URGENT: Recover hard drive?

[JD]

Well I have this old computer here that I was working on, and it BSOD'd after the hard drive starting clicking (click of death I suppose). Now of course it won't boot up or anything, hard drive still spins, clicks for a bit, then stops clicking but seems to still be spinning.

So anyway to get this thing running, even just long enough to pull everything off it?

It's a 40GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8.

I'm sure as hell am going to have a hard time explaining that to a guy that barely speaks English...

[silent1mezzo]

Data recovery is iffy at best and generally costs a lot of money...

No idea whether this works but Freeze your hard drive to recover data: Myth or reality? - [Geeks are Sexy] technology news :P Worth a try, and would make for an epic post if it works.

G'luck with the disk...

[Arinoth]

Click of death, that can't be good. I would recommend first seeing if you can access the drive having it mounted in another computer, if you can that's great. If not, you'll have to look into data recovery software (which i can speak from first hand experience is not even 50% successful) or tell him hdd is pouched.

[JD]

Yeah I've read about the freezer stuff, some say yes, some say no.

Funny though, that's the same drive (or looks identical) to the one I have here that's dead. This is a Compaq though, not a Dell.

Got nothing more to lose though, so I guess I'll toss it in the freezer overnight...

EDIT: Already tried in another PC. Shows as 0MB in the BIOS and the BIOS says some error about the drive. AFAIK the data recovery programs only work if the drive is still accessible.

Just going to be hard to say "Sorry, all your data is gone, and it wasn't my fault."

[encorp]

She's pooched.

It's an old drive, tell him it was on it's last legs anyways.

[cdn_Madrach]

Spinrite can repair bad sectors and help you recover data if possible. Very slow tool but very effective.

GRC|SpinRite 5.0 to 6.0

[JD]

Originally Posted by cdn_Madrach

Spinrite can repair bad sectors and help you recover data if possible. Very slow tool but very effective.

GRC|SpinRite 5.0 to 6.0

Yup know of it, but like I said, the drive isn't recognizable as it stands.

Hard drive is in the freezer right now since I can't see it doing any more harm If I could grab all his documents and stuff he had on the desktop, I'd have an easier time breaking the news IMO since I doubt he has anything backed up.

[JD]

Well I tried it after about 2h in the freezer, drive is detectable somewhat now. BIOS reads the proper name and size, but Windows can't access it as of yet.

Going to go for the 24h now I guess. I have some hope at least.

[geokilla]

You the recovery tools or reparing tools that Seagate offers?

Have you tried accessing the hard drive with it installed on another computer? Like don't use that hard drive to boot up the OS and everything, just use it to get the data back.

[silent1mezzo]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

Well I tried it after about 2h in the freezer, drive is detectable somewhat now. BIOS reads the proper name and size, but Windows can't access it as of yet.

Going to go for the 24h now I guess. I have some hope at least.

If that works I think you owe me a beer for finding the article I hope it works man, g'luck...