Who here does data recovery?

guthook · Oct 29, 2013

HELP!!! :omg:

I have an old 30GB Western Digital IDE HD that is not spinning.

Does anyone here do data recovery, or can it even be done with a bad drive? It was working fine when shut down, but now refuses to spin up.

This drive has never seen the internet, or a network and no files get imported to it. It is from a computer designed solely for creation, so I'm ruling out viruses or outside corruption.

This disk is the data drive of music recording tracks, mostly of my band, but also including my family playing original compositions. Some were backed up, newer recordings have not been.

I'm really saddened about losing this, and I feel I'm about to find out what price I will, or will not, put on memories.

.

willy · Oct 29, 2013

try it in another computer. sounds like a power problem. i have a device that allows me to hook it up and boot to another computer. it is a sata/ide usb converter. is that the only drive in the computer?
https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...99&ei=G29wUvOoAuSwsASCmYCQCQ&ved=0CNUEEKYrMAI

smokering · Oct 29, 2013

Put it in the freezer overnight

gunone · Oct 29, 2013

Bad drives can be recovered. Depending on issue. If its mechanical, you are probably hosed. It would be cost prohibitive for most people to recover the data.

I would take it out and shake it a little. In case the heads are stuck. And then hook it back up.

If it comes up, quickly copy you data off.

If its a data corruption problem on the drive (info that tells the drive where to find things). It maybe recoverable.

I have helped someone on here in a similar situation. And willing to help if you want.

eddiek2000 · Oct 29, 2013

Check power supply. Put drive in Freezer, put in pc while still ice cold. If that doesn't help, try the oven. As low as you can set the oven for 20-30 minutes. Put in PC quickly and power on (while still HOT).

Be prepared to remove your data.

gunone · Oct 29, 2013

If you put it in the freezer, place it in at least 2 ziplock bags to keep moisture out. But condensation will still form on the drive, and may damage it more when you take it out to use it.

Never heard of putting it in the oven. And I wouldn't recommend it.

Zibner · Oct 29, 2013

I'm an expert at data lose not so good about the recovery part I vote for putting it in the dish washer RINSE cycle only. :party29:

guthook · Oct 29, 2013

Why not. The freezer trick worked great for my ipod, never thought to use it on a hard drive. :thumbsup:

I'll give it a try soon.

psycosteve · Oct 29, 2013

as for getting the drive to spin up I find that removing the HD and setting it upside down on an anti-static bag can sometimes get it to fire up and work for a little while . I would also look at the jumpers and make sure that they are correctly placed on the HD .

Download a copy of Norton Ghost and do a sector to sector copy of the drive on a new hard drive . I find an old not being used computer works great for doing the ghosting .

I would say that if you were local I would do the ghosting for ya on the cheap .

falconall57 · Oct 30, 2013

I read your problem for which I would ask you to first check the power cable; it can be one of the reason for not spinning your hard drive. If still it didn't spin that call your hard drive vendor for support.

CypherPunk · Oct 30, 2013

If the issue is internal/mechanical to the hard drive itself, Kroll OnTrack is the gold standard for data recovery.

Kroll is authorized by all major drive vendors to open and repair the drive and recover the data without voiding the warranty.

As stated, it will not be cheap. Fees start around $1250-4000, with a small diagnostic fee to list the recoverable files.

guthook · Oct 30, 2013

CypherPunk said:
If the issue is internal/mechanical to the hard drive itself, Kroll OnTrack is the gold standard for data recovery.

Kroll is authorized by all major drive vendors to open and repair the drive and recover the data without voiding the warranty.

As stated, it will not be cheap. Fees start around $1250-4000, with a small diagnostic fee to list the recoverable files.

YIKES!!!!

My memories do have a price. That exceeds it by quite a bit. :eek:

Forgot to mention, the computer would not find any drive on the IDE bus until the offending drive was removed. After removing it, the master drive was again recognized and worked properly.

I use a RAID 1 configuration in my newer computer just in case this happens. Wish I had done that with the recording computer, in hindsight. :sad20:

Too tired right now to troubleshoot. Us old guys need to take naps.

