for PC as well. Most external hard drives come with backup software. I'm not sure if they included backup with Windows 7 or not, I never really use Windows any longer.

[jostber]

Maybe I'm just lucky to have a daughter who knows the right people, but reading that link that jostber posted above, it seems like if you're smart enough to understand those directions, and sensible enough to not be stupid/careless/daredevil-y (a too-rare quality!) in the face of clearly stated things to not try to do, then it's not really any kind of a high-wire act. I'd not attempt it, but that's because I'm kinda chickenshit when it comes to tackling HD issues.

Also reading that same link, it does seem that, yeah, if you get somebody who is stupid/careless/daredevil-y, somebody who thinks that they know more than they do, then yeah, you're screwed. But that goes to character & work ethic a lot more than it does to the inherent danger level of the task. Knowledge and good sense don't always go hand in hand, and therein lies the excitement!

You can even buy Knoppix at a very cheap price to make the process simpler:

http://www.linuxcd.org/view_distro.php?lst=&id_cate=21&id_distro=17

Basically the process is this:

1. Put your CD,DVD or USB stick with Knoppix in the PC and start up. Knoppix boots up everything in RAM so it does not need a hard disk. Booting a live CD like this is completely safe and you can't do nothing wrong.

2. Knoppix will check all hardware and drivers when booting up so you can see if any errors regarding your hard drive pops up.

3. When booted up you have a complete OS that looks much like Windows. It's KDE and have a file explorer called Konqureror which you can open and see all catalogues. If Knoppix there can see your Windows disk(C and D station f.ex.) you are in good luck and can move your files.

4. You need something to move your files to f.ex. an external USB disk, USB stick or another PC connected on your network. Knoppix sets up your network connection as well so you can even surf the net while you are saving your files.

5. Then move your files to a safe place, shut down and replace the hard disk with a new one.

6. If the spindle has completely stopped on the drive(quite seldom) you need to take it to a repair service.

One easy thing to start with is to check your drive is with the Dell drive test included with your PC. This is easy to do, just follow the instructions in the article. Then most likely you will get an indication in which state your drive is in.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&docid=DSN_126A722713F6D0D0E0401E0A55174AE6&isLegacy=true

Edited July 16, 2011 by jostber

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Don't confuse a "broken" hard drive with a completely dead hard drive. A lot of things can get a hard drive to fail in a way that you can recover data by mounting the drive externally to another machine. I've done this many times. However, the failure mechanism in these cases was bad sectors i.e. only certain areas of the drive failed.

If the drive's mechanical read device(s) ("head") failed (see a "head crash" here: youtube video - head crash) and you need to recover that data, the entire hard drive has to be disassembled to extract the magnetic discs individually and reassemble them into a special drive set-up to emulate your original hard drive. THIS IS NOT EASY! It takes hours.

Yes, it is very expensive. We have done it at my work several times. I do not believe that there was one time when the data recovered was worth the ~$1800 they charged.

[marcello]

ASK NICK!

[JSngry]

ASK NICK!

Yeah, Nick wants you to pay him $15/yr for bringing his "sense of humor, simplicity, and fun to the World Wide Web", which to me is basically saying "if you're a total tecniphobe, I'm here to take your money!".

I think Nick is making me feel just a tad fuquitous!

[Chuck Nessa]

Nick seems to eat too much. We should not encourage that.

[JSngry]

At least not for a fee.

Hell, I bring my sense of humor, simplicity, and fun to the World Wide Web several times daily, and I don't ask for one fucking dime in return, nor should I, nor will I.

Just who does Nick think he his, and why can't he overeat on his own dime? I do!