Any computer forensic people in the Barn?

[Kerrmudgeon]

My hard drive stopped spinning and I'm told it could be quite costly to retrieve all my pics (+7000) and PDFs from the remains. All my old Vette pics, as well as family ones I can't replicate.
I'm told it can start at 750$ and go up!
.....this time I'll be backing stuff up like I've been meaning to for a couple of years now....

I lost all my avatar honeys....

[Black94lt1]

Never had to do it but I have heard the same.

[mrvette]

I would try buying an identical drive that works, obviously....and swapping the disc out.....

or at least the motor drive....

[Kerrmudgeon]

Originally Posted by mrvette

I would try buying an identical drive that works, obviously....and swapping the disc out.....

or at least the motor drive....

that was my thought as well, until I found out that it's like a super clean, mask and gloves lab environment that it must be done in, not even a speck of dirt can get in or it's fkd......

[Cybercowboy]

Most of the time, if it's a straightforward recovery, it will be under $1000. You can tell them to only do the recovery if it's not going to cost more than X. Up to you if it is worth it. It possible that it's only the electronics that died, and if so that is a very easy fix (one that you could potentially even do yourself, you don't have to open up the drive and expose the platters to replace the circuit board.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

that was my thought as well, until I found out that it's like a super clean, mask and gloves lab environment that it must be done in, not even a speck of dirt can get in or it's fkd......

Yeh, I heard that too, but I think it's BS, reason is that the HD was taken outta my wife's old computer, disc was totally visible, and put into a 'capsule' and run with a USB port on to her present machine, she literally massaged the thing into giving up the ghosts, and she got all her client info off it, lightening strike maybe 6? years ago split a oak tree in 1/2 and tore up all the electronics for blocks around.....so lucky she managed to get it to run, but as to be being particularly sanitary....NO, I even had it outta the capsule to encourage it once....I would not put my fingers on the disc surface any more than a LP record, but to do on a kitchen table/office desk I would think be fine....

YMMV......

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by mrvette

Yeh, I heard that too, but I think it's BS, reason is that the HD was taken outta my wife's old computer, disc was totally visible, and put into a 'capsule' and run with a USB port on to her present machine, she literally massaged the thing into giving up the ghosts, and she got all her client info off it, lightening strike maybe 6? years ago split a oak tree in 1/2 and tore up all the electronics for blocks around.....so lucky she managed to get it to run, but as to be being particularly sanitary....NO, I even had it outta the capsule to encourage it once....I would not put my fingers on the disc surface any more than a LP record, but to do on a kitchen table/office desk I would think be fine....

YMMV......

No. No no no. No. Bad mrvette. Cracking open a hard drive outside a clean room is bad, mkay?

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

No. No no no. No. Bad mrvette. Cracking open a hard drive outside a clean room is bad, mkay?

I have seen many an open disc hard drive.....working fine,

not just the one in her case....I don't understand....

[Aerovette]

This is a great thread. I have a dead hard drive with thousands of pics on it and I need to do the same. I have swapped same gen controller borads from one drive to another with no success. I have opened the drive, but there is a special tool needed to remove the platters and I don't have it or know where to get it or how it works.

I have heard that a clean room is not necessary, BUT the area should be as clean and dust free as possible. Lint is less of a concern than oils or hard particles. The reading I have done over the last year or so says that light lint will spin off the platters and not cause the head to crash. My deal is that if I can get it to work for 30 minutes and save HALF of what I had it is worth it.

In my case, it spools up but the heads will not move over the platters. Just "click click click" as they sit on the sideline watching the platters spin.

[DukeAllen]

I've cracked many PCs open in a dusty bedroom (mine and other peoples'), and have worked on my laptop right here on the couch

It's better than spending a grand...

[Grey Ghost]

What brand and model number HDD?

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

I've cracked many PCs open in a dusty bedroom (mine and other peoples'), and have worked on my laptop right here on the couch

It's better than spending a grand...

Opening a PC or laptop is not the same as opening a hard drive.

[DukeAllen]

Originally Posted by aerovette

Opening a PC or laptop is not the same as opening a hard drive.

duh...that's what I told the teacher in my PC repair course

[Kerrmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Grey Ghost

What brand and model number HDD?

