Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

disk failure

Options
  • 03-10-2009 1:35pm
    #1
    darealtulip
    Registered Users Posts: 1,346 ✭✭✭


    My harddrive decided to quit working today after only 6 months!

    The photo's of my boys birthday are on it:mad::(

    didn't back them up yet.

    I tried doing the usual, restorepoint etc but it wont find my harddrive anywhere, not in the drive manager and it says "master disk HDD S.M.A.R.T capability...... none.

    anyone has any ideas???


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    majiktripp
    Registered Users Posts: 2,471 ✭✭✭majiktripp


    If you are familiar with the bios, restart the computer and go into it usual by pressing F2 ot Del. and see if the drive is listed there and showing up.
    If it is listed I recommend getting either a version of HDD Regenerator or SpinRite which are Hard drive recovery/repair tools.
    If you can get these up and running on the drive there may be some hope, but it will take several hours for either one of these programs to run through.
    The S.M.A.R.T part you mention is a self monitoring facility that some hard drives have and usually has to be enabled in the bios.
    If it is turned on and the drive is starting to fail, you usually get a message just after the PC is turned on with something to the effect of "SMART status bad, imminent drive failure detected, back up data...yadda yadda"


  • Options
    #3
    darealtulip
    Registered Users Posts: 1,346 ✭✭✭darealtulip


    majiktripp wrote: »
    If you are familiar with the bios, restart the computer and go into it usual by pressing F2 ot Del. and see if the drive is listed there and showing up.
    If it is listed I recommend getting either a version of HDD Regenerator or SpinRite which are Hard drive recovery/repair tools.
    If you can get these up and running on the drive there may be some hope, but it will take several hours for either one of these programs to run through.
    The S.M.A.R.T part you mention is a self monitoring facility that some hard drives have and usually has to be enabled in the bios.
    If it is turned on and the drive is starting to fail, you usually get a message just after the PC is turned on with something to the effect of "SMART status bad, imminent drive failure detected, back up data...yadda yadda"

    Drive not listed in the bios:(:(:(:(:mad::mad: Does that mean I have no chance to get the data back thats on it?

    tried putting it in my other rig aswell, no luck so far, it is spinning thoug.

    thanks for your very quick reply!!! btw!


  • Options
    #4
    majiktripp
    Registered Users Posts: 2,471 ✭✭✭majiktripp


    You could try using the HDD regenerator program I was talking about, Its used from a bootable cd, and hopefully it will list your hard drive and allow you to run a repair on it.
    Alternativly you could download the trial of GetDataBack NFTS and see can it detect your hard drive and run a retrieval on it....but seeing as the drive isn't showing up in the bios it probably wont.
    You could try a USB->IDE/SATA connector cable and plug the hard drive in once windows is booted up (on your spare machine) and see can you pull any info off it.
    Lastly, my shot in the dark, put the hard drive in a zip lock bag, and put it in the freezer over night.
    Remove it from the freezer and plug it in via the USB-IDE/SATA connecter and hopefully it will show up long enough to pull files off it. Weird as it sounds it has worked with mixed results for me before at work.


  • Options
    #5
    darealtulip
    Registered Users Posts: 1,346 ✭✭✭darealtulip


    majiktripp wrote: »
    Lastly, my shot in the dark, put the hard drive in a zip lock bag, and put it in the freezer over night.
    Remove it from the freezer and plug it in via the USB-IDE/SATA connecter and hopefully it will show up long enough to pull files off it. Weird as it sounds it has worked with mixed results for me before at work.


    how did you come up with that one?

    I looked on the westerndigital website and found this
    http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=612&sid=30&lang=en
    Itried it but it says no WD drive found:(

    will try your freezer option, does that not affect waranty?

    thanks again!


  • Options
    #6
    majiktripp
    Registered Users Posts: 2,471 ✭✭✭majiktripp


    The freezer is a last ditch attempt to revive a hdd, will definately void any warranty. Google for "200 ways to revive a hard drive" at least I think that was the name of the PDF, had some good info in it, including the freezer shot in the dark.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    majiktripp
    Registered Users Posts: 2,471 ✭✭✭majiktripp


    http://www.hddrecovery.com.au/PDF/200ways.pdf

    posting from iPhone so hope that link works!


  • Options
    #8
    darealtulip
    Registered Users Posts: 1,346 ✭✭✭darealtulip


    majiktripp wrote: »
    http://www.hddrecovery.com.au/PDF/200ways.pdf

    posting from iPhone so hope that link works!

    Thanks for that!!


  • Options
    #9
    Effluo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,890 ✭✭✭Effluo


    majiktripp wrote: »
    Lastly, my shot in the dark, put the hard drive in a zip lock bag, and put it in the freezer over night.

    That's almost as good as the guy on the graphics forum with his gpu in the oven!!!


  • Options
    #10
    polyfusion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 679 ✭✭✭polyfusion


    If you have no luck with the hard drive, try recovering from the camera memory card as well. If you don't use it much, there is a good chance of recovery (Maybe they're still on it, undeleted!).


  • Options
    #11
    majiktripp
    Registered Users Posts: 2,471 ✭✭✭majiktripp


    Effluo wrote: »
    That's almost as good as the guy on the graphics forum with his gpu in the oven!!!

    I head myths about that before, supposed to just get hot enough to re-melt the solder on the board of the card re-fusing all the little connections, or something to that effect and therefore as ended up in the card working again. Fair play but I wouldn't try it myself!


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    leninbenjamin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,983 ✭✭✭leninbenjamin


    I've friends who swear by the freezer thing. I think it works by causing the platters to contract, and temporarily removing any warps or kinks that may have arisen. But if it does work (and there's no guarantee, I suspect it only works in special cases) it will only last about an hour or so before it warms up again.

    It's the last ditch attempt though, do not attempt unless all avenues have been attempted. And if you do, make sure it's in a dry sealed bag, any kind of moisture in there and it's instantly a write-off. And if it doesn't work, the data is gone for good.


  • Options
    #13
    polyfusion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 679 ✭✭✭polyfusion


    majiktripp wrote: »
    I head myths about that before, supposed to just get hot enough to re-melt the solder on the board of the card re-fusing all the little connections, or something to that effect and therefore as ended up in the card working again. Fair play but I wouldn't try it myself!

    Saw them on TV doing the same thing with PS3 boards in the back of a van outside Sony HQ in London, IIRC. Might have been Watchdog on BBC.


  • Options
    #14
    darealtulip
    Registered Users Posts: 1,346 ✭✭✭darealtulip


    polyfusion wrote: »
    Saw them on TV doing the same thing with PS3 boards in the back of a van outside Sony HQ in London, IIRC. Might have been Watchdog on BBC.

    that was watchdog for sure, saw it aswell.

    Don't know what else to try and don't want to lose waranty, it's a velociraptor otherwise I wouldn't give a monkey.

    Good idea to try and recover from the memory card, didn't think of that!! so simple. go and try straight away!!


Advertisement