OT - Hard drive recovery
Recently I booted up one of my desktops and it wouldn't boot because some windows system file was missing. It asked me to re-install that file, so I tried to do a windows repair using the recovery disks that came with the computer. The recovery disks wouldn't work, as I think the computer refused to boot from a CD.
There was no unusual hard drive noise, leading me to believe this is a logical failure, as opposed to a mechanical one.
The hard drive has some very valuable files on it, so I really want to try to recovery them. Right now, my first course of action will probably be to get an external CD case and try to read the hard drive through a USB connection on a second computer.
If that doesn't work, I think the next best step is to use a data recovery program. I've heard GetDataBack is the best one to chose (though, how can I tell if I need NTFS or FAT?).
Finally, I'd also be willing to pay for a professional to do this (though I'd like to keep it between $500-$1k).
My question is really two fold - first, is my approach described above a wise move, and second, should I even bother trying this myself, or is it safer to go straight to a professional?
December 14th, 2009 at 8:43 PM ^
Bull,
Contact me at [email protected]. I do data recovery for a living and may have some tips for you.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:44 PM ^
If you're willing to pay for it, there's no way that somebody would charge you $500, unless you're factoring in a new 1 TB hard drive or something.
If you're willing to spend some money, your local computer repair store/Best Buy/whatever should be able to take care of it.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:48 PM ^
two weeks ago. The system just wouldn't boot (it got stuck while loading the drivers), and after a brief stop-over at the blue screen of death, it ended up restarting the whole process.
I took it to Best Buy to get the data back, but the computer itself is dead. I think it cost $100 for the data retrieval, and repair was going to start around $200.
EDIT: I forgot to add my condolences. Good luck.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:50 PM ^
If you haven't fixed this issue, an external hard drive enclosure could help you out too. Relatively inexpensive, and you can return it when you're done using it.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:52 PM ^
I got the data off of it last week. A semester's worth of notes and outlines, as well as research for a paper and my journal note. So yeah, I flipped sh*t a little bit.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:53 PM ^
BSOD == Dong Punch.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:59 PM ^
Some day, someone may use the phrase "dong punch," and it will not cause me to laugh like a little girl.
But I do not anticipate that day coming any time soon.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:48 PM ^
Buying an external hard drive enclosure could help. They're 30-40 bucks, and you can plug your current drive in and grab files off it if the partition isn't messed up.
Also, running a checkdisk/fix could solve the problem. Just had a friend's laptop give him an unmountable_boot_volume blue screen, and that took care of things (for now).
December 14th, 2009 at 8:59 PM ^
Blue_Bull,
It looks like RedWing can help you. I would suggest
that you get a copy of Norton's Ghost or a similar
backup program. You can spin your whole harddrive down
on a couple of CD's in less than 30 minutes. You can
do monthly, weekly, or daily, for that matter, backups.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:44 PM ^
How reliable are external HDs? Is it gonna crash on me just like the one in my desktop? I would prefer not to deal with CD back-ups.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:59 PM ^
Bull, I was going to suggest the external enclosure like BlockM. Also try to slave it in a different computer. If that does not work you may have some real problems that only a true forensic type recovery will work. Access Data has demo software but it only works for the first 5,000 files. I use their software on a daily basis and it kicks ass. Good luck.
December 14th, 2009 at 9:48 PM ^
I just dropped you an email. I will try to external case first, and then I'll try to slave it. I may need some help in hooking up the slave configuration.
December 14th, 2009 at 9:59 PM ^
Any idea how much a true forensic type would cost?
December 14th, 2009 at 9:31 PM ^
First of all, if you have Windows XP discs, you should be able to repair. Press F8 every second or so right after it turns on to boot from the DVD. If you have system recovery disks, you might not have this option.
If that doesn't work, and it's a desktop and you have access to another desktop, you can plug the HD in as a slave (be sure to set the jumpers...should be labeled on the HD). It should come up as a 2nd HD on the computer. You can get your data then, and if they are the same operating system you can just copy the missing file over from the working computer. Might want to run an anti-virus too while you have the chance.
I had a HD that was unable to boot recently, couldn't repair, and the slave option worked. Ran anti-virus and found a windows file that was infected. Deleted it and replaced it from the master HD, and then booted from 'most recent settings that worked,' and that got me on my way.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:17 PM ^
Good suggestions above and ifthey work, awesome. I have never actually seen windows repair actually repair anything but it is worth a shot.
