Hard Drive recovery

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Pblais

Once you get all data off dispose of the drive and don't look back. You won't ever "fix" it.

Yeah! I don't want it anymore just my data. I'll hang it on the wall as a reminder to never trust a computer to save important data. I have paper files that almost 100 YO.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by osirissail

The way to do that is to plug the external drive system into a different computer and see if you can access it there. If that is not successful then - like others have mentioned - you remove the physical HD from the external drive apparatus and try it in another external drive apparatus case or directly cabled to another computer.
- - If it still doesn't work then you most probably have a physical HD failure.

Yeah! I failed to mention that I had plugged it into another computer, which happen to be the original computer that this ext'l HD started with. But no, it wouldn't work there either. Wishful thinking!

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Yeah! I failed to mention that I had plugged it into another computer, which happen to be the original computer that this ext'l HD started with. But no, it wouldn't work there either. Wishful thinking!

Del this is the place where I got stuck for awhile. I had an IT guy looking at the computer but he didn't think it was possible to recover the data w/o one of the expensive data recovery systems. It had to do with the master slave condition of the computer. The desktop computer did not recognize the harddrive. I then found out about the jumper settings. I had to make one into a master and the other into a slave. I have limited internet b/c of a power outage but if you haven't solved it buy the time I get power back I will see if I can find the info again. What operating system are you using?

[delmarrey]

Thanks Charlie, I'm patient. It.s been sitting here for a couple months now.
It's a Mac OS X 10.6.6. I've tried tapping on the sides but still no difference. I don't want to get too aggressive.
Here's the message I get when I start it up, in which it will not allow me to open or copy files and the only ones it will show are the ones I already have on the computer, it's hiding the rest.


.

[avb3]

Sorry for your HD issue... most of us had them at one time or another.

I had numerous "Backup plans". Religously backing up to another drive didn't work... forgot a few times.

Having an online service such as MozyHome works great if your on Windoze or Mac, and if you run Linux (a wonderful invention ), you can use SpiderOak.

I have decided that important files (including photo's) are something I want access to from anywhere, so I now use DropBox. Instant sync, no more worries.

I also use Google docs and Gmail, so I don't have to worry about where I am, whose computer or which computer I use.

The only issue is you need to have internet connectivity, which is not always available if your on the water.

My solutions that have now survived two computer melt downs; I am up and running as if nothing happened when I get to another machine.

[s/v Jedi]

Just go and buy an external housing for a "2.5" laptop ATA external housing". Instead of ATA they might call it pATA or parallel ATA. Do not buy one for SATA or Serial ATA, what most will be today.

Also, buy a 500G drive with SATA housing and use time machine from now on

The best set is this drive: Amazon.com: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 2.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 5400 RPM SATA II WD5000BEVT: Electronics

with this housing: Amazon.com: Acomdata Tango USB 2.0/eSATA 2.5-Inch SATA Hard Drive Enclosure TNGXXXUSE-BLU (Blue): Electronics

It's better than other costing 2-3x as much (and they have the same drive internally) and this one doesn't force you to install their software etc. Work on any OS.

cheers,
Nick.

[s/v Jedi]

For photo's, we use SmugMug: Photo Sharing. Your Photos Look Better Here.
This isn't free so no commercials and full resolution storage of your photos in Google datacenters in both east and west coast USA.

SmugMug works with software like Adobe Lightroom for automatic archiving/publishing on SmugMug. Here's our site: sv-Jedi's Photos

You can't put other files there, just photo's or, with a more expensive option, videos.

ciao!
Nick.

[marshmat]

Hi Delmarrey,

Unfortunately for you, the MK8032GAX and its relatives are notorious for mechanical issues. (I had a 6025 do the same thing a few years ago, as have several friends with these drives.)

If yours spins up and doesn't click, and a computer can see it but not write to it, you could try Unstoppable Copier ( Roadkil.Net - Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier Program Download ). If you can get read-only access to the drive, UC should be able to extract and reconstruct any data that's still on the platters. I don't think it has a Mac version though, just Linux and Windows.

If it's mechanically OK but you can't get a computer to see it, try removing the board with the USB connectors. The drive itself should be able to communicate with any recent (<10 years old) IDE/PATA controller, although you'd need a $10 adapter to connect a desktop's IDE cable to the 2.5" drive. On older controllers, you might have to fiddle with master/slave settings (the jumpers) but most systems since the turn of the century will figure this out on their own ("cable select" mode).

If that doesn't work, the drive's onboard controller might be cooked. Replacing this is tedious and finicky, but possible.

Freezing or heating can occasionally free up a drive when the spindle or heads are mechanically seized; a bit of thermal expansion and contraction can loosen it up just long enough to copy the data to an intact drive.