What I know is....it's a IDE 320GB drive, make?

I'll know when I take it out. A buddy has a spare old one so the plan is to make my old PC a backup if possible, and put my lost data on disc. Some irreplaceable photos on the damn thing.

[Wathen1955]

As you are trying to get the hard drive to run, listen to the sound it is making. Is it completely dead or is it still spinning?

The damage can be either internal or external. A clicking sound, for example, is suggestive of a malfunctioning head, i.e. internal damage. A completely dead drive, on the other hand, could be due to a faulty printed circuit board, i.e. external damage.

Sometimes, you can hear your drive spinning, but it never pops up. Or maybe it’s completely dead. To pinpoint the type of damage, try to manually check whether or not the drive is recognized by your computer BIOS.

The drive could also be stuck. Sometimes, hitting it with a rubber mallet may work.

I was able to recover some drives by taking the drive out and put it in a plastic zip lock baggie. Put it in the freezer for 60 minutes. Then take it out and using a USB connection, see if you can recover your files using another PC.

There was one time I actually took a heat gun while it was connected to another PC via USB, and while applying heat, the drive game alive allowing me to get the files off.

And finally, YOU NEED A BACKUP DRIVE! They are cheap insurance. A 1 TB drive is less than $100.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by Wathen1955

As you are trying to get the hard drive to run, listen to the sound it is making. Is it completely dead or is it still spinning?

The damage can be either internal or external. A clicking sound, for example, is suggestive of a malfunctioning head, i.e. internal damage. A completely dead drive, on the other hand, could be due to a faulty printed circuit board, i.e. external damage.

Sometimes, you can hear your drive spinning, but it never pops up. Or maybe it’s completely dead. To pinpoint the type of damage, try to manually check whether or not the drive is recognized by your computer BIOS.

The drive could also be stuck. Sometimes, hitting it with a rubber mallet may work.

I was able to recover some drives by taking the drive out and put it in a plastic zip lock baggie. Put it in the freezer for 60 minutes. Then take it out and using a USB connection, see if you can recover your files using another PC.

There was one time I actually took a heat gun while it was connected to another PC via USB, and while applying heat, the drive game alive allowing me to get the files off.

And finally, YOU NEED A BACKUP DRIVE! They are cheap insurance. A 1 TB drive is less than $100.

The freezer trick doesn't work with modern drives and as a matter of fact can cause a total failure if moisture is inside the drive and crystallizes, resulting in a bad bad head crash. The tolerances of modern drives makes this totally not worth trying. The reason it used to work is if the spindle was seized up, freezing it could free it long enough to get it spinning. Modern drives, this simply won't work.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by mrvette

I have seen many an open disc hard drive.....working fine,

not just the one in her case....I don't understand....

What, 20+ years ago? Yeah, it's possible. Modern drives? No f'ing way. Plus what are you going to do to the drive, when it is apart, to make it start working? Poke at stuff? No, if you want to get the data off the drive the less you mess with it before handing it off to the pros, the better.

[Grey Ghost]

I would open the case and try some gentle taps with my fingers first. Try unplugging the power cable to it and using a different one from the power supply.
First step is to see if you hear it 'spinning'. These are assembled in clean rooms. Last resort is to open the case and give it a little push and tighten the case back together. If you can get it spinning, have a thumb drive or something avail. to start copying files to.

[tjfontaine]

Too late for the OP, but an ounce of prevention ...

If you don't have a method for automatically backing up your data as you read this - you need to remedy this immediately or face the same kind of problems as the OP.

A spare drive, a NAS, external hard drive, online backups like crashplan - pick one, and set it up to automatically back up your data. Please ...

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by tjfontaine

Too late for the OP, but an ounce of prevention ...

If you don't have a method for automatically backing up your data as you read this - you need to remedy this immediately or face the same kind of problems as the OP.

A spare drive, a NAS, external hard drive, online backups like crashplan - pick one, and set it up to automatically back up your data. Please ...

Yeh, that what wife did, cloud something, not that my machine needs backup.....maybe I should save me email file, much to everyone's chagrin.....