Data Recovery

[Spurminator]

It appears my Seagate 250gb hard drive has crapped out on me. It clicks, it spins and stops, it shows up nowhere on my desktop or in any disc utilities or diagnostic programs I've tried to run. So I'd like to try to recover the data off of the drive if possible; hopefully I haven't damaged it too bad.

Any recommended data recovery services you guys have used? Should I even bother?

[blizz]

oh it's toast. do you have anything on there that you can't replace? data recovery places can charge well into the thousands. one thing i'd try...and it's risky and might be a waste of money...but if you absolutely need what was on there...buy a similar hard drive and swap out the platters. now you have to wear gloves, make sure you don't touch the face of the disc....little to no dust in the room...etc etc. i've done this once and it worked. good luck.

[=RTM=]

replace the platters.


=I guess we all have to be replaced at one time or another.=


http://205.155.126.101/scott/platters2.gif

[Steve Perry]

buy a similar hard drive and swap out the platters.

What tool do you use to remove them?




now you have to wear gloves, make sure you don't touch the face of the disc....little to no dust in the room...etc etc. i've done this once and it worked. good luck.

Dexter?



:wakeup

[Wild Cobra]

What tool do you use to remove them?

If you have to ask, then don't even attempt it yourself. It probably required a Torx #6, and fine Phillips screwdrivers like a 0 and 00. Finds a qualified technician friend. Preferably one who has access to a clean room. Larger drives are far more susceptible to airborne contamination than older, smaller ones. At a minimum, wear a mask and gloves. No way to get a rooms air clean enough.

In the future, always backup important information. I lost some information from a 60 GB I bought some years ago when they were new. I never needed close to that much space, but I did get my entire CD collection on it with room to spare. I was pissed because I had to portion it into two partitions because Win 98SE was limited to see 32 GB at a time. What can I say. The new computer came with a 16 GB, and I wanted more...

Another suggestion. Never buy a current large size. Wait for the technology to already be proven. I was tempted to buy a 750GB last year, but then remembered... Not yet proven as reliable... Besides... I don't need that much space yet.... I bought a 120 GB instead. Not too much difference in price either. I think only $40 difference. I simply reminded myself the denser spacing of information for the 650 GB would be less reliable for the long term than the 120 GB.

[Dex]

If you aren't certified or at least extremely tech-savvy, I wouldn't try to physically salvage the hard disk yourself.

I also wouldn't try any further disk utilities, installations, etc...at this point, if you are pretty sure it's shot. Pushing the drive further is only likely to corrupt more data on the hard disk at this point, making it less likely to recover. Bad physical noise, esp. clicking or grinding, is usually a pretty good indicator that the drive is busted anyways.

Best place I can suggest is DriveSavers. Here's some random info I found on a tech forum:



They said that they charge in two tiers, by the amount recovered.

Tier 1 is the stuff you don't really NEED back. Your OS, desktop pictures, application installations, etc. Things you can reinstall yourself.

Tier 2 is the important things. Email. Documents. Spreadsheets. Databases. Those are charged much higher by the MB.

This prevents you from having to pay a fortune to recover a 300kb xls spreadsheet that you have to have back, that is on a more or less empty HD with an OS X installation on it.

A typical recovery on a 80gb'ish HD is between $500 and $2900, depending on the data recovered. They apparently have an excellent success rate.

If the data is worth the money to be saved, then that's probably your best option.

[Lance]

If you have to ask, then don't even attempt it yourself.


Are you saying it's not something we can learn? How else do you find out something unless you ask questions?

This is not 1825 when Blacks were not allowed to read this is 2008 where the Mexicans rule America!.

[Nbadan]

You could try and put it into a deep freeze for a couple of days and then see if you can fire it up for long enough to copy over to another disk your most important files (just put it into a zip lock bag to keep moisture out)...I've had that work a few times....one other thing I've also done is bought the exact same drive on e-bay and switch out the circuit boards on the H.D., that surprisingly, has also worked....

[DannyT]

mouse i got one of these too you got a remedy for it?

[Soul_Patch]

You know ive always has really good luck with using ghost to recover a hdd. If you can boot to a ghost floppy, and find the hdd with the software, ghost can usually make a readable copy of that disk that you can use the ghost nav thing to pull files off of.

Its worth a shot, ive honestly never had a hdd NOT be able to be seen in ghost to recover files...same hdd's that were completely dead were recoverable.

[blizz]

if the hard drive is making noise...he's pretty much fucked. i've heard of the freezing part. i've done the circuit boards too but that's just been when the drive wont spin up at all. here it's getting power, but there are physical mechanical parts that are broken. if you're not gonna take it somewhere and you're gonna trash the drive anyways...you have nothing to lose by trying to swap the platter.

[Soul_Patch]

Ive had ghost be able to image the drive even when it was screetching loud and the read heads sounded crazy erractic...its worth a try, if the stuff is that meaningful to you.

[DannyT]

word
now can you email the a ghost iso please

[to21]

I would try one of these:

http://hackedgadgets.com/2006/04/25/top-5-uses-for-a-dead-hard-drive/

[PM5K]

Porn is easily replaceable...

[Spurminator]

Porn is easily replaceable...


I'd hate to have to call up all those women for a reshoot.