(In any of these cases, the drive will be a write-off; you're trying to recover the data, not the hardware. Once it's failed once, you can never trust that disk again.)

Do NOT open the drive case or try to remove the platters. This was possible 20 years ago, but on a modern drive the clearances are far tighter and it is a clean-room procedure that requires special tools and expertise. Any contact (no matter how slight) with the platter surface or heads will damage them beyond almost anyone's ability to recover (certain three-letter agencies possibly excepted).

[delmarrey]

Marshmat,
Thanks, but the link does not support OS X. Oh well! I'm going to try the freeze thing to see if that works, so I'll cross your fingers.

I can buy the exact same drive (80 GB) new drive for $33. I was thinking of buying the new drive, then unplug old board from the old drive and plug it into the new board to see if it'll work. I'd only be out the $33 + shipping and/or have another piece-o-junk drive to mess with.

[Bergovoy]

if the hd workd previoiusly, then the jumpers are ok.

I would check the bios to make sure the computer knows there is a second hard drive...

If it does, then i would follow some of the suggestions above about repowering it with line voltage vs usb, freezing it, or at least chillng it...

I would also try using it on another computer...

exchanging parts is for the experts, and $300 sounds about right.

if you used it as a back up and still have the original on the computer, then youare golden.. just drill the bad hard drive to keep people from mining your data, and get another hard drive and re back up your computer..

I wouldnt bother with a plain hard drive.. get a new enclosure/back up 'system'... there are severa out there. some with one button backup, some automatic, some will work wirelessly for all thecomputers in your house so you have a single source for all your data...

if you ahve a desktop system, you can possibly go with a couple different types of back up systems... one is mirrored, so each time you write to the main hard drive it also writes to the back up drive... so, splits the data so you not only have a back up, but you have a much faster system...

these do get pricy, and havent shopped around in a few years, but the price of hard drives has always been dropping...I would imagine you could setup a terabyte backup for about $300

[Bergovoy]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Marshmat,
Thanks, but the link does not support OS X. Oh well! I'm going to try the freeze thing to see if that works, so I'll cross your fingers.

I can buy the exact same drive (80 GB) new drive for $33. I was thinking of buying the new drive, then unplug old board from the old drive and plug it into the new board to see if it'll work. I'd only be out the $33 + shipping and/or have another piece-o-junk drive to mess with.

you can always, piggyback hard drives and get more storage..

Unless you are tight with money, I would suggest getting at least a 500gb drive... you can also get enclosures that will hold multiple drives.

where are you looking/'shopping?

I suggest checking out www.frys.com they are huge...

[Noname1]

willing to risk $20? I use one of these.


Micro Center Products : Computer Parts : Enclosures/Trays : External Drive Adapters

[Bergovoy]

ok, read the messages and saw you tried a couple of the things already..

I would also suggest, (as i mentioned in a different thread, but maybe wasnt seen by some of you?) to register a domain name and get it hosted... All the hosting companies i know of will have storage space for you to use to back up your important stuff. and those companies back up thier servers, so there will be many copies ofyour data... keep in mind that some hosting companies dont back up as often, and all companies will not warranty or guarantee your back up, just so you know...

there is no guarantees.. the addage of dont put your eggs into one basket comes to mind... have many baskets...

MOZY is ok, but you will pay... music and high res pics and movies take up gobs of space...


gl

[marshmat]

The gadget michaeldsusa linked to should be able to talk to your existing drive if it's still able to partly function. It may not have a Mac driver, though. Don't waste your money on another MK####GAX series drive, they're junk.

Don't freeze it unless it's actually seized. If it spins and doesn't click, it's mechanically fine and freezing won't help.

If you are using a Mac and are not willing to find a Linux or Windows machine to do this on, you may have to take it to a technician. OSX tools for data recovery do exist, but the rule with OSX is that if it's not something the average user normally does (in which case it's immediately obvious), advanced stuff is obscenely complicated and requires good Unix command-line skills.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by marshmat

The gadget michaeldsusa linked to should be able to talk to your existing drive if it's still able to partly function. It may not have a Mac driver, though.

No mac driver needed. That gadget is handy to have anyway, as is one for SATA drives.

Don't freeze it unless it's actually seized. If it spins and doesn't click, it's mechanically fine and freezing won't help.

Correct and it is turning so the gadget is the way to go.

If you are using a Mac and are not willing to find a Linux or Windows machine to do this on, you may have to take it to a technician. OSX tools for data recovery do exist, but the rule with OSX is that if it's not something the average user normally does (in which case it's immediately obvious), advanced stuff is obscenely complicated and requires good Unix command-line skills.

take this as a starting point: Mac OSX disk repair - Google Search

cheers,
Nick.