I'll try later.

eddiek2000 · Oct 30, 2013

gunone said:
If you put it in the freezer, place it in at least 2 ziplock bags to keep moisture out. But condensation will still form on the drive, and may damage it more when you take it out to use it.

Never heard of putting it in the oven. And I wouldn't recommend it.

It heats up the drive reducing friction and sometimes enables it to spin up. Ever feel a drive that has been spinning awhile- they can get pretty hot, especially older drives.

eddiek2000 · Oct 30, 2013

guthook said:
YIKES!!!!

My memories do have a price. That exceeds it by quite a bit.

Forgot to mention, the computer would not find any drive on the IDE bus until the offending drive was removed. After removing it, the master drive was again recognized and worked properly.

I use a RAID 1 configuration in my newer computer just in case this happens. Wish I had done that with the recording computer, in hindsight.

Too tired right now to troubleshoot. Us old guys need to take naps. I'll try later.

Not a good sign. I have a usb to almost everything adapter if you want to give it a try.

Traveler · Oct 31, 2013

Freezer yes, be careful of condensation. A ziplock back can keep the condensation at bay. The oven could very likely fry the electronics when you turn it on. Heat is the enemy of the electronic components. Any clicking sounds? If it is just the controller that went bad, OnTrack can recover it at a lower cost.

peace · Oct 31, 2013

https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

Replacing the platters or opening up a hardrive is a "white glove" affair. These work should be perfromed in static free clean room with negative pressure.

Most people can't afford that when they ask me this question. So I tell them to purchase spinrite. It will pay for itself if it works. I highly recommend it as it does work.

Peace

L0gic · Oct 31, 2013

guthook said:
HELP!!!

I have an old 30GB Western Digital IDE HD that is not spinning.

Does anyone here do data recovery, or can it even be done with a bad drive? It was working fine when shut down, but now refuses to spin up..

You did not say if this is an internal hard drive or an external, but since you said IDE, I'm going to guess internal. If it is not spinning up at all, do you recall hearing any "clicking" coming from your machine over the past few days?

If it is not spinning up at all, connecting it to a USB adapter will help isolate if it is the 12V rail inside your machine or the circuit board on the drive itself. With no spinning at all, I'm not expecting the freezer trick to work. That normally helps contract the material so the read heads can align properly.

R1Peacock · Oct 31, 2013

Take a look at the circuit board on the drive - you may have to use a torx bit to remove it from the drive. Look at all connections and parts and see if there are any that look damaged. Burned components are common and since its an old drive it likely does not contain a TPM chip. If the board is bad you can replace it yourself. You will need to Google the drive make and model and hopefully as a standard you can find one that has a manufacture date of about 2 months +/- from your damaged drive. You should be able to find one on eBay - I suspect since it is a 30GB drive it should be under $50.

If the board is good (no indication of burned components or connections) the damage is internal - possibly a bad power supply, seized bearing or bad motor if it does not spin. If that is the case you can reach out to Scott Moultin at "My Hard Drive Died". Scott is the industry expert on the topic and has taught most of the people that work at Kroll, etc. If I recall he normally charges under $1000 plus the cost of the donor drive.

RP --- Retired BCoPD Detective --- www.realforensicanalysis.com

guthook · Oct 31, 2013

Thanks for the replies. :thumbsup:

I tried the freezer trick last night, with no joy. The 12 and 5 volt power is good at the connector.

No clicks, hums buzzes...nothing. She's as silent as a buried casket.

I may try to cannibalize it and get a new drive to put the platters in, unless there are any other suggestions.

L0gic · Oct 31, 2013

guthook said:
Thanks for the replies.

I tried the freezer trick last night, with no joy. The 12 and 5 volt power is good at the connector.

No clicks, hums buzzes...nothing. She's as silent as a buried casket.

I may try to cannibalize it and get a new drive to put the platters in, unless there are any other suggestions.

I would not advise that. There are special tools required to keep things separate and from being scratched and that does not take in to account a "clean room" as one bit of dust can make your bits bite the dust. I tried that on a friends dead drive just to experiment and it went to hell in a handbasket, although that was a 2.5" laptop drive, not a 3.5" desktop drive.

The fact that nothing spins up makes me think it is indeed a power issue and not necessarily a data/platter issue.

Who here does data recovery?

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