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Thread ID: 53812 2005-01-27 23:02:00 Getting data of a presumably faulty HDD straka01 (310) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
318722 2005-01-27 23:02:00 An older friend asked me to look at her PC and see what I could do to help her retrieve her data.
She's not a PC whiz - just uses it to write newsletters and scan pictures in. It stopped working (she didn't have any details how or why) - so she took it to a PC shop and they told her it wasn't worth fixing....
I tried the PC when I got it home - but there was no life at all - no beeps or anything....
I've taken out the HDD (Fujitsu 5400rpm 6.4Gb), set it to slave and installed it as a secondary drive in another working PC. I wanted to make sure whether or not the HDD was sick as the problem could be caused by a faulty switch or other things....
Anyway, my PC wont see it or find it at all - not in the bios or OS.
Does anyone know what to do or any programs that will give me a 'decent crack' at checking it and perhaps getting some info off it?
Thanks
straka01 (310)
318723 2005-01-27 23:08:00 When u turn it on can u hear any noises coming from the hard drive, can u feel it spinning ? Overdrive_5000 (4950)
318724 2005-01-27 23:15:00 Really depends what's actually wrong with the drive
If it's the electronics (which it probably is as it can't be detected) on the drive that are shot then buying another drive off TradeMe & swapping cards will probably get it going again.
If it's a mechanical problem you can take it to a data recovery specialist (costs lots)
If this costs too much a good smack on a wooden surface can loosen up the spindle enough to get it spinning & if your quick enough you can get some data off it before it seizes again
Freezing it overnight in a plastic bag has also worked for me in the past
There are lots of "tricks to try"
Here are 200 of them in pdf format to download
www.hddrecovery.com.au
bartsdadhomer (80)
318725 2005-01-27 23:28:00 I can't hear any noises from it at all.
I've never swapped cards on HDD's before - what's involved?
straka01 (310)
318726 2005-01-28 01:12:00 I would try to access the disk witth Linux.

You can get a Knoppix CD from Disk Smith Electronics (XC4034 for $1, or XC 4043 for $4-95) .

That won't use your hard disk (unless you tell it to), but it will make a pretty good attempt to locate all disks, including the suspect one.

I don't think changing circuit boards is likely to be easy for someone who isn't experienced.
Graham L (2)
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