When you hook it up to a second computer just make sure you don't let windows chkdsk run in case your filesystem is corrupt due to bad sectors or gremlins or whatever. This could hurt your chances at successfully recovering data. If it is corrupt GetDataBack is probably your best bet. The last time I used it I successfully recovered ~75% of my files. The prices are a little ridiculous but the last time I needed it I was a broke unethical college student so I didn't run into that problem. Also If you have a newer computer it is most likely NTFS and not FAT32.
December 14th, 2009 at 9:58 PM ^
I was going to give a few words of my wisdom but it looks like BlockM and RedWing have done a good job already.
Quickly: An alternative to the HD enclosure is to get a SATA-to-USB adapter that you can use to pull data off like a big flash drive, much in the same was as the external HD enclosure.
EDIT: A program called Recuva is another good file recovery program; it's made by the same people who created CCleaner and Defraggler.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:02 PM ^
This thread couldn't have come at a better time. My comp just got the blue screen over the weekend. Many thanks to the op and those giving advice. Mgobloggin' just isn't the same on my phone.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:09 PM ^
Two years ago the motor on my hard drive burned out do to an accident. The people at school quoted me about $600 to have the data extracted in a special lab.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:15 PM ^
Man, if only we all lived in Miami or Las Vegas. CSI could totally get those files even if the hard drive was dropped in a vat of acidic alien blood followed by a bath in liquid nitrogen and topped off with trip through a high-powered electromagnet.
"No sweat. Looks like the killer saved all his death threats in this unaffected sector. I'm frustrated that I had to waste fifteen minutes trying to find it."
December 14th, 2009 at 10:20 PM ^
Thank God for Linux. If it can't fix itself, which is rare, then you just boot up with the live cd, type in a couple commands, boom, fixed. Will never go back to windows as my primary OS (only use windows if I want to play games).
December 15th, 2009 at 12:38 AM ^
Seriously, whatever you do: don't take it to Best Buy / Staples / what have you. Find a local computer repairman and take it there.
Best Buy charges a ton of money for subpar service. I've heard rumors that they also fix the absolute minimum in hopes of getting you back in the store ASAP.
Why do I say this? My in-laws run a computer shop, and so I know a bit about the business. Today, my father-in-law told me that he had a customer come in to rent a laptop, because he had taken his computer to Staples and for $60, they had told him the motherboard was broken and they'd have to send it away. My FIL took a look at the computer and saw that no, it was a relatively simple memory problem and he could fix it more or less on the spot. I can tell you a thousand more stories like this.
I'd hook you up, but we're not in A2. Best of luck!
December 15th, 2009 at 12:50 AM ^
Also, for everyone on this thread, I can't recommend highly enough that you look into a program like Dropbox. (There are others out there, but I'm acquainted with the guys who started this one.) It is a utility that runs more or less in the background of your computer, syncing your files with a remote server. You can store up to 1 GB for free, more for pay, and it does nice things like save previous copies of files (so if you accidentally overwrite a paper, you can go back to a prior version).
I use it for a million things. When I have both my laptop and my desktop running, I use it more or less as a flash drive to save files between the two. I also use it as an external hard drive with all of my really important documents, because in theory, even a physical external HD can be destroyed. There's a bunch of other stuff you can do with it, but I'm not a power user.
Given that I have a leaden touch with computers, I feel much better using something like this, especially since it auto-syncs.
https://www.dropbox.com/tour
December 15th, 2009 at 8:38 AM ^
My advice for most students is to print out what you're working on periodically (if possible, of course). Yeah, it sucks if you lose the file, but in the worst case you just have to retype your entire thesis and rewrite the last week. Beats having to start from scratch.
Ideally, you'd also have backups on removable media (hard drive, CD or DVD) or online somewhere, too, so that you don't have to retype the damn thing.
December 15th, 2009 at 9:26 AM ^
And you actually get 2 GB for free to start out, and by sending out invites you can get up to 5 GB (I think I'm at 3.75 GB now or so). I use it for some storage, but mostly I use shared folders with friends to give/get new music
December 15th, 2009 at 2:08 PM ^
check in the BIOS to place the CD/DVD drive as the first or second option, before the HDD.
then place your install/repair/OS disk in the drive and reboot.
Look at the docs for your PC to get the key to press during start-up to enter the BIOS and change the boot priority. sometimes it is ESC, sometimes F2 or F5, depends.
If you can boot from the install disk, try running the repair again.
Would echo the sentiments about setting up a back-up scheme, either drop-box or a separate, external drive and schedule a backup at least every week.