[Fat boy]

Blizz has a point! Unless the plates are spinning I don't see how any software is going to recognize it. I say grab a 50.00 dollar bill and have Blizz take it apart what do you have to lose?

I hope you guys take pics so we can all keep up with the updates! :tu

[Spurminator]

Pardon the stupid question, but do I have to swap the platter into a HD with the same capacity? I would assume so... but I have an extra 10gb laying around and if I can put it into that case and it would work, that would obviously be my preference.

[mouse]

mouse i got one of these too you got a remedy for it?

You need some sort of hexagon type tool to remove the discs I tried to remove a few bad HDs to make this cool wind chime out of old PC parts and it was not easy to do. Besides the wind chime rusted the first time it rained. :lmao

I say Blizz is your man he has experience in this field and he is cheaper than going to any data recovery center you find.

On a side note my Rapid Refund is going to have a two week delay if you have 200,00 cash I can pay back 300 or 400.00 I just finished the last corona from the two cases you got me for new years!


My car needs a water pump so I am stay at home for now. If your in the area of 1604 and I-10 go to Altex and buy me one of these for 25 dollars.

USB 2.0 to IDE Hard Drive Cable Adapter
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/50922848/USB_2_0_to_IDE_Hard_Drive_Cable_Adapter.jpg

As long as your HD is spinning I can 99% of the time retrieve the data but if it's dead your best bet is take it to Blizz!

Anyone else want in on helping me with the water pump can also call me. you get 50% back on all loans.
561-9941


:wakeup

[mouse]

On a side note: Seagate has a good policy on their 250 GB HDs if you send it back in they will ship you a new one without questions I have seen it done.

Good luck and keep the updates coming on this dilemma.

[PM5K]

You should have clear coated them...

[Soul_Patch]

Oh i didnt read that the platters werent spinning, that is a different story...spinning platters...ghost it...not spinning...listen to mouse.

[DannyT]

You need some sort of hexagon type tool to remove the discs I tried to remove a few bad HDs to make this cool wind chime out of old PC parts and it was not easy to do. Besides the wind chime rusted the first time it rained. :lmao

I say Blizz is your man he has experience in this field and he is cheaper than going to any data recovery center you find.

On a side note my Rapid Refund is going to have a two week delay if you have 200,00 cash I can pay back 300 or 400.00 I just finished the last corona from the two cases you got me for new years!


My car needs a water pump so I am stay at home for now. If your in the area of 1604 and I-10 go to Altex and buy me one of these for 25 dollars.

As long as your HD is spinning I can 99% of the time retrieve the data but if it's dead your best bet is take it to Blizz!

Anyone else want in on helping me with the water pump can also call me. you get 50% back on all loans.
561-9941


:wakeup


if youre serious about the money let me know and we can work something out...you have the number use it if you need it

but the return better be fo shizzle :fro

[Re-Animator]

Hey DannyT you still have that DELL desktop that smells like curry powder?

[DannyT]

yeah why....I also have another one whats the dilley yo

[USA Employee]

DannyT you seem to be very good with people you should apply at USAA!

[DannyT]

Thank You Come Again

[Wild Cobra]

Are you saying it's not something we can learn? How else do you find out something unless you ask questions?

This is not 1825 when Blacks were not allowed to read this is 2008 where the Mexicans rule America!.
It can be learned, but not overnight. This is the type of thing the is rather intricate. Compare it with a veterinarian performing brain surgery if you are a mechanic. Too many new details to learn.

Particles floating in the air you cannot even see will keep the transplant from working. It will also keep the new drive from working when reassembled. The working surfaces are just than small and precise. The last drive I disassembled was a 60 GB. Three platters, six heads. That means 10 GB per surface. If you take the surface area the head travels on and divide by the data, you need less than 1/4 of a micron per storage bit. Any idea of the precision required?

This would be a simple operation for me on an older drive, maybe up to 300 MB. When we are talking multiple GB's... things really change. There is no room for error. I would only attempt it myself in a clean room, and I would be less than hopeful of success.

I am a professional electronics technician, more than 20 years as a paid technician. Eight years of that is in the semiconductor industry working in clean rooms dealing in sub micron requirements. I have taken damaged drives apart. I know how delicate they are.

I noticed NBA Dan has a great couple ideas. Cold could work. Swapping the boards... it could be the electronics rather than inside. If you are going to buy a guinea pig drive, I suggest you start with Dan's approach.

However, back to the tools. A Torx #6 is a very common tool for such uses. On my 60GB, screws using this socket not only held the cover on, but six of them held the spindle together. If I assume the construction similar to mine, then the heads will have to be swung out of the way.

On mime, I had to disconnect the through connector to the head assembly before the heads had the clearance to swing that far, and remove the top part of the magnetic head movement control since it had a hard stop to keep the heads on the platters. The magnets had no fasteners. they held themselves in place rather well.

Now the trick when the platters are changed is getting the multiple heads back on the multiple platters without damaging them, or tweaking them less than a micron!

Anyway, after removing the center hub, the platters come out easily with the spacers as well. Order is important. Don't mix anything up.

Reverse assembly...

Again... How do you get the heard back on without damaging them? As far as I know, there is no common tool to help here. Good luck.

I'd really be curious how large the drive was Blizz did this to. I only see it feasible for drives that we consider too small for today's practical applications.

[Nbadan]

I agree with WC, if you open up that drive, it's toast....