Data recovery

Any one have success with retrieving data from a bum hard drive? Its a regular mechanical drive - 8TB. Any companies/people who you could recommend?

 

If you want to attempt to recover data, download and create a
Hirens (Windows PE) Bootable CD. (You have to "build" the disc yourself, but it is not hard, just being able to follow the process)

From here...
https://www.hirensbootcd.org/

It is not the original Hirens, but a "resurrected" project and has most utilities that you would need.
(The original project stopped being maintained by the author, and this project is crated and supported by users of the original)

There are links to the original project and all the binaries to create earlier versions, but they do not support the newer boot codes, BIOS and hardware of newer systems.

(I am retired 29 years IT Director for a several corporations and used Hirens and the utilities extensively)

That said, although some of the utilities for data recovery are easy to use (GUI applications), knowing how to use them properly is a must.

Knowing why the drive is not readable is important to how you attempt recovery. It can be hours or days process, and should not be interrupted if possible.

If the drive had a head crash or if the media is failing, viewing, trying to copy and in some cases even powering the drive can result in more or complete data loss.

If it is a "hardware/logic" problem, say a bad head actuator or the controller (board) you cannot do this yourself, unless you have an exact known good model drive that you might have luck swapping the controller.

If it is a mechanical problem, about the only thing you might have a chance would be to "freeze" the drive overnight in hopes that the bearing will clearance enough to spin up. This used to be a thing that worked in the past due to larger bearings with greater clearances, but newer drives (from around 2010) had tighter and smaller bearing clearances and freezing had less chance of doing anything.

Drive recovery outfits are expensive. $1500 and up. Typically what happens is you send your drive and about $100 initial fee, and then the outfit calls/emails and "incrementally" gives you "good news! but we need more money" and they slowly bring the cost up, to keep you "invested".

It's sort of truth and phycological. On the one hand, they cannot know if they can recover anything until they either can or cannot go any further, but they will not proceed to the next step until they get paid for that next step. And the other side of that is they realize that many people would never send the drive in with a sticker price that high. Most corporate folks have a means to backup/image user data either directly to servers, (and servers have several redundancies and backup methods) the cloud or some method and if a user drive fails, it is simply replaced with a new OS/Apps image and their data restored in a few hours. Seldom do enough companies need the services anymore.
Second is "individual users", and they are less likely to throw big money at a lost drive, and attempt a DIY, and roll the dice. If a $50-$100 utility does not work, they move on.

I have had success in retrieving a great many failed drives, and a few that I could not. I have also used or recommended recovery services and most folks had good results, but all ended up in the $1500 range and a few (complex server drive arrays) were about double.
Hope that helps you decide which way to go.

If you want to discuss further after reading up on the Hirens, PM me, and I can give you my number or call you. (no cost )

 

Dear Bill, Michael, and V-8 Buick victims of technology,

Michael seems to have you more than covered. However, if you can afford the cost and want someone else to struggle with recovering the data, I have used Secure Data Recovery Services to save a drive with all my digital photos:

https://www.securedatarecovery.com/

It was a painful price to pay, but I just couldn't live with losing all those photos digitized starting in the 1980s.

Cheers, Edouard

P.S. Yes, they were supposed to be backed up, but my backup software was misconfigured . . . . . Insert as many blankety-blank words as you see fit!

 

When we can't recover data ourselves in the shop and the client really needs it, we have been using a company in CA, https://www.300dollardatarecovery.com/ The last 3-4 drives we sent them, they got 99% recovery and they are the most affordable we have come across. Depending on much data you have, probably would run you $500-700. 15 years ago, that would have been over $1500 probably.

 

Hi,

A cheap way that works on older mechanical drives is to put them in the freezer, will tighten up the clearance and allow the drive to spool up, work on one of mine got 90% of things off of it.

Good luck,
Jim

 

Easy question going to recycle 3 laptops at Best Buy (for free!) how do I remove the drives? They are Sony Vaios. Thanks!

 

Viao's typically have a small access panel on the bottom of the laptop and four screws.

 

Thank you TM! Be well!!