Hard drive read error, any possible recovery?

BopNiblets

So my aunts Dell (4700, well out of warranty) BSOD'd on boot and I reinstalled XP easily enough on a spare HD I had, just wondering if I could recover any of her old stuff from the HD that failed

CHKDSK /R with the XP CD on it stops around 25% and says one or more read errors or some other useless message so there's a few unreadable sectors, Dell diagnostic told me the same thing (Error 7 I think it was), and it won't mount in Linux, so is it just a useless paperweight now?

unnameduser

There are devices that allow you to connect a harddrive to another computer via USB.
Chances are that you will run into problems recovering all data but you might get some back.

Something along the lines of this

gamer

is it a pc or laptop drive,is it ide or sata.You can put it into a pc set it as slave,drive,move hd jumper to s,slave or try cs cable select mode.CS jumper.
SEE www.pcinspector.de .Ignore chkdsk ,if the sectors where your data is are ok ,its irrelevant for now.IE A hd with loadsa bad sectors can still copy to drive c ,you may recover most of the data even if the widows /programs folder.s are erased.Google ide image,sata image ,say hd is sata,then buy a sata caddy ,anypc shop,eg peats 25euro.if certain sectors cant be read its irrelavent.YOU should still be able to copy folders,or even specific pics/ mp3s 1by1 if you have the time. try search this forum hard drive recovery.

BopNiblets

Just tried my brothers usb SATA caddy interface there and no go, it was in a 2.5" enclosure but the cable had a double USB for extra power, drive didn't pop up in W7 or Linux

Bah!

The_Thing

Two questions for you:

[1] - Is the drive being detected in the BIOS?

...and

[2] - How much value does your Aunt place on the files that are on the damaged disk?

If the answers to [1] above is 'Yes', and to [2] is 'More than $89' then Maybe Steve Gibson's SpinRite could save the day -> http://www.grc.com/intro.htm

$89 = €62.

Have a look here - > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHtJxsVEd4

and

Read down through this thread for more info - > http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055715012

CreepingDeath

The_Thing wrote: »

If the answers to [1] above is 'Yes', and to [2] is 'More than $89' then Maybe Steve Gibson's SpinRite could save the day -> http://www.grc.com/intro.htm

$89 = €62.

+1

I'm a long time listener of Steve Gibsons "Security now" podcast myself and would definitely try SpinRite if I needed to recover a HDD.

gamer

IF THE drive is not detected as e ,d,f etc then theres no point in buying spinrite,spinrite reorganises the sectors ,data on the hd , it cant bring a hd back to life.
PUT tape on the hd pcb to stop static damage /short circuits,put into a pc as drive d/e slave.USE a different ide cable.
IE use it on a separate cable, primary,ie set it a master drive d using jumper set to master.
I put a drive into a caddy once ,killed it cos the pcb short circuited, from the pcb touching the metal casing .USE electrical tape cost 50cent ,or duct tape on the pcb.
IF THE HD is eg seagate model 50lx, its possible to buy another hd 50lx, ie the same model.
AND swap the new pcb to the old drive, if you think the pcb is faulty.
If you hear a grinding noise,or clicking then the hd bearings may be worn and theres nothing you can do to fix the drive.
IF you put an ad on adverts.ie wanted, sum1 may have an identical
hardrive ,look at drive label, for the model no .