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Urgent help required - dead HDD

  • 01-07-2008 6:14pm
    #1
    Hagar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,793 ✭✭✭✭


    Here's my tale of woe...

    Hardware Packard Bell H5 Notebook running XP SP2 witrh a 60 gb HDD.

    My HDD has died and due to a house move my last backup is almost 6 weeks old. I know, I know, the lecture won't help me now. Constructive help only. Smart arse comments will be welcomed and swallowed down when the data is safe. Until then thinking caps on lads.

    I have put a new 80gb drive and reinstalled basic XP SP2.
    I have installed my old drive into an external usb HDD caddy.
    The drive is not seen.

    Any help would be appreciated, it involves business files and emails that I don't want to loose.


Comments

  • #2
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,125 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    People have had some success with what is called the freezer trick. Put the hard drive into a freezer bag and leave it in the freezer for a few hours, then connect it up and see if you can read the drive (I know I'm surprised it works too). Apart from that you'd be looking at professional data recovery. This is normally quite expensive (hundreds maybe even thousands) so it might not be worth it.


  • #3
    Tom Dunne
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,212 ✭✭✭✭Tom Dunne


    Hagar wrote: »
    Here's my tale of woe...

    Hardware Packard Bell H5 Notebook running XP SP2 witrh a 60 gb HDD.

    My HDD has died and due to a house move my last backup is almost 6 weeks old. I know, I know, the lecture won't help me now. Constructive help only. Smart arse comments will be welcomed and swallowed down when the data is safe. Until then thinking caps on lads.

    I have put a new 80gb drive and reinstalled basic XP SP2.
    I have installed my old drive into an external usb HDD caddy.
    The drive is not seen.

    Any help would be appreciated, it involves business files and emails that I don't want to loose.

    Does the drive even spin up? If not, check for bent pins and obvious things like that.

    I was going to suggest the freezer method, there are mixed results about it.


  • #4
    Hagar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,793 ✭✭✭✭Hagar


    Yeah the drive spins up, I can feel the vibrations through the case but they stop after maybe 10 seconds and the power light just blinks, 1 long 6 short seems to be the pattern.

    It's in the freezer at the moment, thanks AC, but every time I go down to check on it I collect ice cubes for another glass of rose, not helping at all I'm afraid.:pac:


  • #5
    Tom Dunne
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,212 ✭✭✭✭Tom Dunne


    Hagar wrote: »
    Yeah the drive spins up, I can feel the vibrations through the case but they stop after maybe 10 seconds and the power light just blinks, 1 long 6 short seems to be the pattern.

    It's in the freezer at the moment, thanks AC, but every time I go down to check on it I collect ice cubes for another glass of rose, not helping at all I'm afraid.:pac:

    I see your problem - who puts ice cubes in rose? Chill it properly, ffs.

    As for the drive, the fact that it spins up is A Good Thing. Might be worth chancing it back in the laptop, sometimes the act of removing it and re-inserting it might do something. You never know.


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