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Thread ID: 19262	2002-05-12 00:01:00	Lost hard drive	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
48357	2002-05-12 00:01:00	I have 'lost my hard drive. It is detected in bios but not in windows, nor does it show up in dos mode using startup disk (w98se). When it dissapeared it also knocked out my bios, had to reset and start from scratch. Could this be the result of a virus?? Is there any way I can recover my data off this hdd. Thanks for any help.	Guest (0)
48358	2002-05-13 08:32:00	Hi Chris It doesn't look like anybody has answered your post yet so I'll offer what assistance I can, though I'm no expert in data recovery. If your data is vital, you can try Computer Forensics Ltd. Their number is 09 359 9424 or if you live outside of Auckland try 0800 LOSTFILES. It is not cheap so figure on more than $1000 if a major data recovery exercise is needed. I have used their service for a dead 1.2GB drive and it was worth every dollar, but I just had to have the data back. Whatever you do, don't let anybody try amateur data recovery techniques using Nortons or smilar programs as you may lose any chance you might have had of getting your data back. One thing you could do that should not affect your data would be to install your HD as a (non-booting) slave in another computer and see if the bios recognises it and allows access. Provided all you are doing is trying to read the drive your data should be safe and as long as the host computer has up to date AV signatures it shouldn't be at risk either. If you don't want to compromise a friend's computer you might be able to get a computer shop to check it for you. If your disk proves to be OK, configure it as a master & see if it will boot as you can then look deeper to find what's wrong with your computer. Trouble is, if it is not hooked to your original computer the OS setup will be wrong for the temporary host and it might not work. As an alternative, if you find that your old drive can be accessed as a slave, fit a new hard drive in your computer (they are cheaper than data recovery) install your OS and a good AV program with auto-protect enabled) then transfer your data over from the old disk. Once it is all OK you can reformat the old drive and use it for backups, which it rather sounds like you don't have at present. Post a reply if you have any luck, I'd like to know how you get on. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Guest (0)
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