Anybody good at retrieving data from corrupt drive

Defiant · 06-20-2005

I have a fairly new hard drive (250G) that for some reason got corrupted. If I have it installed in a machine, the machine won't boot. It will go through all kinds of disk checking and report that certain sectors are unreadable when I try to boot. I put it in an external case, but it won't even show up. If I have it in an external case, then go into "Computer Management" from "Administrative Tools" (using XP SP2), I can see the drive in Disk Management, but it does not have a drive letter associated with it. "Reactivate Disk" does not work, and nothing I have tried has worked so far. I am sure that if I was under investigation by the Feds they would be able to rebuild it to see if I had anything they could bust me for, but I can't find any info that could help ME rebuild or repair it. Does anyone have any idea about something I could do to get this drive working again, or know of some software that I could use? Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

gonzo · 06-20-2005

Steve Gibson's SpinRite is your best bet. Forensic data recovery costs $300 an hour. Clean room recovery is even more.

Newton · 06-20-2005

Spinrite is the best option http://grc.com/spinrite.htm

Defiant · 06-20-2005

Well, it certainly LOOKS good. I wish there was a demo for it, though. So far I have tried Forensic Disk Utility, Stellar Phoenix, R-Studio, and GetDataBack. None of them can even SEE the external drive.

gonzo · 06-20-2005

Quote:

Originally posted by Defiant@Jun 20 2005, 07:53 PM
Well, it certainly LOOKS good. I wish there was a demo for it, though. So far I have tried Forensic Disk Utility, Stellar Phoenix, R-Studio, and GetDataBack. None of them can even SEE the external drive.

Sounds like track zero is gone. LBR is MIA.

Defiant · 06-20-2005

I got Spinrite, so I guess I will burn it to a CD, disconnect my local drives, and put the bad drive back in and let the thing run overnight. Hopefully it will work out. Thanks for the reccommendation. I'll let you know if it works.

Newton · 06-20-2005

Cool man good luck

Defiant · 06-20-2005

Looks like Spinrite doesn't recognize the hard drive, either

Timon · 06-21-2005

Can you hear the drive spinning and reading when you boot up your PC? Put your hand on it or press it against your ear while you boot up the PC.

If not then there may be a mechanical or electrical failure in which case data recovery software won't help you, you'll just need to get whatever is broken repaired.

I'd contact the manufacturer and see if there is any service center in your area.

Defiant · 06-21-2005

Quote:

Originally posted by Timon@Jun 21 2005, 02:11 AM
Can you hear the drive spinning and reading when you boot up your PC? Put your hand on it or press it against your ear while you boot up the PC.

If not then there may be a mechanical or electrical failure in which case data recovery software won't help you, you'll just need to get whatever is broken repaired.

I'd contact the manufacturer and see if there is any service center in your area.

That was the very first thing I did when I initially started having problems with this drive. It is not a mechanical problem.

What I finally ended up doing last night was sticking the drive into one of my spare machines and running Spinrite. That didn't work. So I ended up deleting the partition, creating a new partition, putting the drive back inside of my primary machine, then tried running Forensic Disk Utility and GetDataBack. No luck there, either. Just for the hell of it, I ran Stellar Phoenix again. It found the drive and started listing the data I figured was gone for good. I went to bed as my data was being recovered. Of course we had a power fart over night and our machines reset, so I had to start it over again this morning when I got up, but at least it is working. Thank you to everyone for their assistance!

EmporerEJ · 06-23-2005

Let me guess...Maxtor?

Defiant · 06-23-2005

Quote:

Originally posted by EmporerEJ@Jun 23 2005, 02:17 AM
Let me guess...Maxtor?

Good guess

06-20-2005	#1
Defiant Video Editor Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 114	I have a fairly new hard drive (250G) that for some reason got corrupted. If I have it installed in a machine, the machine won't boot. It will go through all kinds of disk checking and report that certain sectors are unreadable when I try to boot. I put it in an external case, but it won't even show up. If I have it in an external case, then go into "Computer Management" from "Administrative Tools" (using XP SP2), I can see the drive in Disk Management, but it does not have a drive letter associated with it. "Reactivate Disk" does not work, and nothing I have tried has worked so far. I am sure that if I was under investigation by the Feds they would be able to rebuild it to see if I had anything they could bust me for, but I can't find any info that could help ME rebuild or repair it. Does anyone have any idea about something I could do to get this drive working again, or know of some software that I could use? Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. __________________ Do you need quality video editing? adult-video-editor.com

06-20-2005	#2
gonzo Fat Fucking Nobody Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Atlanta,Ga. Posts: 17,795 Blog Entries: 11	Steve Gibson's SpinRite is your best bet. Forensic data recovery costs $300 an hour. Clean room recovery is even more. __________________ We are putting the bastards of this world on notice; greed and corruption will always be met with "a voice made of ink and rage." "Never try and be like anyone else" - Hunter S. Thompson "The truth is the truth no matter how you try and package a lie" - Shellee Hale

06-20-2005	#3
Newton It's always business, never personal! The POWER of radio Oprano Radio Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On a golf course Posts: 4,916	Spinrite is the best option http://grc.com/spinrite.htm __________________ Poser Bush in a mix-up over his hi-tech gizmo - ICLOD

06-20-2005	#4
Defiant Video Editor Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 114	Well, it certainly LOOKS good. I wish there was a demo for it, though. So far I have tried Forensic Disk Utility, Stellar Phoenix, R-Studio, and GetDataBack. None of them can even SEE the external drive. __________________ Do you need quality video editing? adult-video-editor.com

06-20-2005	#6
Defiant Video Editor Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 114	I got Spinrite, so I guess I will burn it to a CD, disconnect my local drives, and put the bad drive back in and let the thing run overnight. Hopefully it will work out. Thanks for the reccommendation. I'll let you know if it works. __________________ Do you need quality video editing? adult-video-editor.com

06-20-2005	#7
Newton It's always business, never personal! The POWER of radio Oprano Radio Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On a golf course Posts: 4,916	Cool man good luck __________________ Poser Bush in a mix-up over his hi-tech gizmo - ICLOD

06-21-2005	#9
Timon Hospitality Supervisor Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,338	Can you hear the drive spinning and reading when you boot up your PC? Put your hand on it or press it against your ear while you boot up the PC. If not then there may be a mechanical or electrical failure in which case data recovery software won't help you, you'll just need to get whatever is broken repaired. I'd contact the manufacturer and see if there is any service center in your area.

06-23-2005	#11
EmporerEJ Brilliant Innoventionalist and writer. Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: USA, Northern Hemisphere, Terra, 3rd of nine, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy, Far from Galactic Core Posts: 2,260	Let me guess...Maxtor? __________________ Eric J. White VirtualSexMachine.com

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